Americas Stars For Crocs In Q4
Crocs’ sales in the Americas region soared 13.6 percent in the fourth quarter. Wholesale revenues jumped 29.1 percent, driven by at-once sales as consumers continued to purchase clogs and sandals despite winter weather, and retailers restocked shelves.
Aisle Talk, Week of February 26
Top headlines from the active lifestyle industry you may have missed this week.
American Outdoor Brands Sees No Firearms Rebound Arriving Soon
James Debney, president and CEO of the parent of Smith & Wesson, Battenfeld Technologies and Crimson Trace, said that he still believes the firearms market will eventually return to long-term growth but it will be a “lower to slower pace than experienced in the last 10 years.”
Gap Seeing Strength In Active Well Beyond Athleta
On the retailer’s fourth-quarter conference call with analysts, Arthur Peck, CEO of Gap Inc., described Athleta’s performance in 2017 as “extraordinary,” but also indicated that the Gap chain and Old Navy are also seeing strength in active and performance lifestyle.
TJX Takes Impairment Charge For Sierra Trading
The TJX Cos. took an impairment charge of 10 cents a share, or about $64 million, against fourth-quarter earnings for Sierra Trading Post due to a decrease in projected revenue growth rates.
Brunswick Sets Life Fitness Spin Off
“FitnessCo will be positioned to continue to grow, innovate and provide customers with high-quality solutions while also ensuring that the Marine business is best positioned to continue creating value for our shareholders,” said Brunswick Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mark D. Schwabero.
Active Brands Showing Growth For Sequential Brands Group
While the company wrapped up a fourth quarter in line with plans, Sequential Brands Group noted that all of its core Active brands – Gaiam, And1 and Avia – are all seeing momentum in the marketplace.
Gander Outdoors Openings Off To Heathy Start
Camping World said the opening of its first Gander Outdoors locations are off to a good start. Officials also estimated that its overall Outdoor and Active Sports business segment – also including Overton’s, TheHouse.com, Uncle Dan’s, W82, and Erehwon – will bring in $400 million in revenue in 2018.
Big 5’s Q4 Blasted By Warm Winter Out West
Said CEO Steve Miller on a conference call with analysts. “While much of the country has endured often extreme winter weather conditions over the past few months our western U.S. markets have experienced significantly warmer than normal weather and one of the driest periods on record.”
Fitbit’s Shares Tumble On Dismal Outlook
Shares of Fitbit Inc. hit an all-time low after it failed to turn a profit in the fourth quarter, missing analyst earnings expectations. The wearable leader also gave a poor outlook for the current year, including first-quarter guidance well below Wall Street’s targets.
Hibbett’s Blows Past Guidance
Particularly benefitting from the quick ramp-up of e-commerce operations, Hibbett Sporting Goods reported preliminary fourth-quarter earnings that handily eclipsed Wall Street’s targets.
Sturm Ruger’s Sales And Job Count Drops In 2017
Sturm Ruger reported sales dropped 26.9 percent in the fourth quarter, worsening from the slide of 21.2 percent seen in the year. The company also indicated that it had eliminated about 700 jobs over the last 13 months due to a steep downturn in the firearms category since the last presidential election.
Gildan Q4 Saved By Printwear Strength, Looks To Merge Printwear/Branded Units
Gildan Activewear reported underlying earnings in the fourth quarter came in at the high end of guidance as robust Printwear sales helped offset rising input costs and weak socks sales in its Branded segment. The company also announced plans to consolidate the Printwear and Branded segments as part of a major realignment for 2018.
Billabong Sees Americas Flattening In Spring Half, Overall Struggles Rally Calls For Merger
Following robust improvement in the first half ended December 31, Billabong International expects the Americas region “to level out in the second half as it cycles tougher comparables and operational improvements.”
Aisle Talk, Week of February 19
Top headlines from the active lifestyle industry you may have missed this week.