SGB Executive

Rocky Brands, Inc. saw trends in its wholesale business “bounce back nicely” in the third quarter and that resurgence, combined with the “continued strength” in its DTC channels, led to an outstanding quarter from both a top and bottom-line perspective.

Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp.’s earnings more than tripled in the third quarter ended September 27 as the West Coast chain benefited from participation shifts toward fitness and outdoor activities during the pandemic. Same-store sales jumped 14.8 percent for the quarter and are up 15.1 percent so far in the fourth quarter.

Crocs, clearly benefiting from an acceleration in casualization trends in the work-from-home economy, reported third-quarter sales jumped 15.7 percent to record levels and projected fourth-quarter revenues will expand between 20 and 30 percent. Said Andrew Rees, CEO, “We’re even more confident now than a year ago about Crocs brand strength and our long term growth potential.”

In a bullish note, HSBC said the sporting goods industry “has turned out to be even more resilient than we could have hoped for,” aided by strong online growth, heightened interest in healthy lifestyles and a quicker-than-expected recovery in Western countries,

With many resorts restricting their operations this winter due to COVID-19, consumers are spending less on the purchase of ski and snowboard passes and instead buying dream gear for backcountry use. SGB Executive asked retailers and manufacturers if that’s where they think the category is tracking.

Running has landed among activities seeing a pick-up in participation this year as many Americans have discovered or re-engaged with the sport during their time in quarantine. SGB Executive reached out to a few running shops to explore whether the sport will see a long-term benefit.

“Athleta is uniquely positioned to win because we sit at the intersection of a number of exciting consumer trends,” said Mary Beth Laughton, president and CEO, Athleta, during Thursday’s Investor Day presentation of its parent, The Gap Inc. The event outlined the brand’s goal to double Athleta’s sales to $2 billion by 2023 from $1 billion currently.

The Top National stories and the Latest headlines across the Active Lifestyle Market for the week of October 19, 2020, covered in the SGB Updates and delivered to your inbox every business day.

The pending acquisition of Easton Diamond Sports is expected to particularly boost Rawlings’ capabilities in the baseball and softball bat category, but Mike Thompson, Rawlings’ chief marketing officer, told SGB Executive he expects the combination will accelerate innovation across a wide range of categories for both brands and help grow the game of baseball.

According to the fifth edition of PwC’s Sports Survey, growth in the broader sports industry, including sports federations, broadcasting and marketing, is expected to decline significantly over the next few years with many industry execs not expecting a full recovery until 2023 or later. PwC wrote in its study, “Like all industries predicated on events and mass gatherings, the unprecedented health crisis brought about by COVID-19 has impacted the sports market at its very core.”

Winnebago Industries, seeing continuing strong demand for outdoor recreation, reported revenues jumped 39.1 percent in the fourth quarter ended August 29, to $737.8 million. Excluding Newmar, which was acquired in the first quarter of fiscal 2020, organic sales climbed 15.3 percent.

Twenty-five years ago, two brothers, Todd and Steve Jones had the vision to create action sports movies. Now, 25 years later, they’ve accomplished that with their adventure lifestyle media company, Teton Gravity Research (TGR) and have branched out into retail, hotels and a new TGR TV platform to work symbiotically with their original concept.

Analysts applauded VF Corp’s better-than-expected results for the second quarter ended September 26, highlighting the robust growth in China and across digital platforms and believing VF is on the path to a return to sales growth in its fiscal fourth quarter.

VF Corp. said currency-neutral growth of 42 percent in e-commerce and 19 percent in mainland China helped drive earnings and sales ahead of internal and Wall Street’s expectations in the second quarter ended September 26. Sequential improvement was predicted for the holiday quarter followed by the return to growth in its March quarter.

The Top National stories and the Latest headlines across the Active Lifestyle Market for the week of October 11, 2020, covered in the SGB Updates and delivered to your inbox every business day.