SGB Executive

At the recently-held NRF Retail Converge, Ken Voeller, director, circular commerce, REI and Karen Campbell, strategic planning and new business development director, Arc’teryx, discussed the ways their expanding resale programs are helping to reach their sustainability goals and customers.

After two buy-outs, most recently by VF Corp. and a cadre of world champion trail runners and Olympians in its fold, Altra is celebrating ten years of helping runners hit the trails. Founder Brian Beckstead discusses everything with SGB Executive from ownership under VF to what’s on the horizon for the brand.

In its mid-year report, StockX revealed another period of explosive growth with the help of expansion into categories beyond sneakers. The report also details the fastest-growing brands across core categories including sneakers, electronics, collectibles, apparel, and accessories. Said StockX CEO Scott Cutler, “There are strong synergies between our core sneaker enthusiasts and those customers who are passionate about apparel, accessories, collectibles, and gaming.”

A new study from the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF) found that first-time fishing participants climbed to 4.4 million in 2020, a surge of 42 percent year-over-year. Like patterns seen in other outdoor activities, fishing reached new and diverse audiences as individuals picked up the sport as a remedy for COVID-19-related stress and anxiety.

Two of summertime’s biggest tradeshows for paddlesports are just around the corner, The Big Gear Show and Outdoor Retailer Summer Market, with iCAST at the end of July. But after a hard-fought year during the pandemic and a changing tradeshow landscape, is the industry, and are retailers attending? To find out, SGB Executive takes a look at all three.

American Outdoor Brands Inc. reported strong fourth-quarter results and predicted organic sales would grow at a CAGR of between 8 percent and 10 percent over the next four to five years due to heightened demand for “outdoor adventures” stemming from the pandemic. Brian Murphy, president and CEO, told analysts, “We believe the past year has ushered in an exciting new era for the outdoor industry.”

The Top National stories and the Latest headlines across the Active Lifestyle Market for the week of July 12, 2021 are covered in the SGB Updates and delivered to your inbox every business day. This week’s athlete is Mark Wahlberg who, on Thursday, was among the big winners from the initial public offering of F45 Training Holdings Inc. of which he is a partner.

The IHRSA (International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association) estimated that the U.S. fitness industry lost $20.4 billion in revenue in 2020, just one year after generating an all-time high of $35 billion, according to the organization’s recently released 2021 IHRSA Global Report. However, the report outlined reasons to be optimistic for the industry’s prospects partly as health became a higher priority during the pandemic.

Deloitte’s 2021 Back-to-School Survey*, found that back-to-school spending at Kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) will grow 16 percent this year, reaching its highest level in recent years as clarity surrounding the upcoming school year and consumer sentiment rise. Deloitte joins a chorus of others forecasting a strong rebound in back-to-school selling. In a separate survey, Deloitte found a more modest recovery for back-to-college spending, up 5 percent.

Goldman Sachs on Wednesday initiated coverage of the Apparel and Brands sector, rating Lululemon its “top idea” and initiating a “buy” rating on Yeti. In the active lifestyle space, the investment firm has a “neutral” rating on Canada Goose and Gap and a “sell” on VF Corp.

Dick’s Sporting Goods, last fall, confirmed it would launch a new retail concept, Public Lands, to explore “white space” in reaching outdoors enthusiasts. By December, outdoor industry veteran Todd Spaletto was hired to lead the project. Spaletto discusses the vision behind Public Lands with SGB Executive and how the pandemic has elevated the outdoors opportunity. 

Two decades after an era of consolidation in the paddlesports category, Laval, Quebec’s Pelican International, resurrected the trend, creating a new powerhouse in the space. 

While retail sales of new outdoor gear boomed during the pandemic, cash registers also rang for secondhand gear at brick and mortar, online and from manufacturers’ efforts to resell used equipment. 

The Top National stories and the Latest headlines across the Active Lifestyle Market for the week of July 5, 2021 covered in the SGB Updates and delivered to your inbox every business day. This week’s Ambassador Athlete is Big Agnes’ Krystle Wright, Adventure Photographer.

Hydro Flask resumed its strong growth rate in the first quarter ended May 31 after being disrupted by changing behaviors and store closures during the pandemic, according to the quarterly report of its parent, Helen of Troy. The water bottle brand also saw significant gains in market share in the period.