SGB Executive

Hydro Flask’s sales were down in the first quarter ended May 31, but sales have been rebounding steadily since May as stores have reopened. Officials at Helen of Troy, the brand’s parent, also see heightened interest in outdoor activities due to COVID-19 as a new driver for Hydro Flask’s growth.

Twenty years after being founded as The Travel Hammock, Skokie, IL’s Grand Trunk has been purchased by Utah entrepreneurs Andy Stroman, brothers Bruce and Dale Majors, along with company Co-founder Kevin Kaiser. SGB Executive caught up with Kaiser to find out what’s swinging for their hammock and travel accessories brand.

Retail surveys and studies that arrived last week included McKinsey & Co. identifying five shifts in consumer behavior since the onset of COVID-19. Others explored how the pandemic has affected online spending, online returns, holiday purchasing intent, brand discovery for Millenials, and more.

When Shelley and Andrew Dunbar purchased Boulder, CO-based Neptune Mountaineering out of bankruptcy in early 2017, they already had their hands full but with their full attention on retail, even in the age of COVID-19, the positive results are showing.

JD Sports Fashion on Tuesday committed to developing Finish Line, acquired in 2018, and JD Sports as separate banners in the U.S. marketplace. Officials provided the update while reporting strong sales and profit improvement for the Finish Line chain its year ended February 1.

On an SFIA Coronavirus Update Webinar, Matt Powell, VP and senior industry advisor, The NPD Group, explored whether the current strength in fitness and cycling is sustainable; the recent bounce back in golf, running footwear and other categories; and other shifts the sports industry may face due to the pandemic.

The Top National stories and the Latest headlines across the Active Lifestyle Market for the week of June 29, 2020 covered in the SGB Updates — delivered to your inbox every business day. From the SGB Media family to yours, we wish everyone a safe and Happy July 4th holiday!

In observance of the Independence Day holiday, SGB Media will not be publishing the SGB Media newsletters on Friday, July 3, including SGB Morning Update, SGB Executive and SGB Evening Update. We will resume our regular publishing schedule on Monday, July 6.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that total non-farm payroll employment rose by 4.8 million in June, and the unemployment rate declined to 11.1 percent. Analysts had projected the addition of just 3.1 million jobs resulting in a 12.2 percent unemployment rate.

Today’s topsy-turvy media landscape just got a bit topsier and turvier with Pocket Outdoor Media’s (POM) end-of-June acquisition of the Healthy Living, Fitness, and Outdoor divisions of Active Interest Media (AIM). Included in the acquisition are AIM titles Yoga Journal, SKI, Climbing, BACKPACKER, Warren Miller Entertainment, Oxygen, IDEA Health and Fitness Association, Clean Eating, Vegetarian Times, Better Nutrition, NatuRx, Muscle & Performance, Nastar, Fly Fishing Film Tour, National Park Trips, and SNEWS.

Macy’s Inc. was seeing weekly improvements in in-store sales as stores reopened but the improvement has “modulated” with in-store sales now running down about 35 percent. Given also the uncertainties around COVID-19, the department store giant sees sales following that trend in the back half of the year.

As businesses have been greatly impacted when the economy took a hit because of COVID-19, SGB Executive reached out to PR veterans in the active lifestyle space to ask how they are surviving the wave that has businesses shifting their attitudes and budgets. 

Lululemon Athletica’s acquisition of in-home fitness company Mirror for $500 million relies on a bet that more people are going to be pivoting to exercise inside their homes. CEO Calvin McDonald told analysts on a conference call, “Digital content is changing, and studio and trainer models for ambassadors are changing.”

Retail surveys and studies that arrived last week explored how COVID-19 has impacted Millenials and GenZ shoppers and their openness to discovery — as well as international expansion and changing organizational work structures during the pandemic.

While Nike missed earnings targets in the fiscal fourth quarter by a wide margin and elevated inventories remain a concern, analysts were encouraged about the brand’s positive online sales momentum and the resumption in growth in China. Most applauded Nike’s move to accelerate its digital transformation and heighten its focus on women’s and apparel. Insights from Piper Sandler, Jefferies, Susquehanna, Baird and Goldman Sachs.