USA Pickleball, the national governing body for the sport in the U.S., named Steve Wong as vice president of competition. Wong will oversee USA Pickleball’s competition department, emphasizing growing and streamlining all sanctioned tournament play.
Category: Sports/Fitness
Bulls Bikes USA Hires Sales Chief
Los Angeles-based Bulls Bikes USA hired Rob Kaplan as head of sales. Most recently, Kaplan was VP of sales at Alta Cycling Group.
Xponential Fitness Secures Franchise Agreements in Japan
Xponential Fitness, Inc. signed a master franchise agreement in Japan for its Pure Barre and YogaSix studios with Sunpark Co., Ltd., its master franchisee for StretchLab.
Golf Rounds Played Jump In November
Golf Datatech reported that U.S. golf rounds played rose 8.2 percent year-over-year in November, rebounding from a slight decline in October.
EXEC: 2024 Look Ahead with Active Lifestyle Market Leaders
SGB Executive reached out to key leaders in the Active Lifestyle space to share their outlook for 2023. This first installment includes a cross-section of insights from Academy Sports + Outdoors, Baird, Fleet Feet, Gore, NSGA, Ortholite, Thermore, RIA, and more.
Analyst: Lululemon Likely to Outpace Estimates and Guidance in Q4
William Blair analyst Sharon Zackfia believes Lululemon will outpace its own guidance for the fiscal fourth-quarter, with unseasonably mild weather helping boost holiday foot traffic to push revenue growth above the company’s guidance between 13 percent and 14 percent.
Sacks Parente Golf CEO Resigns
CEO Tim Triplett has resigned from the company, effective immediately, due to family reasons. Board Chair Greg Campbell will assume responsibilities as executive chairman to facilitate a smooth transition while the company searches for a new CEO.
Survey: Wearable Technology Again Tops Fitness Trend for 2024
The American College of Sports Medicine’s (ACSM) annual survey found wearable technology ranked as the number one fitness trend for the third straight year. The Top 3 trends also included workplace health promotion and fitness programs for older adults.
2023 Year in Review: Active Lifestyle M&A Activity Slows—Part II
Fewer major deals were executed across the active lifestyle space in 2023 amid rising interest rates and persistent economic uncertainty but several tuck-ins and smaller to medium-size acquisitions were inked. Still, SGB Media found a few key trends expected to continue into 2024.
SGB 2023 Year In Review: Active Lifestyle M&A Activity Slows—Part I
Fewer major deals were executed across the active lifestyle space in 2023 amid rising interest rates and persistent economic uncertainty but several tuck-ins and smaller to medium-size acquisitions were inked. Still, SGB Media found a few key trends expected to continue into 2024.
Goldfish Swim School Expanding in California
The company, based in Michigan, signed multi-unit swim school agreements with two franchise groups to develop six Goldfish Swim Schools in California over the next several years.
Puma to Release Puma Fit Collection on January 1
Puma Fit collection, rooted in sport, combines technology and innovation with dynamic design principles for all workouts. Completing the collection is the redesigned PwrFrame TR3 training shoe.
Jordan Brand To Release Jayson Tatum Second Signature Shoe
“This second shoe represents evolution and how much I’ve grown as a player. I’m always building on my skills so I can be better than who I was yesterday. I hope consumers appreciate how much we put into this one.” —Jayson Tatum
SGB 2023 Year In Review: Executive Shuffle
New CEOs at Academy Sports, Adidas, Asics, Gap, Kohl’s, Levi’s, Sportsman’s Warehouse, VF Corp., Vista Outdoor, and Wolverine Worldwide headlined the C-suite moves that transformed leadership across the active lifestyle space in 2023.
Life Time Reaffirms Guidance; Names Interim CFO as Houghton Departs
The company expects to be free cash flow positive after all capital expenditures, including new club growth, by the middle of 2024. SVP and Controller Erik Weaver, a 19-year company veteran, will assume the role of interim CFO with the departure of CFO Bob Houghton.