SGB Executive Sports & Fitness

Puma’s Women’s Focus Paying Off

Following the report of its third strong annual campaign in a row, Bjørn Gulden, CEO, Puma SE, detailed the many ways the brand’s focus on female training, its celebrity brand ambassadors, and its ability to amplify its voice through social media is helping drive the company’s turnaround.

FGL Sports Q4 Boosted By Chilly Winter

FGL Sports marked a return to mid-single digit comp growth in the fourth quarter with the boost of chilly Winter. Canadian Tire Corp, its parent, also indicated it acquired Sher-Wood Athletics as part of an overall effort by the company to increase its number of owned brands and appointed TJ Flood as president, FGL Sports.

Dick’s Celebrates Olympic Contenders

SGB reached out to Ryan Eckel, VP of Brand at Dick’s Sporting Goods, to discuss the inspiration behind the Contenders program, which allows U.S. Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls to work in Dick’s locations to help support their dreams. Twelve participants in the retailer’s Contenders program are participating in PyeongChang.

Shimano’s Cycling Sales Regain Momentum

Shimano saw sales in its Bicycle Components segment returned to double-digit growth in the fourth quarter while showing modest gains in its Fishing Tackle segment.

Asics America Widens Q4 Loss

Asics America widened its loss in the fourth quarter but saw earnings improve significantly in the full year. Sales in the region slid 7.2 percent in the quarter.

Under Armour’s Share Climb On Sales Beat, Signs Of Stability

While reporting a fourth-quarter loss and a significant expansion of its restructuring program, shares of Under Armour climbed $2.49, or 17.5 percent, on Tuesday to $16.72 as sales came in above guidance with the help of momentum internationally and the overall business showed some signs of stabilizing.

Columbia Q4 Boosted By Improving U.S. Business

President and CEO Tim Boyle said, “In the fourth quarter, the U.S. wholesale channel played a significant role contributing to our top line beat relative to our October outlook, aided by improved order conversion.”

Champion Grows Double-Digits In Q4

“We think Champion is doing really well,” said HanesBrands’ CEO Gerald W. Evans Jr. on a conference call with analysts. “It’s got a lot of upside to it from a global standpoint.”

Skechers Delivers Blowout Q4

With all distribution channels delivering double-digit growth, Skechers USA reported fourth-quarter results that came in well above guidance.

Fitness And Outdoor Drive Amer Sports’ Q4 Growth

Amer Sports reported revenues on a currency-neutral basis grew 9.0 percent in the fourth quarter, led by a 14 percent gain by its Fitness segment and an 11 percent climb by its Outdoor segment. The Ball Sports’ segment inched up 1 percent and has been impacted by a “challenging U.S. wholesale market.”

Vista Outdoor’s Q3 Hamstrung By Weak Hunt Business

On a conference call with analysts, Christopher Metz, Vista Outdoor’s CEO since October, said the company made progress in the third quarter generating cash, reducing inventories and driving down costs, but continued weakness in its Shooting Sports continues to erode earnings.

Mizuno’s America’s Q3 Sales Dip 9.3 Percent

Mizuno Corp. reported sales in Americas continued to decline in the third quarter and nine months ended December 31 as the focus remains on improving profitability in the region.