Frozen February Slows Retail Comp Sales Growth

As blizzards and freezing temperatures swept across much of the country in February, consumers were left sitting at home waiting for the spring thaw to finally arrive. Retailers, meanwhile, were left waiting for those very consumers to return to the cash

New Era Collaborates with Spike Lee on MLB Cap ads

New Era Cap Co., the official on-field cap of Major League Baseball (MLB), hired Spike DDB, the advertising agency founded by film director Spike Lee and DDB Worldwide, to produce and direct its latest television commercials, in support of the launch of i

Rocky Brands Sinks into the Red in Q4…

Hurt by a slowdown in its western boot business, Rocky Brands Inc. reported a loss of $100,000 against a profit of $2.6 million, or 46 cents per share, a year ago. Revenues fell 5.7% to $70.6 million from $74.9 million…

OIA Sets Agenda for Capitol Summit 2007

Every year, Outdoor Industry Association members gather in Washington D.C. to visit with their Representatives and Senators and lobby for issues that are important to the Outdoor Industry. OIA has held events similar to this for over a decade, but each ye

Malden Converts BK to Chap 7

In the on-going saga of Malden Mills’ most recent bankruptcy, the company has filed for chapter 7 in an effort to dismantle the former entity known as Malden Mills and to start the business anew under the name Polartec, LLC. The attorneys for Malden filed

SGMA: Sporting Goods Industry Hits $66 Billion

According to SGMA’s annual The State of the Industry report, wholesale sales in the sporting goods industry increased 7.6% to $66.44 billion during 2006, up from $61.75 billion in 2005. This top line number includes sales of athletic footwear, apparel and

Ashworth Sees Domestic Woes Plague Q1 Results…

Growth overseas was not enough to offset decreases in the U.S. for Ashworth during the company’s fiscal first quarter. The overall sales decline, paired with increased expenses as well as decreased gross margins related to the “underutilization of the Emb

Famous Footwear Profits Soar 49.2% in Q4.

Brown Shoe Co. reported fourth-quarter operating profit at the Famous Footwear chain jumped 49.2% to $22.5 million. Revenues grew 13% to $320.9 million on a 2.9% comp gain. Famous Footwear’s bottom line was helped by an increase in regular-priced sales a

Fleet Feet Boasts 17.5% Comp Gain in 2006

Fleet Feet recorded 19.9% growth in sales in 2006 surpassing $63 million in revenue compared to $52 million in 2005. Comp-store sales were up 17.5% on top of the 16.1% increase posted in 2005. The franchisor expects to add 7 more franchisees this year…

Payless to Acquire Collective

Payless ShoeSource inked a deal to acquire Collective International, a licensing platform that manages the Airwalk, Vision Street Wear, Lamar, Sims, LTD, genetic, Dukes, Rage, Ultra-Wheels and Skate Attack brands. When the deal closes, Collective will bec

K2 Grabs Snow Sports Market Share in Q4…

K2 Inc. appears to be the only publicly reporting Snow Sports company to see any up-side in the 2006-07 winter season. The company reported solid top-line and bottom line growth during the fourth quarter with these results primarily driven by winter sport

Vail Second Quarter Earnings Climb

Vail Resorts, Inc.'s mountain segment reported a 10.5% increase in fiscal second quarter revenues to $272.0 million from $246.2 million for the comparable quarter last fiscal year. Mountain expense increased $9.2 million, or 6.1%, to $159.9 million.