EXEC: Under Armour Downgraded On Competitive Pressures
J.P. Morgan lowered its rating on Under Armour to “Neutral” from “Overweight” due in part to elevated inventory levels that drive promotions across the retail marketplace and more direct competition from Nike and Adidas.
Report: Nike, Adidas And Lululemon Top Millennials’ Favorite Athletic Brands
According to Roth MKM’s 2023 Millennial Survey, Millennials increasingly prioritize health and wellness and favor Nike, Adidas and Lululemon over other activewear brands.
EXEC: American Outdoor Brands Sees Continued Cautious Retail Orders In Near-Term
American Outdoor Brands reported a 27.4 percent sales decline in the third quarter and slashed its growth targets for the current fiscal year. Company officials warned on an analyst call that the cautious ordering patterns due to elevated inventories at retail would not recover until the second half of 2023.
EXEC: Gap’s CEO Says Athleta CEO Departure Related To Product, Not Brand
On the retailer’s fourth-quarter analyst call, Bob Martin, Gap, Inc.’s executive chairman and interim CEO, insisted the departure of Mary Beth Laughton as president is due to continued product missteps and not from the deteriorating health of its women’s activewear brand.
EXEC: Duluth Trading Sees H1 Sales “Slightly Down To Flat” After Tough Q4
DLTH reported net sales of $241.8 million for the fourth quarter, down 10.7 percent compared to $270.8 million in the prior-year quarter. For the full fiscal year 2022, net sales were $653.3 million and were said to be within the range of recent guidance.
EXEC: Journeys’ Sales Weaken Amid Inflationary Pressures
Shares of Genesco fell $6.53, or 13.7 percent, to $41.22 Thursday after the retailer gave a cautious outlook for 2023 and launched a cost-cutting program to help offset inflationary pressures that negatively impacted its flagship Journeys chain this past holiday season. Genesco also plans to close 60 Journeys stores this year.
EXEC: New Adidas CEO Discusses Turnaround Strategy
On his first quarterly analyst call, Bjørn Gulden, Adidas’ new CEO, said the company plans to focus on culture, wholesale service levels, local go-to-market approaches, speed to market, and brand heat to orchestrate a turnaround at Adidas.
EXEC: Dick’s SG To Fast-Track House Of Sport Expansion After Strong 2022
Dick’s Sporting Goods reported plans to return to annual square footage growth, led by its House Of Sports concept, after reporting fourth-quarter results that easily surpassed Wall Street expectations, boosted by a 5.3 percent same-store gain. As many as 75-to-100 House of Sport stores are expected to open by 2027.
EXEC Q&A: Dan Sheridan, President & COO, Brooks Running
Overcoming supply chain obstacles during the first half, Brooks Running managed 6 percent growth in 2022 to reach record annual revenues of about $1.2 billion. Dan Sheridan, president and COO, talks to SGB about how the year played out, brand accomplishments and his outlook for Brooks and the running industry for 2023.
EXEC Q&A: Matt Gold, CEO, Christy Sports
Founded in 1958 in Lakewood, CO, Christy Sports has grown to 63 stores across five Western states and has an online platform. CEO Matt Gold talked with SGB Executive about the store’s uniqueness, commitment to customer service, the pandemic’s impact on business, and the current inflationary environment.
EXEC: Hibbett Posts Double-Digit Q4 Comp Growth; EPS Falls Just Short Of Guidance
Hibbett, Inc. reported comp-store sales increased 15.5 percent versus the prior-year period and increased 39.6 percent compared to the 13 weeks ended February 1, 2020. Earnings for the quarter and guidance for the current year slightly trailed Wall Street’s targets. CEO Mike Longo told analysts, “These results came from strong demand for our popular footwear brands and a recovery in inventory levels.”
EXEC: BOA and Primaloft Slowed By Retail Inventory Overhang
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.
EXEC: Kohl’s To Undergo Major Reset That Downplays Active
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.
EXEC: Big 5 Sees Tougher Q1 Ahead But Eyes Opportunity Buys
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.
EXEC: Black Diamond Sees Open-To-Buy Orders Dry Up
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.
