EXEC: Academy Sees Upside as Brands Shift Back to Wholesale Focus
ASO executives covered a wide range of topics in the Fireside Chat at the Goldman Sachs conference, including the promotional climate, the chain’s expanding “good, better, best” pricing strategy and major vendors’ newfound appreciation of wholesale sales.
EXEC: Active Lifestyle Retail Weathers Rough Second Quarter Waters
Although a few retailers outperformed in the second quarter, big names in the active lifestyle space fought through a challenging quarter amid promotional pressures, retail theft and the consumer’s continued shift away from discretionary purchases.
Yue Yuen Sees Another Sharp Footwear Manufacturing Sales Decline in August
The manufacturer of footwear for most major outdoor and athletic brands, reported that in August, net consolidated operating revenue, declined 19.8 percent after posting a 106 percent increase in the prior-year month.
Report: New Era Preparing for Initial Public Offering
New Era Cap, LLC is reportedly talking to law firms and investment banks as part of a plan to go public next year. The IPO comes after fourth-generation company leader Chris Koch stepped down last fall from daily operations as private equity firms bought a significant stake in the headwear manufacturer.
EXEC: American Outdoor Brands Execs Detail Fiscal First Quarter Progress
The recent issues with inventory and reduced consumer demand in the broader firearms market at retail had an effect of the company’s Shooting Sports segment, but strong growth in the company’s Outdoor Lifestyle segment offset the decline in the shooting accessories business.
EXEC: G-III Apparel Sees Champion Outerwear Extending Reach to Athletic Channels
On the company’s second-quarter analyst call, Morris Goldfarb, G-III Apparel’s longtime chairman and CEO, said he sees G-III’s new multi-year license to produce outerwear under the Champion brand presenting opportunities to reach Dick’s Sporting Goods, Foot Locker and other athletic retailers.
EXEC: Zumiez Hopeful for Holiday Selling After Q2 Beat and BTS Momentum
Zumiez, Inc. reported better-than-expected Q2 results with sales declines lessening further into the third quarter, including men’s, its largest category, turning positive. The action sports chain predicted another high-single to low-double-digit decline for the third quarter but remains hopeful of continued improvement through holiday selling.
EXEC: DSW Parent Gets Lift from Casual Offerings, Nike’s Early Return
Shares of Designer Brands Inc., the parent of the DSW, surged 22 percent Thursday after reporting second-quarter results that topped Wall Street targets with both sales and gross margins improving sequentially versus the first quarter. Doug Howe, CEO, said sales were helped by “increasing strength in our casual offerings,” including a strong launch of Le Tigre footwear, and he remains enthused about the return this month of Nike to DSW’s selling floors.
EXEC: Sportsman’s Warehouse Sets Aggressive Markdowns as Business Weakens Further
Shares of Sportsman’s Warehouse are running down about 17 percent in pre-market trading Thursday as the hunt & fish chain’s second-quarter earnings came in well below guidance and another double-digit comp decline was forecast for the third quarter.
EXEC: Amer Sports Files Confidentially to Go Public
Amer Sports, the parent of Salomon, Wilson, Arc’teryx and other sports brands, filed confidentially for a U.S. initial public offering that could value the group as high as $10 billion. The offering would come as Amer Sports’ business has seen accelerated growth, driven by Arc’teryx and Salomon and growth in China.
Study: American Malls Making a Comeback Post-Pandemic
A study conducted by Coresight Research found that traffic at U.S. shopping malls has recovered and surpassed pre-COVID levels, supported by the “halo effect” created by a brand’s online and offline presence in a mall, brand synergy in malls and omnichannel retail investments.
EXEC: Tilly’s Execs Remain Cautious Despite Improving Q3 Trends
Comparable net sales, including both physical stores and e-commerce, decreased by 8.5 percent on top of the 16.5 percent decrease posted in the prior-year Q2 period. The retailer saw early Q3 comps down in the low- to mid-single digits.
EXEC: Lululemon Claims North America Market Share Gain Despite Slower Q2 Growth
While its outsized growth in China continues to get much of the media attention, Lululemon Athletica, Inc. churned out sales gains of 11 percent in the second quarter in North America, slowing from the 17 percent growth in the first quarter.
EXEC: Caleres Sees Famous Footwear Gaining Share
Famous Footwear’s same-store sales declined 4.3 percent in the second quarter but showed sequential improvement from the first quarter and is estimated to be taking market share. Jay Schmidt, president and CEO of Caleres, the parent of Famous, told analysts on a call, “During the second quarter, Famous continued to navigate difficult spending trends among its target consumer and the challenging economic backdrop overall.”
EXEC: Academy Sports’ Shares Jump On Upbeat Outlook
Shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. closed up $4.63, or 9.3 percent, to $54.57 Thursday as second-quarter earnings topped analysts’ estimates and the retailer reiterated its guidance for the year. Academy officials said sales steadily improved throughout the second quarter as customers responded to its message around value and newness.
