Columbia Hosts Winter ’08 Showcase Event…

As product timelines and buying cycles become more compacted for vendors and retailers, Columbia Sportswear has reacted by pulling out of key industry trade shows, opting instead to host a Winter 2008 Product Preview for retailers, financial analysts and

SGMA Report: Team Sports for the Elite Player.

While 31.6 million U.S. children (age 6-17) participate in team sports on a ‘frequent,’ ‘regular,’ or ‘casual’ basis, nearly 19 million U.S. children do not participate in team sports at all. That’s one of many findings in U.S. Trends in Team Sports (2007

Nike, Inc. Re-Thinks Move into Mass Retail…

Nike, Inc. has apparently decided to de-emphasize a mass retail strategy first announced in 2004 after the company acquired the Starter business and formed the Exeter Brands Group to build and service brands in the value retail channel. NKe announced las

Fila to License Fila Sport to Kohl’s…

Fila announced an exclusive arrangement to sell the Fila Sport brand to Kohl’s. Under the agreement, Kohl’s will license and develop (in collaboration with Fila) apparel product under the Fila Sport label, while Fila will make Fila Sport footwear exclusi

Sport-Haley Q1 Sales Drop 24.5%; Net Loss Widens…

Sport-Haley, Inc.'s Q1 sales decreased 24.5% to $3.5 million due to a change in distribution for its Top-Flite business. Net sales of Top-Flite branded apparel were $120,000, a decrease of 90%, from $1.2 million last year…

Deckers Looks to Become a $750 Million Company…

At the Deckers annual investor meeting held this month in Goleta, CA, the executive team and representatives from each of the company’s brands – UGG, Simple and Teva – gave an overview of the progress made in the past few years as well as future growth in

Orange 21 Sees Strong Q3 Turnaround…

Orange 21 third quarter net sales increased 16% to $13.2 million compared to $11.4 million last year. The company said that this was spurred by increased marketing efforts and a larger sales force. The sunglass maker was able to keep gross margins steady

Johnson Outdoors Swings to Profit in Q4

Johnson Outdoors Inc. saw increased net sales and earnings for the 2007 fiscal fourth quarter. Net sales for the seasonally slow fourth quarter ended September 28, 2007 were $87.7 million, an increase of 9% compared to $80.3 million for the prior year qua

Black Friday On-Line Advertising is Gaining Popularity

Online traffic to Black Friday advertising websites is rising earlier in 2007 compared to 2006, Hitwise reported. Online traffic to a custom category of Black Friday advertising websites increased 52% for the week ending Nov. 10, 2007 compared to Nov. 11,

Crocs Sees Class Action Lawsuit

A class action lawsuit has been commenced in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado by Brower Piven on behalf of purchasers of the common stock of CROCS Inc. between July 27, 2007 and October 31, 2007. The complaint alleges that dur

Puma Establishes Romanian Subsidiary

PUMA has set up a 100% owned subsidiary, PUMA SPORTS ROMANIA, based in Bucharest, which will become operative on January 1, 2008 as the company continues to further expand globally in Phase IV of its long-term development plan. PUMA’s sportlifestyle produ

SGMA: Serious Players Continue to Dominate Team Sports

While 31.6 million U.S. children (age 6-17) participate in team sports on a ‘frequent,’ ‘regular,’ or ‘casual’ basis, nearly 19 million U.S. children do not participate in team sports at all. That’s one of many findings in U.S. Trends in Team Sports (2007

Nike Inks Deal to Sell Starter to Iconix

Nike reached a definitive agreement to sell its Starter brand to Iconix Brand Group, Inc. for $60 million in cash. Nike expects the transaction to be completed in December. Starter's growth potential relative to other brands in Nike's portfolio,

Columbia Hires New Europe GM

Columbia Sportswear Company hired Christian Finell as General Manager Europe. His anticipated start date is December 1, 2007, reporting to Mick McCormick, Vice President of Sales. Finell will be responsible for managing all aspects of sales, marketing and