SGB Executive Outdoor

EXEC: Birkenstock Execs Lay Out Growth Details from Fiscal Q1
Only a single-digit percentage of revenue in the Americas is attributed to new points of distribution, with a heightened focus on specialty retailers, including sports-specific, running retailers where the benefits of the Birkenstock footbed is seen as a recovery product.

EXEC: 5.11 Tactical was the Lone 2023 Active Lifestyle Gainer at CODI
The 5.11 Tactical brand was the only active lifestyle brand in the segment to post an increase in sales for the year, due in large part to its direct-to-consumer component of the business as all other brands continued to deal with the ongoing retail de-stocking process prevalent across the U.S. retail landscape.

EXEC: Big 5 CEO Talks Efforts to Offset One-Two Punch from Weather and Economy
The Apparel category was down approximately 30 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter. The Footwear category was down approximately 17 percent and the Hardgoods category was down approximately 11 percent for the period.

EXEC: Merrell Expects DD Decline in 2024; Return to Growth in H2
Merrell declined 17.0 percent in Q4 to $161.8 million. For the full year, Merrell was down 11.3 percent in constant-currency to $675.8 million. Merrell is expected to decline in the low-double-digit range in 2024 with inflection to growth in the second half.

EXEC: Fox Factory’s Q4 and Full Year Results Gutted by Declines in the Bike Business
Consolidated net sales declined 9 percent to $1.46 billion for the full year. The decline for the year was attributable to the Specialty Sports Group Bike segment, which was down $309 million, or 45 percent, year-over-year.

EXEC: S&P Issues Damning Report on the Health of TNF and Vans Parent
S&P Credit Rating analysts lowered their forecast for VF and now believe the company will have to sell “sizeable brands” to meaningfully reduce leverage in the near term.

EXEC: Inside the Wolverine Worldwide C-Suite – Assessing the Year Ahead
Fiscal 2024 revenue is expected in the range of $1.7 billion to $1.75 billion, roughly a 5.5 percent decline at the mid-point versus the 2023 revenues. Gross margins are expected to reach 45.5 percent of sales, a record high, and EPS is forecast to improve 5X at the mid-point.

EXEC: Giant Group Reports Moderating Sales Decline in January
The January decline at the bike manufacturer represents the third straight month of moderating declines and the smallest decline since June 2023

EXEC: Rip Curl, Oboz Down Sharply in Fiscal H1 Against Tough Comps
KMD Brands Limited, the parent company of Kathmandu, Oboz and Rip Curl, reported a preliminary update of its results for the 2024 fiscal first half ended January 31.

EXEC: Sebago, Superga, Briko Parent Sees Sharp Global Declines Cut Into Royalties
BasicNet S.p.A., the parent of the Sebago, Superga, Briko, Kappa, K-Way, Jesus Jeans, and Sabelt brands, reported aggregate sales of Group brands products declined 10.4 percent to €1.14 billion. The Americas region fell 35 percent.

EXEC: Fenix Outdoor Swings to Q4 Loss as Sales Shrink, Costs Increase
The company’s Brands segment, which includes Fjällräven, Royal Robbins, Hanwag, and Fenix Outdoor, had sales of €47.3 million in the fourth quarter, falling 14.8 percent from €55.4 million in the prior-year fourth quarter.

EXEC: Inside Yeti’s Thought Process on the Mystery Ranch Deal
Regarding the acquisitions of Mystery Ranch and Butter Pat Industries, Yeti management said both transactions were completed in Q1 of this year, utilizing cash on hand for a combined consideration of $48.5 million.

EXEC: Yeti Hires Layne Rigney to Oversee Softgoods and Mystery Ranch
An industry veteran, most recently, Rigney was a board member at Sea to Summit and Marucci Sports but shifted his focus to the Yeti role in January 2023.

EXEC: Footwear Brands Are Ramping Up Factory Orders
Yue Yuen Industrial reported that its footwear manufacturing segment revenue posted 12.5 percent growth in January 2024, a big turnaround from the 18.4 percent decline in its footwear manufacturing segment for full year 2023.

EXEC: Sportchek, Mark’s and Helly Hansen all Down in Q4; Only Helly Up for Year
Canadian Tire’s SportChek segment, which includes the SportChek, Sports Experts, Atmosphere, Pro Hockey Life, Sports Rousseau, and Hockey Experts retail brands, saw comparable sales in the fourth quarter decline 6.4 percent.