EXEC: Adidas CEO Sees U.S. Marketplace Challenges Lasting Well into 2024
On Adidas’ third-quarter conference call with analysts, Bjorn Gulden, CEO, said Adidas’ sales in the U.S. “will probably not grow at all in the first half” of 2024 as North America lags other regions in rightsizing inventory levels. He said, “Inventory levels in the U.S. in general is still an issue. I think it lags about six months versus the rest of the world.”
EXEC: Yeti Eyes Return to Double-Digit Growth In Fourth Quarter
Yeti Holdings Inc. slightly reduced its sales guidance for the year due in part to cautious ordering from wholesale partners but still expects sales to return to double-digit sales gains in the fourth quarter as the brand recovers from a massive recall and experiences positive sell-throughs at U.S. wholesale channel across drinkware and coolers & equipment segments.
EXEC: Inside Wolverine’s Plan for the Future—and the New Realities of 2023
New CEO Chris Hufnagel said WWW continues to reshape its portfolio, reduce inventory and redesign the company to become consumer-obsessed brand builders, focused squarely on building compelling products and telling amazing stories.
EXEC: Under Armour Can’t Dodge North American Turbulence
Under Armour reported sales and earnings in the fiscal second quarter ended September 30 topped analyst targets, but annual sales guidance was reduced due to further deterioration in the North American wholesale business. CEO Stephanie Linnartz told analysts, “Several forces are at play here, including inflation and consumer confidence, normalizing inventory levels amid still broad promotions, and overall softness in our future wholesale order book.”
New Wave Group Gets Lift from Tenson Deal to Post Q3 Sales Growth
The Swedish-based owner of Ahead, Auclair, Craft, Cutter & Buck, and Tenson AB, reported that net sales increased 5 percent (+1 percent currency-neutral) to SEK 2,337.0 million, but sales would declined had it not been for sales from the acquired outdoor gear brand Tenson.
EXEC: Black Diamond’s NA Sales Show Some Stabilization
Clarus Corp. reported that Black Diamond’s sales improved sequentially from the second quarter and were down modestly in the third quarter as the North American region showed signs of stabilization to offset softness in its European business.
Clif Bar Again Sees Double-Digit Growth In Third Quarter
Mondelez International reported that Clif Bar delivered another quarter of double-digit growth and improved profitability in the third quarter ended September 30. Its other snack bar brands, Grenade and Perfect Snacks, also delivered double-digit gains.
EXEC: BRC Sees Cautious UK Consumer Spending Stalling in October
The BRC reported that total UK retail sales increased 2.5 percent in October. The number was said to be below the three-month average growth of 3.1 percent and the 12-month average growth of 4.2 percent as reported by the BRC.
EXEC: Investor Doubts Follow Fox Factory’s Acquisition of Marucci Sports
Fox Factory’s plans to acquire Marucci Sports, the maker of baseball bats and gloves, for $572.0 million has drawn skepticism from Wall Street analysts concerned about the timing given the company’s struggles and how the acquisition fits alongside its core suspension components businesses.
Birkenstock Gets Lift from First Run of Post-IPO Analyst Reports
Wall Street brokerages largely initiated Birkenstock Holding with their top ratings, pointing to a likely boost from the German sandal maker’s loyalty with consumers, expansion into untapped categories, channels and geographies, and recent investments to increase capacity.
EXEC: Wrapping Up the Less-Than-Jolly Holiday Forecasts For Retail
Holiday forecasts arriving in recent weeks roundly forecast sales will slow this year versus pandemic stimulus-boosted gains in recent years. However, while many expect a “resilient” consumer will drive solid gains similar to pre-pandemic levels, some see inflationary and macroeconomic concerns weighing disproportionately on discretionary spending.
EXEC: BOA, Primaloft and Velocity Outdoor Drag on Parent’s Q3 Results
Brand aggregator Compass Diversified saw Q3 sales decline 25 percent at BOA, 16 percent at Primaloft and fall 28 percent at Velocity Outdoor, while revenues grew 13 percent at Marucci Sports and 7 percent at 5.11. The company reported it was selling Marucci.
EXEC: Boot Barn Cuts Q3 and Full Year Outlook as Retail Turns Sour
Fiscal Q2 retail store same-store sales declined 3.8 percent and e-commerce same-store sales declined 11.7 percent year-over-year. Comps were said to be in line with expectations through August, but September experienced softer-than-expected results and that trend reportedly continued into October.
EXEC: Vista Fine-Tunes New Structure, Leadership for Revelyst and Ammo Company
Vista Outdoor took the opportunity Thursday morning to update the market on the progress and process of the sale of the ammo segment and provide an opportunity for the new leadership of the two businesses to walk through the latest quarter.
EXEC: Crocs Sets Plan to Revive HeyDude’s Growth
Crocs, Inc. scraped its earnings and sales guidance for the year due to the continued underperformance of its recently-acquired HeyDude brand. On an analyst call, Andrew Rees, Crocs’ CEO, admitted HeyDude has faced “several growing pains this past year” due to a mix of internal missteps and external pressures and forecasted the brand’s wholesale revenues in North America would remain negative through Q224.
