SGB Executive

Nation’s Best Sports, the nation’s oldest and largest sporting goods buying group, will be joining the Snowsports Merchandising Corporation and Sports Specialists Ltd. buying groups for the 2024 Winter Sports Market.

Pou Sheng International (Holdings) Limited, the China retail subsidiary of Yue Yuen Industrial (Holdings) Limited, reported net consolidated operating revenue of the company for April increased 53.4 percent to RMB 1.85 billion.

Wolverine World Wide, Inc. reported first-quarter earnings that slightly exceeded expectations on strength at Merrell and Saucony while announcing that it was exploring the sale of its struggling Sperry business and revealing that Anne Cavassa, president of Saucony, had left the company.

Yue Yuen recorded revenue of $2.11 billion in Q1, representing a decline of 12.0 percent in US Dollar terms. The volume of shoes shipped in Q1 decreased 24.0 percent to 53.9 million pairs due to soft global demand and a tough year-ago comps.

Giant Group reported that consolidated revenue for the first quarter was NT$20.12 billion, a decline of 9.6 percent year-over-year. The decline was attributed to the impact from European and North American markets reducing inventories plus higher comps with last year.

Asics Corporation reported that net sales jumped 44.6 percent year-over-year to ¥152.2 billion in the first quarter ended March 31, and increased 35.0 percent year-over-year excluding foreign exchange effects. Profit attributable to owners of parent company increased 86.9 percent to ¥16,310 million.

In her first address to the investment community, Stephanie Linnartz, Under Armour’s new CEO, declared, “Growth is without a question our highest priority.” She cited footwear, women, sport style and full-price stores as untapped opportunities but particularly stressed an urgency for Under Armour to establish a more-premium positioning and amplify brand heat.

Escalade, Inc. reported that sales in the 2023 first quarter declined 21.3 percent on a year-over-year basis to $56.9 million. The net loss for the quarter was $1.0 million, or 7 cents loss per diluted share, compared to net income of $6.7 million, or 49 cents earnings diluted per share in Q1 2022.

Solo Brands, Inc.’s sales expanded 7.3 percent in the first quarter, topping expectations, as fill-ins address early sell-through. The replenishment orders helped the company boost Q1 wholesale revenues to offset declines in its e-commerce business.

Johnson Outdoor’s sales increased by 7 percent in the fiscal second quarter ended March 31. On an analyst call, Helen Johnson-Leipold, chairman and CEO, said improved product availability in Fishing and continued momentum in Diving offset a “post-pandemic slowdown” affecting its Camping and Watercraft sales.

Last December, Topo Athletic, largely known for its running footwear, was acquired by Designer Brands, Inc., the parent of the DSW family footwear chain. Here, Tony Post, who founded the brand in 2012 and remains CEO, discusses the reasons behind the sale, how the merger impacts Topo’s core specialty business and what categories have been driving growth.

The Fax Factory Specialty Sports Group delivered quarterly revenue of $118.9 million, a decrease that was said to be primarily due to the stronger-than-anticipated seasonality impact in Q1 of 2023. The company instituted cost reductions, which primarily resulted in a reduction of workforce within the Specialty Sports Group.

Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden said the first quarter ended a little better than expected as the company eked out flattish sales growth globally and a small operating profit despite the termination of the Yeezy business. Gulden said sales were up 9 percent for the quarter ended March 31 when excluding the Yeezy business.

Shares of Vista Outdoor jumped 16.4 percent on Thursday after Gary McArthur, interim CEO, on the company’s fourth-quarter conference call provided an upbeat outlook for the business, including predicting a return to growth for the Outdoor Products segment in the back of the current fiscal year and a more normalized purchasing cycle going forward for the Sporting Products segment.

Acushnet Holdings Corp. reported first-quarter earnings that handily topped Wall Street’s guidance, led by robust double-digit gains for Titleist golf balls and clubs tied to successful launches. David Maher, Acushnet’s president and CEO, told analysts, “The Acushnet team is excelling on the product development, manufacturing and supply chain management fronts.”