SGB Executive Sports & Fitness
EXEC: Craft North America CEO Talks Gaining Traction in Run Footwear
In late November, Craft Sportswear announced plans for a phased relocation of its North American headquarters to Seattle, WA, in 2024 to bolster the brand’s expansion into outdoor and specialty retail and its recent entry into running footwear in the U.S. Craft North America CEO Eric Schenker talked with SGB Executive about Craft Sportswear’s heritage, the run footwear opportunity, and why the CEO has chosen not to move to Seattle.
EXEC: Lululemon’s Tepid Holiday Guidance Overshadows Strong Q3
Lululemon Athletica, Inc. lifted its overall full-year outlook after earnings and sales in the third quarter ended October 29 topped guidance for the third straight quarter but also forecast fourth-quarter guidance that came in lighter than expected in an apparent sign to investors of a potential sales slowdown.
EXEC: Sports Direct Gets Fiscal H1 Boost from New Brands
Frasers Group reported retail revenue increased 4.0 percent in the first half ended October 29 to £2.69 billion ($3.4 bn), helped by a “strong underlying performance” from Sports Direct due in part to the addition of new brands, including On Running, The North Face, Columbia Sportswear and Salomon.
EXEC: Stifel Survey Finds Consumers Prioritize Price/Value Over Sustainability
The survey, which was conducted in partnership with Morning Consult, surveyed active/causal lifestyle brand consumers ages 18 to 55 based in the U.S., UK, Germany, France, and Italy. It found that only one-third of respondents “Highly Prioritize” sustainability when making purchasing decisions, compared to other factors like “Good Value” (68 percent) and “Low Price” (57 percent).
EXEC: Dick’s SG Sees Differentiation Reaping Dividends
Speaking Tuesday at the 2023 Morgan Stanley Global Consumer & Retail Conference, Navdeep Gupta, EVP and CFO at Dick’s Sporting Goods, elaborated on how the retailer’s efforts to further differentiate itself both within product and the store experience is driving market share gains.
EXEC: Wells Fargo Shifts to Nike from Lululemon as Top Defensive Stock Pick
On Monday, Wells Fargo replaced Lululemon with Nike as its “Top Defensive Pick” among its stock coverage in the active lifestyle space. It also downgraded Lululemon and raised its price target on Nike.
EXEC: UK Retail Foot Traffic Rebounds in November
After suggesting the the UK retail market was hampered by stalled consumer spending in October, the British Retail Consortium reportedly saw a recovery in foot traffic in November, with total UK foot traffic down 0.7 percent year-over-year.
EXEC: Asics Expands 2026 Plan as Company Drives Past 2023 Targets
Asics Corp. has outlined goals that sees the Japanese performance footwear and apparel company returning to the lead in market share in the run specialty channel in North America by 2025, and a new focus on regional profitability.
EXEC: Academy Sports Sees Weather/Consumer Woes Derailing Sales Recovery
Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. said a slow start to fall selling due to warmer temperatures as well as continued weak consumer demand caused third-quarter results to miss plan, resulting in a downward revision to full-year guidance. CEO Steve Lawrence said on an analysts call, “We feel like we don’t have a challenged strategy. We’ve got a challenged customer.”
Deloitte: Women’s Sports Revenue Set to Hit $1B In 2024
Deloitte forecasted that women’s elite sports will generate global revenues of $1.28 billion in 2024, the first time that annual global revenues for women’s sports will have surpassed $1 billion.
EXEC: Foot Locker Finds Progress with Lace-Up Strategy
Shares of Foot Locker, Inc. rose about 16 percent Wednesday after the sneaker juggernaut reported better-than-expected third-quarter results, encouraging sales trends so far in the fourth quarter and what Mary Dillon, president and CEO, hailed as several “early wins” in the company’s Lace Up transformation program.
EXEC: Black Friday Weekend Sales See Encouraging Start to Holiday Selling
Led by online selling and boosted by promotions, sales on Black Friday and over the past weekend topped or came in line with modest expectations, according to multiple survey reports and Wall Street analysts.
EXEC: Wall Street Reacts to Strong Q3 for Dick’s and Hibbett
The third-quarter earnings beats and raised guidance for both Dick’s Sporting Goods and Hibbett increased investor confidence that the athletic retail space is positioned to at least outperform the broader retail sector in a challenging marketplace, although some analysts were concerned about margin pressures at Dick’s.
EXEC: Kohl’s Shares Fall on Choppy Q3 Results, Sharp E-Commerce Decline
The retailer had a solid back-to-school season, and through the first eight weeks, sales were tracking above expectations, but warmer weather during the latter part of September and into October had a clear impact on demand for fall seasonal goods, especially in store.
EXEC: Dick’s SG Beats Q3 Expectations, Bullish on Holiday Selling
Boosted by a “very strong” back-to-school selling season, Dick’s Sporting Goods posted above-plan third-quarter results, lifting its guidance for the year. Lauren Hobart, president and CEO, told analysts, “We are pleased with how our consumer is holding up within the sporting goods industry and then particularly that they’re choosing Dick’s increasingly to meet their needs.”
