SGB Executive Footwear

SGB 2023 Year in Review—Top 25 Most Read Articles

To say that 2023 was a challenging year for the active lifestyle retail market would be an understatement as brands, reps and retailers dealt with a variety of challenges and very few notable instances of positive news.

EXEC: JD Sports Sees YTD Comp Sales Growth Fall Short, Impacting Full-Year View

Company shares plummeted 23 percent on the London Sock Exchange Thursday as the parent of the JD, Finish Line, DTLR, and Shoe Palace retail brands in the U.S. and JD and others worldwide, reported that comp store sales growth was just 1.8 percent for the 22-week yeat-to-date period through December 30.

EXEC: Outdoor Active Lifestyle Market Leaders Share 2024 Outlook

Feedback unique to this group versus the broader market was the focus on sustainability, responsible sourcing, new technologies focused on renewable and reusable components and textiles, and the looming impact of new rules governing the use of PFAS and its impact on the market.

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.

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.

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.

EXEC: Nike’s Reduced Outlook, Planned Cuts and Market View Takes Broader Market Down

Nike, Inc. announced a broad restructuring program while slashing revenue guidance for its fiscal year amid softening online sales, promotional pressures and heightened macro headwinds, particularly in China and the EMEA. For its fiscal year ended May 31, 2024, sales are now projected to increase only 1 percent against a prior outlook of up mid-single-digits.

EXEC: Report Finds Troubling Core Participation Trend in Team Sports

SFIA’s recently released U.S. Trends In Team Sports Report noted that participation in 16 of 23 team sports tracked by the Association has not returned to pre-pandemic levels, and only one sport, soccer, showed Core Participation gains in the 2019-2022 period. However, the SFIA report offered more encouraging findings in team sports trends.

Study: Gen Z and Boomers Most Likely to Shop In-Store

ICSC wrote that while Gen Z grew up with digital and mobile technology, their penchant for in-store shopping at times exceeds that of the generations that grew up shopping in physical stores.