SGB Executive Outdoor
EXEC: McKinsey Identifies Tech Outerwear Among Hot Fashion Trends For 2024
In its The State of Fashion 2024 study, McKinsey & Co. provided a bullish outlook for technical outerwear, stating the category “has been propelled by consumers post-pandemic embrace of healthier lifestyles as well as ‘gorpcore,’ and is likely to accelerate even further in 2024.”
Study: Retailers See Online Sales Boosted by Store Openings
ICSC quantified the impact of opening or closing physical stores on online sales and retailers’ overall performance. Its latest study, the third installment in ICSC’s research on the halo effect of brick-and-mortar retail on online sales, is said to again prove the power of physical retail by demonstrating that a new store boosts online sales, while a closed store impedes them.
Report: Large Deals Driving Recent Outdoor Recreation M&A Activity
Consumer behavior has continued to perplex market participants as each pullback in spending has seemingly been followed by a resurgence of demand in the Outdoor Recreation market. That observation is one of the key points from the most recent Outdoor Recreation Market Update from Capstone Partners.
EXEC: Giant Group Revenues Decline 28 Percent in November
Still, the Taiwan-based bicycle manufacturing group reported good news—the November sales trend was a sequential improvement from October when the company posted a 34.4 percent revenue decline.
EXEC: Craft North America CEO Talks Gaining Traction in Run Footwear
In late November, Craft Sportswear announced plans for a phased relocation of its North American headquarters to Seattle, WA, in 2024 to bolster the brand’s expansion into outdoor and specialty retail and its recent entry into running footwear in the U.S. Craft North America CEO Eric Schenker talked with SGB Executive about Craft Sportswear’s heritage, the run footwear opportunity, and why the CEO has chosen not to move to Seattle.
EXEC: Lululemon’s Tepid Holiday Guidance Overshadows Strong Q3
Lululemon Athletica, Inc. lifted its overall full-year outlook after earnings and sales in the third quarter ended October 29 topped guidance for the third straight quarter but also forecast fourth-quarter guidance that came in lighter than expected in an apparent sign to investors of a potential sales slowdown.
EXEC: Sports Direct Gets Fiscal H1 Boost from New Brands
Frasers Group reported retail revenue increased 4.0 percent in the first half ended October 29 to £2.69 billion ($3.4 bn), helped by a “strong underlying performance” from Sports Direct due in part to the addition of new brands, including On Running, The North Face, Columbia Sportswear and Salomon.
EXEC: Stifel Survey Finds Consumers Prioritize Price/Value Over Sustainability
The survey, which was conducted in partnership with Morning Consult, surveyed active/causal lifestyle brand consumers ages 18 to 55 based in the U.S., UK, Germany, France, and Italy. It found that only one-third of respondents “Highly Prioritize” sustainability when making purchasing decisions, compared to other factors like “Good Value” (68 percent) and “Low Price” (57 percent).
EXEC: Dick’s SG Sees Differentiation Reaping Dividends
Speaking Tuesday at the 2023 Morgan Stanley Global Consumer & Retail Conference, Navdeep Gupta, EVP and CFO at Dick’s Sporting Goods, elaborated on how the retailer’s efforts to further differentiate itself both within product and the store experience is driving market share gains.
EXEC: Eddie Bauer’s CEO Discusses Modernized Rebrand
Eddie Bauer introduced a new brand evolution and redesigned its logo in September, including bringing back “the goose.” Tim Bantle, Eddie Bauer’s CEO, talked with SGB Executive about the refreshed look of the 103-year-old brand, re-embracing its outdoor roots and its heightened focus on wholesale.
EXEC: Circana Reports Outdoor Sales Down 1 Percent Through September
Julia Clark Day presented data that showed sales in the outdoor industry were down 1 percent in dollar terms year-over-year to $27.8 billion in the 12-month period ended September 2023. Unit sales were said to be down 4 percent for the period.
EXEC: UK Retail Foot Traffic Rebounds in November
After suggesting the the UK retail market was hampered by stalled consumer spending in October, the British Retail Consortium reportedly saw a recovery in foot traffic in November, with total UK foot traffic down 0.7 percent year-over-year.
EXEC: Academy Sports Sees Weather/Consumer Woes Derailing Sales Recovery
Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. said a slow start to fall selling due to warmer temperatures as well as continued weak consumer demand caused third-quarter results to miss plan, resulting in a downward revision to full-year guidance. CEO Steve Lawrence said on an analysts call, “We feel like we don’t have a challenged strategy. We’ve got a challenged customer.”
EXEC: VF Corp. Cutting Another 500 Jobs
Fifteen months after cutting 300 jobs across its global workforce, the parent of the Vans, TNF, Dickies, Timberland, Smartwool, Jansport and other active lifestyle brands, is at it again, confirming Wednesday that another 500 jobs would be eliminated this week.
EXEC: Black Friday Weekend Sales See Encouraging Start to Holiday Selling
Led by online selling and boosted by promotions, sales on Black Friday and over the past weekend topped or came in line with modest expectations, according to multiple survey reports and Wall Street analysts.
