Category: Outdoor

With another blockbuster performance for Vans and an acceleration of growth at The North Face, VF Corp scored its best quarter in two years in its third quarter ended December 31 and again raised its full-year guidance. Shares of VF rose $9.08, or 12.4 percent, to $82.34 Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.

VF Corporation raised its guidance for the year after reporting earnings in its third quarter ended December 29 came in well above Wall Street’s consensus estimates. Sales grew 8 percent led by a 25 percent hike in Vans and a 14 percent gain at The North Face.

Shopko, already weighed down by a heavy debt load due to a leveraged buyout, said competition against the national big box chains and consolidation in the pharmacy industry both played a role in its trip to bankruptcy court. But in an affidavit in Nebraska’s bankruptcy court, Russell Steinhorst, CEO,  blamed the retailer’s eroding operating performance largely on the dramatic shifts across retailer in recent years to online selling.

The ICR Conference in Orlando, FL, gave brands across the consumer and retail industries a chance to present their current financial profile and plans for 2019 and beyond. Some companies, like Lululemon (whose presentation wasn’t public), have seen values surge post-conference.

Shopko, the operator of general merchandise stores based in Green Bay, WI,  filed for Chapter 11 in the District of Nebraska. The company is pursuing restructuring as a result of “excess debt and ongoing competitive pressures.”