Aisle Talk Week Of January 7

Top headlines from the active lifestyle industry you may have missed this week, including Portland, OR-based outdoor apparel firm Poler filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy to liquidate.

Vail Resorts Seeing Healthy Growth Early In Ski Season

Season-to-date total lift ticket revenue at the company’s North American mountain resorts, including an allocated portion of season pass revenue for each applicable period, was up 12.2 percent compared to the prior year season-to-date period.

SGB Industry Outlook 2019, Part 2

This is the second installment of our annual series that gauges what the industry’s key players are projecting for the coming year. Also, due to overwhelming response, we’ve extended our industry outlook to three parts due to so many of people wanting to contribute their thoughts on 2019. Look for even more commentary on 2019 in Friday’s edition of SGB Executive.

U.S. Recreational Boating Industry Grows For Seventh Straight Year

The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA), representing the nation’s recreational boat, engine and marine accessory manufacturers, on Thursday announced that retail unit sales of new powerboats were up an estimated 4 percent in 2018 to approximately 280,000 units, the highest total since 2007.

Nemo Names Tom Ceulemans as European Sales Manager

Nemo Equipment, designer of outdoor gear and accessories, has hired Tom Ceulemans as its European sales manager. Ceulemans, who has been representing Nemo over the last four years through Zopfi BV in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany, will be based in Belgium. Nemo also announces the transition of leadership of international sales from Brent Merriam, COO, to Mike Welch, VP of global sales.

SGB Industry Outlook 2019, Part 1

Over the past week, dozens of executives across the active lifestyle industry shared their outlook for 2019 with SGB. We reached out to large, medium and small brands and retailers in sporting goods, footwear, apparel, outdoors and tactical with two simple questions that were fairly open-ended: What gives you optimism and what causes concern in the coming year? This is the first of a two-part series that gauges what the industry’s key players think will or won’t happen in 2019.

Dakine Appoints David Orr To Global General Manager

Dakine Equipment LLC—a division of JR286 Inc., in partnership with Marquee Brands—on Wednesday announced the appointment of David Orr as global general manager. A veteran in the outdoor and sporting goods industries, Orr will be responsible for leading all aspects of product creation, sales and operations for Dakine.

Croakies Announces New Lifetime Warranty Policy

Croakies, the original manufacturer of industry-leading outdoor retention products, announced, effective immediately, the introduction of a new Manufacturer’s Lifetime Warranty policy across the breadth of its product categories.

USA Cycling Hires Former New Balance CEO Rob DeMartini

The USA Cycling Board of Directors has named Rob DeMartini as president and chief executive officer of  USA Cycling. DeMartini joins the organization from New Balance Athletics, Inc. where he spent the last 12 years as president and CEO.

Tariffs Hit Helen Of Troy’s Outlook But Company Still Bullish On China

Declining e-commerce business in China prompted Hydro Flask parent company Helen of Troy Ltd. to reduce its full-year sales outlook. The softness, a result of the ongoing trade war with China, might have dampened an otherwise strong third quarter performance, but it didn’t diminish the company’s long-term view of China as a key marketplace.

Wells Fargo: Industry Facing Risks Amid China Slowdown

After Apple announced lower-than-expected performance over the holiday season on January 2, Wells Fargo in a note said concerns over slowing growth in China may cause a “negative read-through” for Nike, Adidas, Skechers and other consumer-goods companies with big exposures to China.

Suunto Launches Partner Program To Expand Its Digital Ecosystem

Suunto, a global leader in sports watches, dive computers and precision instruments, has announced the new Suunto Partner Program, inviting interested companies to join Suunto’s growing digital ecosystem. By opening the Suunto Cloud API, companies can join existing partners, like Strava and TrainingPeaks, to connect, engage and support Suunto’s network of engaged sports enthusiasts through the Suunto App.

Retail Imports Level Off After Rush To Beat Tariffs

Imports at the nation’s major retail container ports have slowed down after a months-long rush to beat increased tariffs on goods from China, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.