EXEC: Sports Direct to Open Two New Flagship Locations in London
The stores, one in Westfield Stratford and the other in Westfield London, are “further progress” in Sports Direct’s elevation strategy, while the Oxford Street flagship will remain the cornerstone of the Sports Direct brand in London.
EXEC: Levi Strauss Gets DD Lift from Beyond Yoga in Q1; Exits Footwear
Revenues from e-commerce grew 13 percent on a reported basis and 12 percent on a constant-currency basis, reflecting double-digit growth across the Levi’s and Beyond Yoga brands.
VF Corp. To Roll Out 300 Additional Mono-Brand Retail Stores
The parent company of Vans, TNF, Timberland, and other active lifestyle brands engaged with Dubai-based global retail conglomerate GMG to expand its retail network across the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia markets over the next five years.
EXEC: Sportsman’s Warehouse Kicks Off ‘Spring Reset’ to Clean Inventory, Grow Sales
Wall Street reacted positively to the planned changes and the Q4 earnings beat as SPWH shares surged 21 percent on Thursday to close at $3.79 a share. The inventory reduction efforts was said to be $10 million better than planned.
EXEC: Has Authentic Won the Bidding for the Champion Brand?
After a long period of speculation since Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI) management first indicated in September 2023 that it was open to selling its iconic Champion brand, a deal to acquire the brands appears to be on the horizon
EXEC: Escalade Ramps up Cash Generation; Cuts Inventory 24 Percent
Despite a high-single-digit decline in Q4 sales, Escalade, Inc. characterized its fourth quarter as delivering a strong finish to the last year, with “improved gross margins, robust cash generation and a significant reduction in leverage.”
EXEC: Vista Outdoor Re-Files CFIUS Notice to Extend Review Period for Ammo Business Sale
Vista Outdoor, Inc. and Czechoslovak Group a.s. (CSG) voluntarily withdrew and re-filed their joint voluntary notice to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to allow CFIUS additional time to conduct diligence on the proposed sale.
EXEC: JD Sports Ends FY on January Down Note; Sees Upside Ahead from Summer of Sport
For the full year, like-for-like comp sales were up 4.2 percent, with all regions ahead of the previous year with organic sales growth of 8.4 percent.
EXEC: JD Sports Inks Partner for South Africa Expansion
The company signed a franchise agreement with Foschini Retail Group (Pty) Ltd, a subsidiary of South African retailer The Foschini Group Limited (TFG) to launch the JD brand in South Africa.
EXEC: Researching Exposures & Effects from PFAS and Consumer Textiles on Human Health
The study is meant to provide insights into the measurement of PFAS in a variety of consumer textiles and how these PFAS enter the human body. But a funny thing happened on the way to the results, The pattern of PFAS detection in the evaluated textiles does not fully align with reported human serum levels.
EXEC: Colt CZ Sees Firearms Unit Sales Fall 10 Percent in 2023 as U.S. Market Declines
The number of firearms sold in 2023 decreased by 10.4 percent compared to 2022, reaching 621 thousand units sold, primarily due to lower demand in the U.S. commercial market.
EXEC: Amer Sports Majority Owner Posts Strong Year of Growing Retail Sales in China
Anta Sports, which runs retail stores in China for the Anta brand, Fila, Descente, Kolon Sport, and was the 53 percent majority owner of Amer Sports at year-end, reported that revenue reached another high in 2023. Anta’s stake in Amer Sports was diluted to 43 percent after the Amer IPO in February.
EXEC: Grassroots Outdoor Alliance Sees Tough 2023 Comp Against COVID-Induced Growth
While year-over-year sales for the consolidated sales of the organization were down 6.0 year-over-year, sales versus the last pre-COVID year were up nearly 27 percent.
EXEC: MNC Capital Partners Ups Ante in Vista Outdoor Takeover Bid
MNC submitted an increased all-cash proposal to acquire Vista Outdoor, Inc. for $37.50 per share, or approximately $3.0 billion, as it tries to head off the sale of Vista’s ammo business to a foreign entity. Meanwhile, Vista has scheduled a shareholder vote for the sale of the ammo business to Czechoslovak Group.
EXEC: Academy Execs Break Down Q4 Hits and Misses, 2024 Outlook
Academy saw an improving comp store sales trend in its fiscal fourth quarter, and while still negative, it gave company management something to hold on to when assessing overall performance in Q4, the full year ended February 3 and planning the year ahead.
