Maturing Performance Apparel Sees Gains Moderate

Performance apparel has been the darling of the sporting goods apparel business over the last few years, netting strong double-digit gains that have masked weakness in many other areas of the apparel market. The categories that make up the performance se

West 49 Warns of Bank Covenant Problems

West 49 Inc. reported its fourth-quarter loss widened to Canadian $8.5 million ($6.9 million) from C$1.2 million ($968,000) a year earlier, and warned that it was in violation of one of its bank covenants at the quarter's close. The action sports cha

Jarden Outdoor Sees Heavy Currency Impact in Q1

Jarden Corp. reported that first quarter net sales for its Outdoor Solutions segment, which includes the Coleman, Pure Fishing, K2 Sports, Marmot and Rawlings businesses, fell 10.2% in the first quarter, historically the division’s largest quarter. Four o

Specialized Recalls Bicycles

Specialized Bicycle Components Inc., in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, has announced two voluntary recalls of bicycles. Consumers are being advised to stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed…

Columbia Sees Tough Q1, but Exceeds Guidance

Columbia Sportswear has been cited recently by a number of outdoor specialty accounts as a brand that will get more attention this year, but the company has yet to see any real reversal of fortunes in the U.S. market as weakness in the company’s much larg

Hyde Joins Cerf Bros. Bag as VP of Sales

Cerf Brothers Bag Company, a 94-year-old manufacturer of packs, luggage and bags for the outdoor industry, has named industry veteran Ron Hyde as vice president of sales, said Brian Spanel, chief executive officer…

Adidas India to Open 200 Stores by Year’s End

Adidas India plans to open 200 outlets before year's end, reports indiaretailing.com. The stores will be located in a range of markets, from high to low tier cities. According to the report, adidas India presently has over 450 stores, 130 of which ar

Steve Madden Raises Full Year 2009 Guidance

Steve Madden expects net sales for the first quarter 2009 to be between $106 million and $107 million. This compares to net sales of $100.5 million for the first quarter of 2008. EPS for the first quarter of 2009 is expected to be in the range of 35 cents

Hat World Paid $6.4 Million for Team Dealer

Hat World acquired the assets of Impact Sports, a dealer of branded athletic and team products for college and high school teams, for a purchase price of $5.1 million plus assumed debt of $1.3 million funded from borrowings under the credit facility, acco

Fiskars Outdoor Hires VP, Commercial Sales

Fiskars Outdoor – Americas, the parent of Gerber and Brunton, said Keith E. Paxton had joined their team as the Vice-President of Commercial Sales, effective March 2009. Paxton's responsibilities include leadership of the American Sales Team, market

Second Largest Mall Operator Lands in Bankruptcy Court

General Growth Properties Inc. filed the biggest real estate bankruptcy in U.S. history last week after amassing $27 billion in debt during an acquisition spree that turned it into the second-largest shopping mall owner in the U.S. The company listed $29.

Jarden Corp. Sees Q1 Above Wall Street Forecasts

Jarden Corp., the parent company of Coleman, K2, Marmot, Volkl and other outdoor brands, said it expects revenue for the first quarter of 2009 to be approximately $1.14 billion as compared to $1.22 billion in the prior year period…

Russell Athletic to Close Alex City Plant

Russell Athletic plans to close a woven plant in Alexander City, GA, on July 1. About 250 jobs are affected. Rick Medlin, executive vice president of manufacturing, said the closing is related to the general economic downturn…

Orange 21 2008 Loss Nearly Doubles

Orange 21 Inc., which owns Spy Optic, reported sales rose 2% to $47.3 million in 2008 from $46.5 million for 2007. The action sports company incurred a net loss of $15.2 million for the year ended Dec. 31 compared to a net loss of $8.0 million for the yea