SGB Executive

Jon Frederick, U.S. country manager for outdoor brands Rab and Lowe Alpine, spoke with SGB recently about the companies’ differing strategies. While Rab’s focus is building on current momentum by launching new categories, Lowe Alpine is looking to re-establish itself in this market after a rocky couple of decades. Frederick outlines the path forward for each.

On Thule’s third-quarter conference call, Magnus Welander, CEO and president, said the company’s sales in the U.S. were down 6 percent in the period as rattled retailers focused on reducing inventories due to tariff concerns and consumers fretted over related higher prices. The bike category has been particularly impacted and Thule is planning some reorganizational changes in the challenged region.

VF Corp. underperformed in the fiscal second quarter, missing EPS and revenue estimates due to headwinds ranging from unfavorable currency exchange to geopolitical unrest in Hong Kong to the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China. But one of the bright spots for Denver, CO-based VF amid the mixed quarter was The North Face, specifically the brand’s new, potentially game-changing innovation.

Deckers Brands lifted its full-year guidance after reporting both earnings and sales for the second quarter handily surpassed guidance due to accelerated sales momentum at Hoka One One. Hoka’s revenues are now expected to be up in the mid to high 40 percent range in the current fiscal year.

More than half of the footwear that Rocky Brands Inc. imports is made in Chinese factories, so the fourth tranche of tariffs that went into effect in September should place significant pressure on the company’s bottom line beginning in Q4. But, like many others entangled in the trade war, the Nelsonville, OH-based company is working to mitigate the effect of tariff increases on its balance sheet. Here’s what Rocky Brands is planning.

Top headlines from across the active lifestyle industry featured in SGB during the week of October 21, 2019.

Puma cautioned on Thursday that U.S. tariffs on China would hurt its American region margins in the fourth quarter but still raised its sales forecast and narrowed its profit target for the full year after a strong third quarter in all regions.
Puma’s CEO Bjorn Gulden said on a conference call with a journalists, ““So far everybody is eating the tariffs in their margins.”

Recent news from the recreational vehicle industry might lead some to believe that it’s doomed, but Winnebago Industries Inc. CEO Michael Happe has a much more upbeat market outlook. Though RV shipments are down and Winnebago just saw its fiscal fourth-quarter revenue dip, a combination of other key factors has Happe and his team optimistic about the company’s prospects.

Mark Parker’s successful run as Nike Inc.’s CEO over the last 13 years included a number of controversies and not surprisingly the move to name his successor is being seen by some as controversial. But digital transformation has morphed into the brand’s primary focus and his replacement, John Donahoe, is expected to only accelerate those efforts.

An increased emphasis on international markets, especially Mexico and China, helped Skechers USA Inc. post record revenue in the third quarter, though a heightened global focus also took a toll on earnings. The company’s international sales increased 21.9 percent, or 25.7 percent on a constant currency basis, accounting for 58.8 percent of sales—the highest in the company’s 20 years of operation.

Analysts and investors reacted positively to Under Armour Inc.’s Tuesday morning announcement that the company would enact a succession plan and have current COO Patrik Frisk replace the company’s founder, Kevin Plank, as president and CEO on January 1, 2020. Here’s what they said about the leadership change.

Shares of Peloton Interactive Inc. slipped yet again Monday, down $1.26, or 5.4 percent, to $22.26 at market close, but analysts remain upbeat on the company’s prospects—specifically its ability to disrupt certain markets such as gym memberships—based on recent coverage initiation reports and rating changes to “buy” or equivalent.

Breckenridge, CO-based Rocky Mountain Underground— a ski maker that also runs a combination retail shop and tavern—is expanding into Canada with a locale in Whistler, BC. But Mike Waesche, president, and Scott Mant, North America sales manager, told SGB the company sees this move as a grassroots extension of RMU’s unique concept rather than a corporate expansion. These ski bums and business moguls wouldn’t have it any other way.

Top headlines from across the active lifestyle industry featured in SGB during the week of October 14, 2019.

In her first formal presentation with Wall Street at Caleres’ Investor Day, Molly Adams, president of Famous Footwear, discussed the shoe chain’s strong connections with active families and big opportunities ahead in the sport leisure category. The majority of her talk, however, detailed how her experience working at Walt Disney is helping Famous transform from a “House of Brands” to a “Branded House.”