Madsen to Retire from REI; Jewel to Take the Reins

REI CEO Dennis Madsen will retire from the company at the company's annual membership meeting on March 28, 2005, and said he will spend the next 10 months helping to transition the company's leadership to its current COO, Sally Jewell. Jewell wi

REI Opens Second Houston Store

REI will open a second store in Houston, Texas, in the Willowbrook Shopping Center in October. The new store will serve more than 17,000 active REI cooperative members
in the Houston area. REI opened its first store in Houston in 1996. Last year, that ori

American Recreation Parent Boosts Net Income 18.5% in Q1…

Kellwood’s American Recreation division, which houses the Sierra Designs, Kelty, and Slumberjack brands, is grouped into the ‘other soft goods’ category in company financial statements. The category posted a 19.2% decline in sales to $120.0 million compar

Chinook Hires Coogan for New Brand Strategy

Chinook Trading has selected Mike Coogan, former VP of global marketing at Kamik, to launch a branded division.
Coogan, who will serve as president of the newly formed branded division at Chinook Trading, is launching a unique multi-brand strategy for the

Neville Named President of Stride Rite’s Keds Division

Shawn Neville will join Stride Rite Corporation as president of Keds, effective July 7, 2004. Most recently, Neville was president & CEO of Footstar's athletic division, including the management of Footaction, USA and Just for Feet. Previously, he w

Kitty Bradley Joins Stonewear Designs as GM

Great Trango Holdings has hired Kitty Bradley as the Brand Manager for Stonewear Designs. Kitty joins the team to continue her career in the outdoor and apparel industries. She got her start in the Outdoor Industry as the GM of the Boulder Mountaineer fro

Sportcraft in Recall of Tredex Treadmills

Sportcraft Ltd, in coorperation with the CPSC, is voluntarily recalling 320 units of the Tredex 10.0 treadmill. The product was said to have been sold primarily through Dick's Sporting Goods from January 2004 through March 2004 for between $500 and

Keen’s CEO Joins TimBuk2 Board

Timbuk2 has added Angel Martinez to its Board of Directors. Mr. Martinez, the CEO of Keen Footwear and former Chief Marketing Officer of Reebok International, brings nearly three decades of consumer brand building expertise to the rapidly growing luggage

adidas Extends French Soccer Federation Partnership Deal

The Fédération Française de Football (FFF) and adidas announced that they have extended their partnership agreement until 2010. The French Football Federation currently holds the second place in the FIFA World Ranking and is the defending European Champio

June is Proclaimed ‘Great Outdoors Month’

President Bush has formally declared June “Great Outdoors Month.” According to the OIA, the request for this proclaimation was made by the organization's key contact in the White House. Much of the language used in the document is based on the OIA&#0

All Eyes on Gander Mountain…

Several top investment firms initiated coverage of Gander Mountain this week, including Piper Jaffray, Bank of America and William Blair & Co. – the firm that floated the outdoor retailer’s IPO. The company received high marks from all analysts, who cited

Cobblestones Names Sales and Marketing Chief

Cobblestones Activewear has named Michael Seegmiller vice president of Sales and Marketing, it was announced by Mark Osborn, general manager. Seegmiller comes to Cobblestone with more than 25 years experience in managing national and key accounts, includi