Second Quarter Hardgoods Market Buoyed By Golf…

In the second quarter, the hardgoods market was, not surprisingly, dominated by the golf companies, whose strong results masked relatively poor performances from the snow sports and fitness vendors. Overall, the hardgoods market saw second quarter sales i

NRF: Holiday Sales Growth to Be Below Ten-Year Average…

The National Retail Federation reported that it anticipates holiday sales to increase by 4.0% to $474.5 billion for the 2007 season. However, with a growth rate of only 4.0%, this year’s sales increase will be below the ten-year average of 4.8% and would

Orange 21 and No Fear Drop Retail Talks…

In July, Orange 21, Inc. entered into discussions with No Fear to acquire its retail subsidiary, No Fear Retail Stores, Inc. as part of a strategic expansion. More recently, Orange 21’s independent special committee of its board of directors concluded tha

Organic Cotton Production Climbs 53%

Latest figures from the Organic Exchange show that the amount of organic cotton produced globally increased 53% from 2005/06 to 2006/07 to 57,931 metric tons (MT), or 265,517 bales of cotton and volumes are set to climb further. This expansion was led by

Crocs Fights Off Escalator Talk…

Crocs spent much of last week defending itself over reports that countless people, particularly young children, wearing their shoes were getting their toes caught in escalators. Incidents were reported to have occurred over the last few months in Singapor

ITECH Named Official NHL Visor…

Mission-ITECH Hockey has entered into a multi-year agreement with the NHL for the company’s ITECH brand to become the Official Visor and Goalie Mask of the league. As a result of the partnership, the NHL Shield will begin appearing on all ITECH facial and

Columbia Looks for Footwear and Apparel Growth

At the recent Bank of America Annual Investors Conference, Columbia president and CEO, Tim Boyle gave a brief overview of the company and its growth initiatives. On the product side, Columbia is looking at two major branding opportunities to boost apparel

RECALL: Petzl Crampons

Petzl is recalling its SARKEN crampons, because the front points of the crampons are susceptible to premature wear out following heavy use. The crampon can experience cracking of the metal forefoot near the front points, followed by possible breakage if u

Orange 21 Terminates Discussions with No Fear

Orange 21 Inc. confirmed that an independent special committee of its board of directors and No Fear Inc. have mutually agreed to terminate discussions regarding a potential strategic transaction involving the acquisition of No Fear Retail Stores, Inc. Or

Shred Alert Names Frey As VP

Shred Alert, Inc. added Tripp Frey to head its sales team as vice president of the company. With extensive financial analyst and management experience, Frey will lend his business expertise directing the sales force and market forecasting…

Cocona Receives Capital Infusion

Cocona Inc. (formerly Traptek, LLC) has received a “major capital investment” from Fairhaven Capital, a leading early- and growth-stage venture capital firm based in Boston, Massachusetts. Sources at both Cocona Inc. and Fairhaven declined to disclose th

Christina America Acquires Baltex Swimwear

Montreal-based Christina America has purchased the assets of Baltex Swimwear. The deal maintains the Baltex name and secures a significant number of Baltex jobs. The transaction price was not disclosed…

Kjus Inks Deal with Bode Miller

World ski racing champion Bode Miller has chosen KJUS systems skiwear as his official uniform supplier for his new independent race team through at least the 2010 Olympic Winter games in Vancouver, Canada. The news was announced today by LK International