Collective Brands Narrowing Potential Bidders

Collective Brands Inc. is reducing the potential pool of suitors for all or part of its business as it moves to the second round of its review process, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News. The report indicated that the company, which owns

Online Retail Spending Rose 14 Percent in Fourth Quarter

Online retail spending reached $49.7 billion for the fourth quarter, up 14 percent versus year ago, according to comScore, Inc. For the entire 2011 year, U.S. retail e-commerce spending reached a record $161.5 billion, marking a 13-percent increase from 2

Vibram FiveFingers Debuts New Educational Resources

Vibram FiveFingers announced the launch of their new educational fitness resource portal. The section of their website contains educational tools and information for consumers looking to transition to barefoot fitness. It also has valuable information on

Gildan First Quarter Sales Down 8.3 Percent

Gildan Activewear Inc. announced its financial results for the first quarter of its 2012 fiscal year, and also reconfirmed its prior sales and earnings guidance for the full fiscal year. In the first quarter, the company began to manage and report its bus

R.G. Barry’s Q2 Earnings Jump 47 Percent

R.G. Barry Corporation, the owner of Dearfoams, Baggallini and Foot Petals, reported a 12.0 percent increase in sales in its second quarter ended Dec. 31, to $55.6 million versus $49.7 million one year ago. Net earnings surged 47.3 percent to $6.4 million

Pelican Beefs up Manufacturing, Sourcing and Sales

Pelican International, which owns the Pelican, Elie and Lavika boat brands, named new hires in manufacturing, sourcing and IT as well as an in-house international sales rep and two new outside rep agencies to cover the eastern U.S. seaboard…

Li Ning to Cut Staff to Lower Costs

Li Ning Co Ltd said it will reduce its staff count in a move to lower costs. The move comes after the Chinese footwear giant had predicted its revenue for 2011 had fallen by 6 to 7 percent year-on-year. The company plans to reduce its human resources cost

Start-Up Readies Launch of Backcountry Boot

Marty Carrigan, co-founder of a sales and marketing agency, and Ben Anderson, founder of Icelantic, have founded First Degree to launch a collection of sidecountry-specific boots for skiers who spend their days both inbounds and outside the access gates..

Asics Extends Support Your Marathon to L.A.

Asics America, a partner of the 2012 Honda LA Marathon, has expanded its award-winning “Support Your Marathoner” program to the West Coast. Similar to the program offered at the 2011 ING New York City Marathon, it allows friends and family to send picture

Pursuit Brand Equity Group Moves to Newmarket

Pursuit Brand Equity Group, a New England independent regional brand management and sales agency for apparel, footwear and accessory brands, announced it has relocated company headquarters to the downtown mills in Newmarket, N.H. Pursuit was previously he

Deaths Of Headphone-Wearing Pedestrians Increase

Serious injuries to pedestrians listening to headphones have more than tripled in six years, according to new research from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. In many cases, the cars o

Nike Signs First Canadian College Deal

Nike Inc. reached an sponsorship agreement with with McMaster University in Ontario. It is the first agreement of its kind between Nike and a Canadian university and will be managed by local distributor T. Litzen Sports…

Accell Names Ghost Founder President of Asian Unit

Accell Group N.V. appointed Uwe Kalliwoda, the founder of its Ghost Bikes subsidiary, to oversee Accell Asia from an office in Taiwan. The Taiwan office manages sales for Korea and Australia and marketing and sales of the Ghost, Lapierre and Koga bicycle