Wall Street Reacts: Under Armour’s Investor Day

Most analysts applauded the progress Under Armour is making instilling greater operational and financial disciplines under its transformation efforts. Some were also encouraged by the innovation on display Wednesday at the company’s Investor Day in Baltimore. But growth concerns, particularly in North America, and overall execution issues in the competitive landscape continued to worry many on Wall Street.

Fanatics Forms Strategic Partnership With Jakprints

Fanatics Inc. and Jakprints Inc. announced a new five-year partnership deal that will allow Jakprints to support the domestic production needs of Fanatics. With this partnership Jakprints also announced the opening of a new 140,000-square-foot facility in Eastlake, OH, which includes a $7 million investment in state-of-the-art equipment and the creation of over 100 new jobs.

Farfetch To Acqure Stadium Goods

Farfetch Limited, a leading technology platform for the luxury fashion industry based in London, announced its definitive agreement to acquire Stadium Goods, the sneaker and streetwear marketplace, for an enterprise value of $250 million. Following the acquisition, Stadium Goods will continue to operate as a standalone brand on the Farfetch platform and will be led by its existing management team. 

Under Armour Predicts Slow Recovery On Investor Day

At its Investor Day Wednesday in Baltimore, Under Armour officials touted early paybacks in its Transformation efforts and the brand’s ability tap into a Focused Performer consumer that globally represents $92 billion in revenue potential. But shares of Under Armour fell sharply on the day as Under Armour forecast only modest growth in the years ahead, including little pickup in North America.

Under Armour’s Shares Slide On Weak Guidance

Under Armour Inc. at its Investor  Day on Wednesday introduced the company’s 2023 strategic growth plan that calls for a return to a low double-digit growth rate by 2023. But shares of Under Armour fell $2.32, or 10.5 percent, to $19.80 as the company said it expects only low single-digit revenue growth on average over the next five years, including 3 to 4 percent growth in 2019 as gains overseas offsets flat sales in North America.

Report: Dick’s Among Companies Interested In Buying Some Stores From Sears

According to a report from Bloomberg, Dick’s Sporting Goods is among the companies that might be interested in buying some stores from Sears Corp. following that company’s bankruptcy. Sears is still weighing a $4.6 billion bid from its chairman, Eddie Lampert, but selling stores that Lampert needs as part of his turnaround plan would jeopardize that deal.

Stio To Open Store In Park City

Stio, the mountain lifestyle brand based in Jackson Hole, WY, announced the opening of its next Mountain Studio retail store in Park City, UT. The brand has leased a historic Main Street building and plans to open in mid-February.

Imports Set Another Record In October

Imports at the nation’s major retail container ports have set another new record, reaching 2 million containers in a single month for the first time as retailers continued to bring merchandise into the country ahead of a now-postponed increase in tariffs on goods from China, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report.

Report: Under Armour Ousts Ryan Kuehl And Walker Jones

Ryan Kuehl, Under Armour’s SVP of global sports marketing, and Walker Jones, the brand’s senior director of sports marketing, both left the company last week following an internal review of their department’s spending, according to the Wall Street Journal. The exits come after reports of a past practice of letting employees expense strip club visits.