SGB Executive

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.

Speaking at the BofA Securities Consumer and Retail Technology Conference, officials at Dick’s Sporting Goods elaborated on the potential for its two new concepts, Public Lands and Dick’s House of Sport, while also addressing its relationship with Nike, its private-label success and sales outlook for the current year.

Coming full circle, Inov-8 founder Wayne Edy is back leading the company he started 18 years ago, having repurchased it from Descente. SGB Executive caught up with him for his take on reinvigorating the brand.

Dorel Industries Inc. reported sales at its Dorel Sports cycling segment rose 13.8 percent in the fourth quarter and expects cycling’s momentum to continue after the pandemic is over; however, supply chain constraints continue to curtail top-line growth. Martin Schwartz, president and CEO, Dorel Industries, said, “Demand for bicycles overall is clearly outpacing the ability to supply in both the IBD and mass channels.”

Vail Resorts, Inc. financial results continued to be heavily impacted by COVID-19 during its second fiscal quarter ended January 31 but total visitation across the company’s North American destination mountain resorts and regional ski areas were only down approximately 5 percent.

The hard goods category again led Zumiez Inc. to deliver strong results for the fourth quarter, and the chain is looking to convert new skateboarders who embraced the activity during the pandemic into loyal customers.

Tilly’s Inc. logged the strongest fourth-quarter EPS performance since its 2012 fourth quarter. The gains were helped by strong performances in women’s and footwear supported by introducing several new brands. The chain, however, warned that product arrival delays could curtail sales growth in the first half.

Journeys reported same-store sales rose 2 percent for its first positive comp since the pandemic emerged on strong appeal for casual footwear offerings, according to the fourth-quarter report of parent, Genesco Inc. Said Mimi Vaughn, Genesco’s CEO, “Comfort reigns as the fashion choice of the pandemic.”