SGB Executive

Wall Street sees VF Corp’s plan to explore a sale of nine occupational work brands as a way to further reduce complexities in the business, strengthen its focus on consumer-centric brands and possibly open the door for a major acquisition.

Backpack brand Gregory Mountain Products is expanding its headquarters in Salt Lake City, UT, thanks to double-digit sales growth and rapidly expanding R&D and marketing departments. SGB Executive talks with the company about what’s driving the need for larger digs.

A record crowd of 40,000 attended the NRF Big Show last week in New York City to explore retail’s latest tech tools set to battle the digital transformation. Officials at Puma, Nike, Under Armour, Kohl’s, Adidas and Patagonia were among those leading education sessions.

“Specialty retail is the lifeblood of our industry, said Tom Gately, president of Snowsports Merchandising Corp. (SMC), which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. To commemorate the milestone, SGB Executive spoke with Gately about the importance of the longtime buying group, changes in the industry, and what’s on tap for the organization and the channel in the next 50 years.

A dearth of snow at Pacific Northwest ski areas wreaked havoc on Vail Resorts Inc.’s skier visit totals through January 5, but the Broomfield, CO-based company maintained its EBITDA guidance for the fiscal year thanks to improving conditions at the affected resorts and strong pass sales across its footprint.

At the NRF Big Show in New York City, Stuart Hogue, Nike’s VP, marketplace development, discussed the sports giant’s successful partnership with Zalando that he said should serve as a “bit of a blueprint” for other brands and marketplaces to copy. The presentation followed Nike’s move last November to end its direct sales relationship with Amazon, the world’s largest marketplace.

Top headlines from across the active lifestyle industry featured in SGB during the week of January 13, 2020.

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.