SGB Executive Footwear

Descente Sees Mid-Single-Digit Growth in Fiscal H1
Descente, Ltd. reported that revenues for the fiscal six months ended September 30 rose 4.9 percent to ¥59.9 billion ($396 mm) from ¥57.2 billion a year ago. Gains from the incorporation of Le Coq Sportif (Ningbo) Co. Ltd. (NLCS) into China’s consolidated results and growth in activewear overall offset decreased sales in golfwear.

EXEC: Asics Lifts Outlook On Robust Third Quarter Results
Asics Corp. raised its outlook for the year after reporting strong earnings improvement in the third quarter and nine months ended September 30. Sales grew 14.5 percent in the third quarter and 23.4 percent in the nine months with healthy gains across regions.

EXEC: Mizuno’s Fiscal Q2 Sales Expand Across All Regions; Running and Golf Decline
Mizuno Corp.’s sales grew 8.1 percent in the fiscal second quarter ended September 30 and 23.8 percent in the half. The Japanese-based sporting goods sales and profits reached record levels in the six months, with sales increasing across all geographies and in all its main business categories.

EXEC: Adidas CEO Sees U.S. Marketplace Challenges Lasting Well into 2024
On Adidas’ third-quarter conference call with analysts, Bjorn Gulden, CEO, said Adidas’ sales in the U.S. “will probably not grow at all in the first half” of 2024 as North America lags other regions in rightsizing inventory levels. He said, “Inventory levels in the U.S. in general is still an issue. I think it lags about six months versus the rest of the world.”

EXEC: Inside Wolverine’s Plan for the Future—and the New Realities of 2023
New CEO Chris Hufnagel said WWW continues to reshape its portfolio, reduce inventory and redesign the company to become consumer-obsessed brand builders, focused squarely on building compelling products and telling amazing stories.

EXEC: Under Armour Can’t Dodge North American Turbulence
Under Armour reported sales and earnings in the fiscal second quarter ended September 30 topped analyst targets, but annual sales guidance was reduced due to further deterioration in the North American wholesale business. CEO Stephanie Linnartz told analysts, “Several forces are at play here, including inflation and consumer confidence, normalizing inventory levels amid still broad promotions, and overall softness in our future wholesale order book.”

New Wave Group Gets Lift from Tenson Deal to Post Q3 Sales Growth
The Swedish-based owner of Ahead, Auclair, Craft, Cutter & Buck, and Tenson AB, reported that net sales increased 5 percent (+1 percent currency-neutral) to SEK 2,337.0 million, but sales would declined had it not been for sales from the acquired outdoor gear brand Tenson.

EXEC: BRC Sees Cautious UK Consumer Spending Stalling in October
The BRC reported that total UK retail sales increased 2.5 percent in October. The number was said to be below the three-month average growth of 3.1 percent and the 12-month average growth of 4.2 percent as reported by the BRC.

Birkenstock Gets Lift from First Run of Post-IPO Analyst Reports
Wall Street brokerages largely initiated Birkenstock Holding with their top ratings, pointing to a likely boost from the German sandal maker’s loyalty with consumers, expansion into untapped categories, channels and geographies, and recent investments to increase capacity.

EXEC: Wrapping Up the Less-Than-Jolly Holiday Forecasts For Retail
Holiday forecasts arriving in recent weeks roundly forecast sales will slow this year versus pandemic stimulus-boosted gains in recent years. However, while many expect a “resilient” consumer will drive solid gains similar to pre-pandemic levels, some see inflationary and macroeconomic concerns weighing disproportionately on discretionary spending.

EXEC: BOA, Primaloft and Velocity Outdoor Drag on Parent’s Q3 Results
Brand aggregator Compass Diversified saw Q3 sales decline 25 percent at BOA, 16 percent at Primaloft and fall 28 percent at Velocity Outdoor, while revenues grew 13 percent at Marucci Sports and 7 percent at 5.11. The company reported it was selling Marucci.

EXEC: Boot Barn Cuts Q3 and Full Year Outlook as Retail Turns Sour
Fiscal Q2 retail store same-store sales declined 3.8 percent and e-commerce same-store sales declined 11.7 percent year-over-year. Comps were said to be in line with expectations through August, but September experienced softer-than-expected results and that trend reportedly continued into October.

EXEC: Crocs Sets Plan to Revive HeyDude’s Growth
Crocs, Inc. scraped its earnings and sales guidance for the year due to the continued underperformance of its recently-acquired HeyDude brand. On an analyst call, Andrew Rees, Crocs’ CEO, admitted HeyDude has faced “several growing pains this past year” due to a mix of internal missteps and external pressures and forecasted the brand’s wholesale revenues in North America would remain negative through Q224.

EXEC: Titleist Parent Gains Q3 Boost from Healthy U.S. Golf Market
Acushnet Holdings Corp., the parent of Titleist and FootJoy, reported third-quarter earnings and sales topped Wall Street expectations on strength in the U.S. golf market. On an analyst call, David Maher, president and CEO, said the U.S. is outpacing markets overseas in both golf rounds played and consumer spend due to resilient golf enthusiasts.

EXEC: Canada Goose Shares Fall to All-Time Low on Luxury Slowdown, Weak Outlook
Shares of Canada Goose, Inc. reached an all-time low of $9.81 in over-the-counter trading as the outerwear maker axed its outlook for the year amid concerns over luxury spending, China’s recovery and warm weather.