
Tariff War Far From Over
President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed Saturday to a temporary trade cease-fire to allow time for more negotiations but trade experts are doubtful that 90 days will be enough time to resolve the thorny and complicated issues that divide the two countries.

November M&A Roundup: Big Outdoor Deals Bookend Busy Month
Two large acquisitions in the outdoor space bookended November—Canada Goose bought Baffin to kick off the month and Callaway bought Jack Wolfskin to close it—while a flurry of M&A activity occurred in the days between.

SFIA Seminar: Industry Playing It Safe
On a webinar last week providing an update on the state of the sporting goods industry, Tom Cove, SFIA’s president and CEO, said that many of the industry’s players appear to be fixated on protecting their market share somewhat at the expense of pursuing growth opportunities. While this reflects an industry recovering from a string of bankruptcies, he lamented that the cautious stance may be holding back the industry’s overall growth.

Prayers Answered: Early Snowfall Bodes Well For Ski Resorts
Skiers and snowboarders aren’t the only ones whose prayers for plentiful snow to start the season have been answered. The owners and operators of resorts across the country are especially thankful for the early openings and hopeful that this momentum will lead to a long and prosperous season.

Aisle Talk Week of November 26
Top headlines from the active lifestyle industry you may have missed this week, including analysis from The Running Event (TRE), which shows that the industry is flying high once again after a couple of years of declining sales in the run specialty channel.

Yeti ‘Wild’ On Growth Prospects
In its first earnings report since going public, Yeti Holdings Inc. reported third-quarter earnings that topped Wall Street’s consensus target by $3.00 a share and set long-term growth targets of 10 to 15 percent as it pursues new categories, new customer segments and new channels. But shares fell $3.09, or 16.1 percent, on Thursday apparently due to concerns over weakness in its Cooler/Equipment segment.

5 Questions With New Vibram Corp. President Fabrizio Gamberini
At the recent Outdoor Retailer Winter Market in Denver, CO, Vibram Corp.’s newly appointed president, Fabrizio Gamberini, sat down with SGB to dish on a number of topics, starting with the smooth transition of him taking over the market-leading sole company.

Tilly’s Stock Takes Hit On Missed Guidance
Shares of Tilly’s tumbled $3.22, or 21.1 percent, to $12.04 on Thursday after the action sports retailer reported earnings and sales that landed at the lower end of guidance. EPS guidance for the current quarter was also lower than planned.

Dick’s Top-Line Struggles Continue
Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. increased its 2018 earnings guidance for a third consecutive quarter as earnings easily beat Wall Street’s targets, thanks to stringent expense controls. Sales, however, came in lower than Wall Street’s targets due to the continued drag from hunt and activity trackers categories, weakness at Under Armour and flat footwear comps.

Sportsman’s Warehouse Shares Rise After Mixed Q3
Shares of Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings Inc. were up 23 cents, or 4.9 percent, at market close Wednesday after the company posted mixed performance for the third quarter despite numerous headwinds, most notably weather-related.

Hibbett Still Upbeat On Holiday Despite Q3 Miss
Hibbett Sports Inc. slightly lowered its full-year earnings guidance after reporting third-quarter earnings that just missed Wall Street’s targets. But e-commerce continues to outperform and Hibbett officials are hopeful footwear growth will accelerate in th fourth quarter promising offerings from Nike, Adidas and a number of smaller brands. Apparel, helped by the addition of Champion and Fila, is expected to continue to see robust growth.

Black Friday Weekend Momentum Portends Robust Holiday For Retail
Covering the revenue haul on Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday on through to Cyber Monday, a number of favorable reports arrived proclaiming a healthy start to the 2018 holiday shopping season for retail. Although online appears to again be seeing over-sized gains with a boost from mobile purchases, brick & mortar traffic also appears to be recovering or at least stabilizing.

Foot Locker Bullish On Holiday
Foot Locker Inc. reported third-quarter earnings that topped Wall Street’s targets as greater full-price selling boosted margins. The sneaker chain also gave an upbeat outlook on holiday selling on improving comp growth. The footwear category comped positive for the first time in six quarters.

Caleres Touts ‘Exciting’ Acquisition Of Vionic Group
Last month’s $360 million acquisition of Vionic Group so far has checked all the boxes that Caleres Inc. was targeting with the deal, and now the company will look to its newest asset to boost top- and bottom-line growth.

Athleta’s Momentum Continues
Gap Inc. said its Athleta chain continued to deliver healthy positive cop gains in the third quarter, led a strong performance by its newer girls offerings during the back-to-school season.