SGB Executive

At its Investor Day meeting, Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. outlined plans to open 120-to-140 new stores over the next five years through 2027, expanding its store base by 50 percent in existing and new markets. The Katy, TX-based retailer currently has 268 stores across 18 states.

L.E.K. Consulting’s second annual U.S. Footwear and Apparel Brand Heat Index* found Nike continue to dominate in popularity across athletic categories, while The North Face, Patagonia, Columbia and Ugg led the outdoor space. However, many newer brands including Hoka, On, Cotopaxi, Fjällräven and Huk gained significant traction and brand recognition that varied across genders and generations.

At the JP Morgan Retail Round Up Conference, Mary Dillon, Foot Locker’s CEO, said while Foot Locker expects to resume growth with Nike by holiday 2023, Foot Locker’s position as a multi-brand retailer will be key to capitalizing on the broadening sneaker opportunity. She said, “Being a multi-branded retailer matters because consumers want choice and they love to shop across brands.”

Last week’s announcement that Fanatics would replace Adidas as its “Official On-Ice Uniform Outfitter” marked another major step forward for the sports licensing powerhouse. However, the harsh reaction from hockey fans on social media and from some in the media shows Fanatics has work to do to improve its reputation before the deal starts in the 2024/25 season.

Lululemon Athletica, Inc. took a massive impairment charge in the fourth quarter to cover write-offs and the restructuring of its Mirror’s connected-fitness business. However, shares of Lululemon are up about 15 percent in -pre-market trading Wednesday as fourth-quarter results topped estimates and an upbeat outlook was provided for 2023.

At a recent webinar exploring SFIA’s 2023 Sports & Fitness Topline Participation Report, Tom Cove, president and CEO of SFIA, highlighted the substantial progress in improving America’s activity rates and detailed which activities benefited from the pandemic, including pickleball.

Some Wall Street analysts were pleased with Nike’s progress in working down inventory levels and reviving China in the fiscal third quarter ended February 28; others were concerned that the growth is mainly from promotions.

In February, Janji, the Boston-based running apparel brand, and Oiselle, a Seattle-based women athletic apparel brand, announced they were partnering on a merger of niche brands in the run space. Here, Dave Spandorfer, co-founder and CEO of Janji, talks about the reasons behind the merger, the mission behind each brand and the Janji story.

Add Beyoncé to the list of collaboration woes for Adidas. According to reports from The Hollywood Reporter and TMZ, Adidas ended its partnership with Beyoncé and shuttered the Ivy Park athleisure line.

Over the past year, the number of Sneakerheads, defined as consumers willing to spend $100 or more on sneakers, is up 18 percent in the U.S., according to YouGov’s latest report, “The Sole Obsession: Inside the World of Sneakerheads.”

Shoe Carnival Inc. said athletic footwear further weakened due to shifting trends in the fourth quarter ended January 28, but the family footwear chain posted record earnings on higher margins and claimed it’s continuing to build on significant share gains over competitors in recent years.

Mainland Headwear Holdings Ltd. reported that revenue increased 17.1 percent to HK$1.87 billion. Profit generated in the Manufacturing Business was partially offset by a loss for the year in the Trading Business, but Profit to Shareholders still rallied 52.6 percent to HK$195.4 million

Fila Holdings reported that consolidated revenue grew 11.3 percent to ₩4.22 trillion for the full year 2022, compared to ₩3.79 trillion in the prior year. Operating profit declined 11.7 percent to ₩435.07 billion in 2022.