Maine Historical Society honored the L. L. Bean Family with its 2021 Maine History Maker Award.
Category: Outdoor

The Pro’s Closet Raises $40M In Series B Funding
The Pro’s Closet, an online seller of pre-owned bikes, closed a $40 million Series B funding round led by The Chernin Group with participation from existing investors Foundry Group, Edison Partners and Ridgeline.

Johnson Outdoors Welcomes Two Board Members
Johnson Outdoors Inc.announced the appointment of Annie Zipfel and Paul Alexander as independent directors to the company’s Board of Directors.

RECALL: Trek Bicycle Pedals
Trek is recalling 345,150 pairs of Bontrager Satellite City bicycle pedals because they could fall off the crank arm of the bicycle if installed incorrectly by the retailer during assembly.

Hibbett Sports Blows Past Wall Street’s Targets In Q1
Hibbett Sports significantly hiked its full-year guidance after reporting sales and earnings in the first quarter ended May 1 came in well ahead of Wall Street’s estimates. Mike Longo, CEO, said, “New customer retention, improved store level engagement, government stimulus, and access to coveted brand name products contributed to our comparable sales growth of 87.3 percent.”

Report: Authentic Brands Confidentially Files For IPO
Authentic Brands Group (ABG), which owns a number of fashion and sports brands, has reportedly filed confidentially for an initial public offering.

Cascade Designs Expands Sales And IT Departments
Cascade Designs, the parent company of MSR, Therm-a-Rest, Platypus, SealLine, PackTowl and Varilite, announced three new hires in its sales and IT departments. Tim Lau will join the company as international sales manager for Canada and APAC, Jenni Schmidt will work as senior sales & operations manager and Mirza Beg will serve as IT director.

Grand Trunk Acquires Alite Designs
Grand Trunk has acquired Alite Designs, the company behind the Monarch camp chair. Starting next year, Alite products will be available under the Grand Trunk brand name.

VF Corp. Launches New Innovation Pillar
VF Corp. announced its launch of Venture Platforms, an innovation pillar that will focus on identifying and investing in new, future-focused opportunities.

REI Launches Content And Entertainment Arm
REI announced the launch of Co-op Studios, the retailer’s in-house content arm. Across films, podcasts and editorial programs, the studio develops and produces content that explores the power of time spent outside, while complementing the brand’s broader commitments.

Mystery Ranch Partners With Sea To Summit To Expand Reach Into Australia
Mystery Ranch announced it has partnered with Sea to Summit to be its distributor in Australia. With new partnerships across Europe, Asia and the Middle East, the company is expanding its reach into the South Pacific.

Stifel Launches Sustainable Lifestyle Brand Index
A new Stifel survey shows consumers believe it’s important for companies to act sustainably and most are willing to pay a premium for brands that demonstrate ethical business practices, environmental care, and social responsibility. Based on this insight, Stifel is also introducing its Sustainable Lifestyle Brands Index, which ranks brands based on consumer perception of corporate sustainability practices.

Vista Outdoor Acquires QuietKat And Venor
Vista Outdoor Inc. announced the acquisition of e-bike brand QuietKat and hunt-inspired female apparel brand Venor. The acquisitions were announced as Vista plans to unveil on Wednesday morning its Value Creation Framework growth strategy and its long-term financial targets at its Investor Day.

Academy Sports Announces $99 Million Paydown And Refinancing Of Its Term Loan
Academy Sports + Outdoors, Inc. announced that it had completed a paydown and refinancing of its term loan and that its S&P Global credit rating has been upgraded.

Wolverine Worldwide Announces International And Sperry Leadership Appointments
Wolverine World Wide Inc. announced the promotion of Isabel Soriano as president of International and the appointment of Katherine Cousins as global brand president, Sperry.