EXEC: Vail Resorts Sees Promising Start To 2023/24 Ski Season
Vail Resorts saw a pickup in visitation and spending in March and April to help wrap up a healthy 2022/23 North American ski season, is seeing encouraging early season pass sales for the upcoming season, and believes its ski resorts are positioned well to mitigate many of the impacts of a potential economic downturn.
EXEC: DSW To Lean On Casual Assortments To Drive Second-Half Recovery
Designer Brands, the parent of DSW, joined several retailers lowering its outlook for the year after seeing a first-quarter shortfall, but officials are hopeful that heightened focus on value and an increase in casual footwear brands will drive improved results in the back half of the year.
EXEC: Nike To Return To DSW Stores
Designer Brands reported that Nike would return to DSW’s selling floors in October following its exit from the retail chain in fall 2021 and following recent moves by Nike to repair relationships with Macy’s and Foot Locker.
EXEC: Crocs Asserts HeyDude’s Slow Down Not A Signal Of Weakening Demand
Speaking at Baird’s 2023 Global Consumer, Technology & Services Conference, Andrew Rees, Crocs’ CEO, said HeyDude is expected to see U.S. wholesale sales decline in the second and third quarters of 2023 as it comped against aggressive initial distribution at several major U.S. retailers in 2022. However, he insisted that the demand for casual remains strong.
EXEC: On Brand Eyes Broader Wholesale Distribution
Speaking at the Stifel 2023 Cross Sector Insight Conference, On’s Co-CEOs, Marc Maurer and Martin Hoffmann, said that while the faster growth is expected to come from DTC, the running-focused brand is just getting started expanding to more mainstream wholesale accounts, marked by its recent expansion at Dick’s Sporting Goods and Foot Locker.
EXEC: Wall Street Bullish On Golf Industry Benefits From PGA-LIV Merger
Favorable notes arrived on Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp. and Acushnet Holdings Corp., the parent of Titleist, from Jefferies and B. Riley following news of the merger of PGA Tour with Saudi-backed rival LIV Golf as analysts project the deal will heighten interest in golf.
EXEC: Skechers Sees U.S. Wholesale Challenges Continuing
Speaking at the Deutsche Bank Global Consumer Conference, John Vandemore, CFO of Skechers USA, said the U.S. wholesale business is “probably our single most challenged marketplace” due to ongoing elevated inventory levels with the pressures expected to continue for a few more quarters.
EXEC: Academy Sports Bets On Revenue Bounce Back In Second Half
Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. trimmed its outlook for the year as first-quarter results missed plan. However, company officials predicted improving sales in the back half of the year on confidence that more favorable weather and strong injections of newness will help offset macroeconomic pressures.
EXEC: Topgolf Primed For Growth
At an investor meeting, Artie Starrs, CEO of Topgolf, discussed the fast growth and improving unit economics of the golf-entertainment concept as well as the benefits the chain is just starting to realize from newer digital activations and marketing pushes. He said, “I believe we’re just getting started.”
EXEC: REI SoHo Employee Union Takes Issue With New REI Legal Team, Pay Changes
The union representing employees at REI’s SoHo store in New York City said this week that REI had notified the union through its new legal counsel that many workers at the SoHo, New York store employees would be receiving pay cuts in their next paycheck amid a shakeup of the company’s legal representation at the bargaining table.
EXEC: Workers Unions Send Open Letter To Adidas CEO Over Yeezy Profit Payouts
While Adidas has received some accolades for its recent decision to sell off remaining Yeezy product and donate the proceeds to organizations combating discrimination and hate, unions representing workers in the Adidas supply chain are also looking for a piece of the pie.
EXEC: Lululemon Delivers Blowout Q1, Led By China
Shares of Lululemon are aligned to start trading up 15 percent after the yoga-themed retailer defied inflationary pressures by reporting better-than-expected first-quarter results and lifting its full-year outlook. China stood out, with sales up 79 percent, but the core business continued to see strength, with North American sales ahead 17 percent and its women’s leggings category growing by 22 percent.
EXEC: Famous Footwear Expected To Show Negative Comps In 2023
Caleres, Inc. said Famous Footwear’s same-store sales fell 8.5 percent in the first quarter due to a weather-related delay in the sandal season and a pullback in spending from its “more moderate-income customer” due to inflationary pressures. Sequential improvement in sales is expected in coming quarters but Famous Footwear’s comps are expected to be negative for 2023.
EXEC: Foot Locker Sees Little Near-Term Relief From Promotional Pressures
Speaking Wednesday at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference, Foot Locker officials said elevated inventory levels across the marketplace and consumer caution are now driving promotional activity above pre-pandemic levels with margin pressures expected to continue through 2023.
EXEC: FitFlop Looks To Boost Global Growth Through New Distributors
FitFlop reported it entered a partnership with new distributors to fuel global growth, focused on Canada, Spain, Eastern Europe, the Baltic states, and Vietnam. The partnership will enable FitFlop to expand into new markets.
