SGB Executive

SGB dropped in on last week’s Elevated Bootfitting Academy, hosted by specialty retail buying group Sports Specialists Ltd. (SSL). The event brought together specialty ski shops and insole brands to share innovations and techniques in boot fitting—a customer service add-on that can elevate the specialty channel and the sport of skiing.

The paddlesports community is uniting this week in Oklahoma City for the third annual Paddlesports Retailer (PSR), which showcases the latest paddling products while also connecting brands and buyers. On the eve of PSR, Charles Conner and Darren Bush spoke with SGB about changes in the event and the industry.

With the fourth tranche of tariffs on $300 billion worth of products soon arriving, trade talk has again returned as a popular topic on retailers’ second-quarter conference calls. Most were hopeful that they’d avoid having to raise prices to offset the tariff costs, at least for holiday selling.

Hibbett Sports Inc.’s second-quarter sales came in below Wall Street’s targets due to shifts in the footwear launch calendar and a later back-to-school shopping season. Hibbett officials said same-store growth has picked up in August and healthier comp gains are seen for the second half.

Shares of Foot Locker Inc. fell nearly 19 percent Friday after the leading sneaker seller reported second-quarter comps arrived at the low end of expectations, leading earnings to fall just short of Wall Street’s targets. The retailer maintained its full-year earnings guidance and expressed confidence that comp growth would accelerate in the back half of the year.

Exxel Outdoors—whose portfolio includes Sierra Designs, Kelty, Ultimate Direction, Slumberjack, Wenzel, X2O and others—is moving its headquarters to Broomfield, CO, from nearby Gunbarrel in the first quarter of 2020. CEO Harry Kazazian spoke with SGB about how “growth mode” across all Exxel brands drove the decision to relocate.

Top headlines from the active lifestyle industry you may have missed this week, including Hestra, the 83-year-old Swedish glove maker, relocating its U.S. headquarters to a newly constructed 32,000-square-foot space in Arvada, CO, and adding three key hires as it continues to scale its U.S. business.

Athleta saw an “acceleration” in growth in the second quarter and remains committed to opening 25 stores this year, Art Peck, president and CEO of Gap Inc., said on his company’s conference call with analysts.

Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. raised its full-year outlook while reporting its strongest quarterly comp gain since 2016. The performance was in large part tied to a 19.0 percent hike in inventory levels. Dick’s officials indicated other newer strategies – including increasing space to faster-growing categories, forming closer partnerships with key vendors and differentiated marketing – are also starting to pay off.

A new business model that has at least two major department stores turning to old product for a much-needed revenue boost dominated second-quarter headlines among the retail giants. SGB’s Q2 department store roundup includes a look at the trend of online reselling, which gives price-conscious shoppers access to designer brands—and gives stores a boost to their top lines.

Marisa Nicholson, Outdoor Retailer show director, and Amy Roberts, OIA executive director, spoke with SGB Wednesday afternoon about their joint decision to cancel the upcoming Winter Market in November and instead wrap it into January’s Snow Show, reducing the outdoor industry’s premier event to twice a year. Here’s what they said about the move.

Hyperice, Bombas, Klymit, PXG Golf, OrderMyGear, Blink Fitness and Sportique were among a number of companies in the active-lifestyle space landing on the 2019 Inc. 5000, the magazine’s annual ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in America.

Kohl’s Corp. rode a strong back-to-school performance and an advantageous partnership with Amazon to a second-quarter earnings and revenue beat. But costly promotions tempered the quarter while looming tariff increases sparked Kohl’s to lower profit margin expectations for the year.

The TJX Companies Inc.’s second-quarter earnings were in line with Street expectations as same-store sales limped ahead 2 percent. But the off-pricer said its core apparel category remains strong and a “loaded” marketplace of opportunistic buys, driven in part by the tariff situation, is expected to support second-half growth.

Twenty-nineteen marks the 50th anniversary of Seattle-based Mountain Safety Research (MSR), which got its start not with a break-through product but a newsletter that raised awareness about climbing equipment safety. Doug Sanders talks to SGB Executive about the unorthodox start as well as MSR’s ongoing commitment to defying the status quo in equipment design.