Wells Fargo: Industry Facing Risks Amid China Slowdown
After Apple announced lower-than-expected performance over the holiday season on January 2, Wells Fargo in a note said concerns over slowing growth in China may cause a “negative read-through” for Nike, Adidas, Skechers and other consumer-goods companies with big exposures to China.
Sporting Goods’ Purge: Where Did They Land?
The liquidation of Sports Authority and other retail closures and mega-mergers over the last few years led to many executives finding new jobs inside and outside the industry. See where many landed.
19 Burning Questions for ‘19
As the new year gets underway, plenty of questions linger around the active lifestyle, outdoor and sporting goods industries. The writers of SGB Executive came up with, fittingly, 19 questions that are likely to dominate headlines in ‘19, including the future of trade shows, the staying power of the athleisure trend, the effects of the trade war, the impact of channel disruption and much more. Here they are.
Aisle Talk Week of December 31
Top headlines from the active lifestyle industry you may have missed this week, including Sears Holdings revealing 80 more Sears and Kmart stores it plans to close in late March 2019 but also winning a reprieve from liquidating.
December M&A Roundup: Marquee Views Dakine As “Billion-Dollar Opportunity”
The final month of 2018 didn’t provide a high volume of M&A in the active lifestyle space, but a handful of notable deals helped the year close on a strong note, including Marquee Brands LLC’s acquisition of Dakine (pictured). Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed but Marquee sees Dakine as a “billion-dollar opportunity,” said Nate Pund of Houlihan Lokey.
Nike And Under Armour Land On Piper Jaffray’s “2019 Ideas” List
In a note, Erinn Murphy, analyst for Piper Jaffray, listed Nike and Under Armour among her team’s “2019 ideas.” Also making the list were Crocs, Ulta Beauty and Funko.
2018 Year In Review: Top Ten Stories
2018 was a tumultuous and transformative year in the active lifestyle, outdoor and sporting good industries, and SGB was there to cover every political action and channel disruption, retail rebound and corporate change, merger and acquisition.
Active Stocks Deliver Humdrum Performance In 2018
Rewarded for its turnaround progress, Crocs saw its shares catapult 105 percent in 2018, pacing a group of stocks in the active lifestyle industry. Overall, however, the industry’s stocks delivered a mixed performance. Among the stocks losing considerable ground were Hibbett Sports, Big 5, Camping World, Skechers, Newell Brands and Vista Outdoor.
Gone…Not Forgotten
Friends who left us in 2018 included Nike’s Sandy Bodecker (above), The North Face’s Ann Krcik and Jason Hairston, founder SITKA and KUIU.
2018 Year In Review: Movers And Shakers Give Industry New Look
The active lifestyle, outdoor and sporting goods industries saw plenty of executive appointments and promotions in 2018, with companies like Nike Inc. and VF Corp. among those that saw the most announcements throughout the year, including G. Scott Uzzell (pictured) being named president and CEO of Nike subsidiary Converse Inc.
2018 Bankruptcy Blotter
Performance Bicycle and Sears led a number of companies that landed in bankruptcy court in 2018 although the case load was lighter than recent years and a major liquidation was avoided for a change. Others major filings included Rockport, Bon-Ton, Walking Company, Remington Outdoor and AcuSport.
2018 Year In Review: Most-Read SGB Executive Stories
SGB Executive covered an array of sporting goods, outdoors and active lifestyle stories in 2018, but clearly some topics resonated with readers more than others. Our list of the 25 most popular SGB Executive stories during the past 12 months ranges from channel upheaval to companies taking a stance on social issues to new executive appointments to brands’ financial success or sluggishness.
2018 Year In Review: M&A Goes Outside The Box
A healthy dose of straightforward mergers and acquisitions occurred in the sporting goods, outdoor and active lifestyle industries in 2018, but a handful of unconventional deals stole the spotlight. Outside-the-box transactions—which garnered much more attention than traditional ones—included a consortium of Chinese investors and a well-known active lifestyle name purchasing Amer Sports (pictured).
Wall Street Reacts: Nike Q219
With better-than-anticipated revenue and gross margins driven by a healthy innovation cycle, an acceleration of growth in North America and continued digital momentum, Nike reported second-quarter earnings and revenues that handily topped Wall Street targets and wowed many analysts. Here’s what some had to say.
Nike North America Bounces Back To Near Double Digit Growth In Q2
Led by a continued resurgence in North America, accelerated growth in China and continued gangbuster digital growth, Nike reported Q2 earnings and sales easily topped Wall Street’s targets and lifted its guidance for the year. Said Andy Campion, CFO, “As we’re beginning to gain greater insight into fiscal year ’20, we’re seeing continued strong demand.”
