SGB Executive

The Top National stories and the Latest headlines across the Active Lifestyle Market for the week of March 22, 2021 covered in the SGB Updates and delivered to your inbox every business day.

SFIA’s 2021 Manufacturers Sales By Category Report shows double-digit solid sales gains across golf, camping, firearms, and fleece, but the fitness equipment category saw the most significant gain boosted by the home-fitness craze.

Shoe Carnival continued to out-perform in its fiscal fourth quarter as the family footwear retailer capitalized on a focused operational and financial performance, an established e-commerce platform and solid experience and talent in the executive ranks, merchant team and store operations during a very difficult year for retail.

Winnebago Industries reported earnings soared in the second quarter ended February 27, and backlogs are running ahead in triple-digits for both its Towable and Motorhome segments. Winnebago told analysts it does not see a slowdown even as other forms of travel slowly reopen to consumers.

Shares of Nike slid $5.68, or about 2 percent, Friday after it reported third-quarter sales missed Wall Street’s target due to port congestion in North America and store closures in the EMEA region—both tied to COVID-19. However, analysts generally believe the underlying demand for Nike’s products remains strong and see top-line momentum resuming in the quarters ahead.

Foot Locker, Bass Pro and REI all landed among the top-ten retailers on CI&T’s Connected Retail Report. Foot Locker stood out for its ‘fun and engaging” website while Bass Pro and REI ranked high for their overall shopping experience.

Nike’s sales in the third quarter ended February 28 came in below Wall Street’s targets as container shortages and port delays impeded the North America wholesale business. However, Nike said demand for its products remains strong and inventory flows are expected to improve, with much of third quarter’s miss expected to be made up in its fourth quarter.

With Americans thirsting to get outdoors during the pandemic, L.L.Bean recorded its best annual sales growth in nearly a decade. Annual net revenue totaling $1.59 billion, a 5 percent increase over 2019, its best showing since 2011.

The Top National stories and the Latest headlines across the Active Lifestyle Market for the week of March 15, 2021 covered in the SGB Updates and delivered to your inbox every business day.

Duluth Trading reported sales were down slightly in the fourth quarter due to continued sluggish in-store traffic tied to COVID-19. Officials also provided a cautious outlook with a recovery picking up speed in the second half of 2021. One surprise was the announcement of a test of sales inside Tractor Supply to potentially mark its move into wholesale distribution.

American Outdoor Brands hit it out of the park in its fiscal third quarter, nearly doubling the top-line numbers from the prior-year quarter and besting the numbers for the company’s second quarter, which is historically AOUT’s biggest quarter.

Going on four years as CEO of Simms, Casey Sheahan, 65, took the helm to spearhead its wader, outerwear and technical fishing apparel and accessory lines out of its 80,000-square-foot facility in Bozeman, MT. SGB Executive caught up with Sheahan for his take on the fishing industry, manufacturing in America, surviving the pandemic, and its new brand mission, Fish It Well.

Consolidated fiscal fourth-quarter sales were $571.0 million, down 18.3 percent from the prior-year fourth quarter. Direct-to-consumer sales reached 75 percent of total sales, with owned e-commerce sales increasing approximately 25 percent during the period.

The Grateful Dead has a long, strange history of aligning with outdoor brands. “Without question, there’s an overlap between the band and the outdoors,” said Eleni Gregoriou, director of global brand licensing, Warner Music Group. SGB Executive rounded up product collabs of late. 

Designer Brands, the parent of DSW, said athleisure and athletic styles again delivered double-digit growth due in part to ramped-up inventory investments over the last year. Weakness in dressier and formal styles due to pandemic led to a 20.1 percent overall comp decline for the company.