SGB Executive

Snowsports Industries America (SIA) is preparing for one of the busiest years in the trade association’s history. With so much new activity brewing, and on the cusp of Outdoor + Snow Show later this month, SGB Executive checked in with SIA President Nick Sargent, who dished on what the organization has accomplished in recent years and its priorities moving forward.

In a session on circular business models at the NRF Big Show, Phil Graves, Patagonia’s head of corporate development, said early returns from Worn Wear, the brand’s resale business, “are quite good.” Last year, Worn Wear saw 40 percent growth in revenue, profitability and customers that were on average 10 years younger than typical Patagonia customers.

In his first conversation with the business community since stepping down as CEO of Under Armour at the NRF Big Show, Kevin Plank strongly defended his company’s commitment to performance, unveiled a new “The Only Way Is Through” brand campaign, and discussed his new role with the company.

On the heels of the highest revenue-grossing year in its history, Crocs Inc. has even bigger plans for 2020 and beyond with digital investment as one of its key long-term growth drivers. During a Tuesday presentation at the ICR Conference in Orlando, FL, CEO Andrew Rees outlined how the company plans to surpass 2019’s achievements.

Michael Kadous, head of the North American Outdoor business unit for Adidas (Terrex and Five Ten), spoke with SGB Executive about all the changes happening at the company. Not only is Kadous spearheading its transition from Agron Inc. to Adidas corporate and from LA to Portland, but he has outlined big plans for 2020 and beyond. Here’s what he shared about the new-look company.

At the NRF Big Show, Matt Blonder, VP, marketing and digital brand commerce at Reebok, conducted a deep dive into the development of Reebok Unlocked, the brand’s recently-launched loyalty program. The process challenged many of the brand’s assumptions about their consumers.

Jon Barker, the CEO of Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings Inc., on Monday spoke to investors at the ICR Conference in Orlando, FL, about the company’s need to reduce guidance for the fiscal quarter and year due to a variety of headwinds. But those should be easing soon, and the retailer remains upbeat about the coming year.

Thirty-five years after taking over the family business from his Dad, Ed Stack has written his first book, “It’s How We Play The Game: Build a Business. Take a Stand. Make a Difference.” Stack spoke with SGB Executive about what motivated the book, life lessons learned in the sporting goods space and his controversial stance on gun sales and subsequent leadership role in the reform conversation on Capitol Hill.

CES 2020 marks the tenth year fitness and wearable technology have been featured at the biggest consumer trade show, and this year’s event showed digitization still has a long way to go in taking sports and fitness to the next level. SGB Executive highlights the active lifestyle products that caught our attention at this year’s show.

Despite the looming Summer Olympics and the Games’ quadrennial spotlight on the sport of swimming, PVH Corp. decided to sell its Speedo North America business to focus more attention on its core apparel brands. The move was strategic for PVH, which found a more-than-willing buyer in Pentland Group. 

The Industry’s top headlines from across the active lifestyle market featured in SGB for the week of January 6, 2020.

Powered by strong gains for Hydro Flask, Helen of Troy Ltd. reported sales in its Housewares segment jumped 28.5 percent in the third quarter ended November 30. The company significantly raised its growth targets for the year in the Housewares segment but also said growth would moderate in the fourth quarter due in part to Hydro Flask orders being shipped early to meet holiday demand.

Pelican International’s acquisition of Confluence Outdoor headlined a busy December for M&A in the active lifestyle market. It also saw ski resort operator Powdr Corp. expand into Canada and Thule Group add a maker of fly fishing rod vaults to its portfolio. SGB Executive’s monthly roundup breaks down the deals from December and includes the full list of transactions for the month.

The Editors from SGB Executive present the third and final installment of SGB’s Annual Survey that gauges what the leaders in the active lifestyle market are projecting for 2020. Comments from Brooks Running, Academy Sports + Outdoors, Feetures, United Sports Brands, Rawlings, OrderMyGear, Royal Robbins, LifeStraw and more.

The Editors from SGB Executive present the second installment of SGB’s Annual Survey that gauges what the leaders in the active lifestyle market are projecting for 2020. Comments from Oboz, Vibram, Gore, Salomon and more.