Obituaries (Year in Review)

The sporting goods industry bid farewell to several longtime industry stalwarts this year, including William “Bill” Modell, chairman of the board of Modell’s Sporting Goods, who died February 14, 2008, in New York. He was 86 years old. Under his leaders

Golf Rounds Played Continues to Drop in November

The Golf Datatech National Golf Rounds played showed that in most regions, golf rounds played continue to rapidly fall. According to the report, national golf rounds played in the U.S. were down 6.7% in November 2008 vs. November 2007, bringing the year-t

Management Shakeup at JJB Sports

JJB Sports, the struggling U.K. sporting goods chain, has named David Jones, the former chief executive of U.K. fashion chain Next, as executive chairman. Peter Williams, the former chief executive of the Selfridges U.K. department store, has also been ap

California Pro Sports Forms Joint Venture

California Pro Sports, Torrance, Cal. team dealer,, announced a unique joint venture with Tyler Sports, Inc., operated baseball/softball training facilities, and The Perfect Fit, a sports marketing firm. The venture will enable the three regional compani

Holiday Was Just as Tough as Everyone Expected

Holiday 2008 proved to be just as disappointing for many in the retail sphere as everyone worried beforehand. Though anecdotal evidence from much of specialty retail held slightly better results than the general market…

Sheri Poe Out at MBT

MBT reports that Sheri Poe will no longer serve as CEO of U.S. operations. Ken Pucker, who was named interim global CEO in early November, will assume her responsibilities for managing the U.S. entity of MBT…

Hot Products in a Cold Season

ACROSS THE SNOWBELT many runners continue to pursue their passion regardless of how low the temperatures drop. Keeping these diehard enthusiasts warm, upright and safe offers running specialty retailers a steady source of sales until spring arrives…

RECALL: Atomic Alpine Ski Bindings

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Atomic Skis, has announced a voluntary recall of Alpine Ski Bindings. The recall covers about 125,000 units as well as an additional 1.0 million were sold outside the U.S…

E-Commerce Sales Drop During Holiday Season

Online sales for the holiday period from Nov. 1 to Dec. 23 fell 3% versus the prior year, marking the first decline in online spending since comScore started tracking online sales in 2001. Online spending of $25.5 billion during the period were below comS