SGB Executive

Hydration systems are doing more than keeping their users hydrated on the trail and road. They’re also helping retailers’ bottom lines, with improvements targeting a wide range of outdoor consumers.

In the prospectus for its initial public offering, IFit Health & Fitness identified seven growth drivers designed to capitalize on the expanding connected fitness marketplace.

The Top National stories and the Latest headlines across the Active Lifestyle Market for the week of August 3o, 2021 covered in the SGB Updates and delivered to your inbox every business day. This week’s Ambassador Athlete is a Fila-sponsored WTA and ATP Tour player, 17-year-old professional tennis player Robin Montgomery.

Tilly’s Inc. said strong pent-up demand following pandemic-related restrictions and a spike in the graphic T-shirt business helped produce its strongest level of sales and EPS for any quarter since its 2012 IPO. Said Ed Thomas, president and CEO, “Apparel growth has been driven by new trends in bottoms, a surge in the graphic T-shirt business, and a high adoption rate on newness generally.”

While announcing second-quarter results, Duluth Trading unveiled its Big Dam Blueprint strategic plan that recently-appointed CEO Sam Sato expects will guide the apparel chain into a digital-first future. The former Finish Line CEO said the moves are “driven in part by meaningful shifts in consumer behavior.”

Genesco Inc.’s recovery gained further momentum in the second quarter with strong gains at Journeys and its U.K.-based Schuh chain, but officials warned that supply chain disruption continues to deplete inventory levels and is expected to drive higher freight costs in the quarters ahead. Said Mimi Vaughn, president and CEO, “We’re seeing good product flow right now, but it’s lower than we would like.”

Southlake, TX Solo Stove recently acquired Chubbies Shorts, Oru Kayak and ISLE SUPs under its new Solo Brands banner. SGB Executive spoke with CEO John Merris before the announcement to learn more about the acquisitions and its direct-to-consumer business model.

Despite difficult comps versus very strong results from the comparable period last year, Smith & Wesson Brands Inc. utilized increased manufacturing capacity and relied on consumer product preferences and increased market share to post-sales growth of nearly 20 percent.

Allbirds, which, on Tuesday, filed for an initial public offering, expects to grow by expanding across categories, raising brand awareness, deepening its engagement with consumers, and opening “hundreds” of additional stores. The San Francisco-based manufacturer wrote in its prospectus, “We believe there is continued opportunity to grow our closet share as we further expand our brand and product selection.”

Sequential Brands has reached an agreement to sell its active division brands, including Gaiam, Avia and And1, to Galaxy Universal for $333 million. Galaxy will serve as a stalking horse bidder to explore higher bids for the active segment as part of Sequential Brands bankruptcy filing.

Caleres, Inc. posted sales of $675.5 million in net sales in the fiscal second quarter ended July 31, up 34.7 percent from Q2 but down 4.4 percent from the 2019 comparable period.

Despite the pending exit of Nike from its mix, DSW’s athletic footwear momentum continues with comps in the category in the second quarter running up 90 percent year-over-year and 45 percent against the 2019 second quarter. The strength across athleisure helped drive quarter results for DSW’s parent, Designer Brands, far above plan although supply chain constraints could restrain second-half growth.

Shares of Peloton Interactive fell $9.75, or 8.5 percent, on Friday to $104.34 after the connected fitness leader announced plans for a price cut on its original Bike product and a lower-than-expected outlook for its current first quarter and FY22 following a massive treadmill recall. Many analysts nonetheless remain bullish on Peloton’s growth prospects, including the potential for a strong Tread launch.

Citing its capacity to retain new customers picked up during the pandemic, Hibbett Inc. reported both earnings and sales crushed Wall Street’s targets in the second quarter and strongly lifted its full-year guidance. Same-store sales are now expected to land in the positive mid-teens range in 2021 on top of gains of 22.2 percent in 2020.

Athleta, owned by Gap Inc., delivered another quarter of strong growth and said its affiliation with two Olympic ambassadors, Simone Biles and Allyson Felix, is driving brand awareness. Sonia Syngal, Gap’s CEO, said, “As the perfect amplifier of the brand’s values, Athleta’s sponsorship of world-class athletes in Tokyo boosted brand awareness of 33 percent, versus 26 percent last year.”