SGB Executive

On its fourth-quarter analyst call, Compass Diversified officials said some subsidiaries in its Branded Consumer segment, including BOA and PrimaLoft, had been hurt in the fourth quarter by a wholesale order slowdown caused by elevated inventories in the marketplace. Those pressures it expects will continue through the first half of 2023.

Kohl’s logged a surprise steep loss in the fourth quarter and provided EPS guidance for 2023 that was well below analyst expectations as the chain overhauls its merchandise mix to deemphasize active wear in favor of casual and career wear and explore newer opportunities in home and gifting.

Big 5 believes the current retail environment is setting itself up positively for opportunistic buys by vendors, a historical strength of the West Coast retailer as it closely evaluates inventories to remain well-positioned to take advantage of opportunities as they arise.

On an analyst call, John Walbrecht, president at Clarus Corp., said inventory destocking at Black Diamond’s larger retail accounts in North America continued in the fourth quarter, wiping out open-to-buy opportunities and driving a sharp revenue decline. The pain is expected to continue in the first quarter but Walbrecht said demand for Black Diamond remains healthy.

Citi Research downgraded shares of Dick’s Sporting Goods to “Neutral” from “Buy” due to margin concerns tied to the need to clear excess overall inventory in the marketplace.

SGB Executive reached out to industry executives to get their perspectives on the supply chain’s ongoing recovery efforts. Responses surveyed from Case And Zippo, Cascade Designs, Hot Chillys, Land Energy, Lowa, NetVirta, Reima, The Woolmark Company, Tread Labs, TRE US, and Vibram are outlined.

Rocky Brands reported fourth-quarter results easily topped expectations due to outperformance by its Retail segment. However, Rocky officials on an analyst call provided a cautious outlook for 2023, expecting sales to decline between 7 and 9 percent, due to low visibility into wholesale orders and uncertain consumer demand.

On a call with analysts, Matt Reintjes, Yeti’s president and CEO, said he remained confident that the drinkware and cooler maker would return to its long-term revenue target of 10 percent to 15 percent growth despite sales growth expected to fall well below that rate in the current year due to a massive recall and a slowdown at wholesale.

Led by a hike in pickleball participation, the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) Topline Participation Report found that physical activity rates increased in the U.S. for a fifth consecutive year. The report also indicates that activities ranging from golf to tennis, basketball, kayaking and surfing continue to build on pandemic-related gains.

Escalade, Inc. reported lower earnings in the fourth quarter and year as demand for many of its sporting goods gear normalized and it warned of continued challenges in 2023. However, pickleball, led by its Onix and Dura brands, was a bright spot, landing among the few categories managing growth in the fourth quarter.

Wolverine Worldwide reported fourth-quarter results that were in line with guidance but officials on a call with analysts gave a bullish outlook for profit improvement in the back half of 2023 as inventory and expense reduction efforts are already starting to pay off. For the current year, mid-single digit growth is expected for both Merrell and Saucony and low-single digits gains for Sweaty Betty.

Walmart comfortably topped holiday-quarter earnings and sales targets, but the retail giant delivered weak guidance for the current year due to high prices and the potential for further macro pressures, foreshadowing a tough year for the retail sector.

Brooks Running said in a release that the company “crossed the finish line in 2022 with record global revenue,” up 6 percent over 2021 with growth in all regions, and direct-to-consumer sales up 16 percent.