SGB Executive Footwear
DSW Wants To Be Best Buy Of The Footwear Space
At its Investor Meeting on Tuesday, DSW officials unveiled a new name change, Designer Brands, to herald their extensive efforts to reinvent the company’s business model with last November’s acquisition of Camuto Group. At the event, Roger Rawlins, CEO, cited competition from vendors going direct-to-consumer (DTC) as a main reason for the change, even bigger than any threat from Amazon.
Esports Set To Take Off
EMarketer became the latest research firm to come out with the bullish forecast on the growth potential of esports as well as the related advertising opportunity to reach a hard-to-reach and coveted millennial demographic. The reports come as Nike, Adidas, Puma, Fanatics, Champion and others have all recently inked sponsorship deals.
Zumiez Sees Localized Assortments Driving Momentum
Wrapping up its third year of merry holiday results, Zumiez Inc.’s earnings and same-store sales came in well above guidance in the fourth quarter. On a conference call with analysts, Rick Brooks, CEO, credited the chain’s focus on localized merchandise assortments for its recent hot streak.
Tilly’s Finds Booming Online Sales Offsetting Weak Mall Traffic
Tilly’s reported same-store sales leapt 6.4 percent in the fourth quarter, its strongest comp gain since Q311. The run-up was carried by a 49.6 percent hike in online sales, representing the action-sports chain’s strongest e-commerce comp result since Q410.
Aisle Talk Week Of March 11
Top headlines from the active lifestyle industry you may have missed this week, including Brooks Running Company’s promotion of Dan Sheridan to a newly configured role of EVP and chief operating officer.
Strong Boot And Retro Sales At Journeys Lifts Genesco’s Q4
Powered by healthy momentum for the Journeys chain, Genesco Inc.’s earnings before non-recurring items rose 18.8 percent in the fourth quarter. The company was also aided by a better-than-expected performance by the recently-sold Lids Sports Group in its last quarter with the company.
Adidas’ Supply Chain Problems Stunt North America’s Momentum
Adidas warned investors it will miss its 2019 growth target because supply chain bottlenecks in the first half of the year are making it difficult to meet demand. The growth is particularly expected to slow in North America, where it has doubled its business in the last three years to take market share from rival Nike
Dick’s Traffic Doldrums Continue
Dick’s Sporting Goods reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results and outlined a number of initiatives to jump-start comp growth, including replacing its hunt sections in another 120 stores with faster-turning categories and switching out its licensed Reebok brand for a new private-label athletic label. But shares of Dick’s fell as management predicted only minimal top-line recovery in the current year.
Wall Street: Nike’s Share Gains On Adidas Seen Accelerating
With quarterly results soon arriving from both firms, two reports from Stifel and Cowen arrived finding Nike’s growth accelerating largely at the expense of Adidas.
Patagonia, L.L. Bean Near Top Of Reputation Rankings
Patagonia ranked third and L.L. Bean fourth in this year’s Axios Harris Top-100 Poll’s survey ranking the public’s perception of the 100 most visible U.S. companies. Nike, Adidas, Under Armour and Dick’s Sporting Goods also landed on the list.
Bogs Sees Revenues Rebound In 2018
Wrapping up a bounce-back year, Bogs saw sales surged 34 percent in the fourth quarter to wind up ahead 10 percent in the year. The brand finally benefited from timely winter weather while also finding success extending into non-winter styles.
Kohl’s Seeing Share Gains In Active, Adding Nike Plus-Sizes
Kohl’s Corp said it continued to see strong momentum across its Active categories in the fourth quarter. The retailer also said that its test of expanded Active areas will be extended to 160 stores and Nike plus-size offerings will arrive this spring.
Four Questions: Matt Highby, President, Highby Outdoors
In early February, a number of former Cabela’s employees, led by Matt Highby, officially launched Highby Outdoors, an e-commerce site focusing on hunting and outdoor gear. SGB talked to Highby about what inspired the concept.
Foot Locker Scores Best Quarterly Comp Since 2014
With hot sellers ranging from Adidas Yeezy to Jordan, Nike’s Max Air, Fila and Champion, Foot Locker Inc. belted out a 9.7 percent same-store gain in the fourth quarter – its best quarterly gain since the fourth quarter of 2014. Fourth-quarter earnings and 2019 guidance also arrived well ahead of expectations. Some setbacks include the planned closing of its SIX:02 women’s chain and more impairment charges for Runners Point, but a bigger investment has been made into in Carbon38, the women’s activewear upstart.
Crocs’ Americas Sales Jump 15 Percent In Q4
Crocs Inc. reported revenues in the fourth quarter topped Wall Street’s expectations, boosted by healthy double-digit growth in the Americas region. The loss for the company in the period also came in better than expected due to cost-cutting initiatives.
