SGB Executive

Military sales boosted Rocky Brands Inc.’s second-quarter revenue thanks to a timely purchase agreement from the Defense Logistics Agency and some accelerated shipments that were pulled forward because of a Department of Defense contract ending early. But while both of those events helped the company post a revenue beat for Q2, the military segment could be a drag on third-quarter performance before picking up again, executives said.

VF Corp raised its outlook for the year on accelerated momentum at Vans and renewed momentum at The North Face in the first quarter. VF officials also said it planned to spend an additional $20 million, or 4 cents per share, of incremental investment in the back half of the year to support the launch of North Face’s Futurelight fabric technology.

While VF Corp. executives spent most of Wednesday morning’s earnings call discussing the company’s impressive first quarter, including standout performances from Vans and The North Face, recent transformation efforts were also on the agenda. And now that the spinoff of Kontoor Brands is complete, VF’s focus is squarely on its ongoing and massive relocation to Denver.

Black Diamond Equipment, the flagship brand of the publicly traded holding company Clarus Corp., this week said it will lay off 70 manufacturing employees at BD’s Salt Lake City, UT, headquarters and move a portion of its production to Asia.

SGB recently sat down with Drew Saunders, country manager for Boulder, CO-based Salewa North America—the U.S./Canadian headquarters for Oberalp Group and its four brands (Salewa, Dynafit, Pomoca and Wild Country)—to discuss Oberalp’s goal for its latest portfolio addition, Evolv, as well as other changes happening at the company. Here’s what he shared.

GNC said sales remained sluggish into the second quarter and the seller of performance and nutritional supplements now expects 700 to 900 stores to close over the next three years. GNC CEO Ken Martindale said, “The negative trends in traffic that we’ve seen in mall stores over the past several years has accelerated during the past few quarters.”

Vail Resorts Inc., the Broomfield, CO-based ski resort and real estate behemoth, grew even bigger Monday morning with the (estimated) $264 million acquisition of Wildwood, MO-based Peak Resorts Inc. The purchase adds 17 ski areas to Vail’s already massive portfolio and dwarfs recent deals taking place in the rapidly evolving ski industry. Here’s what we know about the deal now.

A university study has identified 10 characteristics defining “coolness” that can be used to measure what a specific brand needs to become cool and stay cool.

Driven by outsized growth overseas and across the company’s domestic direct-to-consumer (DTC) network, Skechers USA Inc. reported second-quarter earnings rose significantly over year-ago levels and handily topped guidance. Company officials also predicted domestic wholesale revenues would turn positive in the third quarter with growth accelerating in the fourth.

Top headlines from the active lifestyle industry you may have missed this week, including European lifestyle retailer Snipes acquiring Detroit, MI-based Mr. Alan’s Men’s Bootery Inc., a lifestyle specialty retailer of urban-inspired footwear, apparel and accessories.

The bankruptcy judge overseeing the Ellett Brothers’ bankruptcy case sided with the unsecured trade creditors’ committee and is urging the firearms distributor to fully assist in exploring a sale option. As reported, a buyer in a going concern has to be found by July 24 to avoid an outright liquidation.

Thule Group AB’s $9.5 million acquisition of rooftop tent maker Tepui Outdoors Inc. last December gave the Swedish company quick entry into the booming category of overlanding without the time and energy needed to expand organically. Now that the integration is complete, Thule this week shed some additional light on the company’s global plans for its newest asset.

Amazon’s annual two-day Prime Day sales event this week showed little signs of plateauing, besting the e-tail giant’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales of 2018 and becoming the largest shopping event in the company’s history. The event also paid off handsomely for other retailers tailoring campaigns tied to the event.

Recent sports participation studies find playing team sports can drive success in the workplace, reduce depression in boys and extend overall lifespans. Another new study touts the broad health benefits of spending at least two hours a week in nature.

Garmont International S.r.l. is focused on four drivers—people, efficiency, pricing and marketing—as the brand works to amplify its North American business. Bill Dodge, CEO, Garmont North America, breaks down how the company is pulling each lever in hopes of growing both mind and market share here.