Comfort Ones Shoes Acquires Saxon Shoes
Comfort Ones Shoes, the independent footwear chain based in Alexandria, VA., has acquired Saxon Shoes, based in Richmond, VA.
EXEC: YTD Footwear Shipments Fall Nearly 25 Percent at Yue Yuen
Year-to-date revenue attributable to footwear manufacturing activity, including athletic/outdoor shoes, casual shoes and sports sandals, decreased by 20.4 percent to US$3.50 billion as average selling prices rose in mid single digits.
Kohl’s Opens Store in Downtown Milwaukee
Kohl’s opened a storefront in downtown Milwaukee, WI, as part of the retailer’s plan to open five stores this fall. The store represents a rare urban location for a Kohl’s store, with most historically focused on supporting suburban communities.
Michigan Consumer Sentiment Falls to Six-Month Low
Consumer sentiment fell for the fourth month, according to a preliminary report published for the Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index. The Index came in at 60.4, down 3.4 points, or 5.3 percent, from the October final.
Vans Settles Trademark Infringement Lawsuit Against Walmart
Vans settled a trademark lawsuit against Walmart that accused the retailer of copying the designs of “virtually all” of Vans’ sneakers, including its Old Skool low-top and Sk8-Hi high-top shoes.
Nike Hires Amazon Executive as Chief Technology Officer
Nike, Inc. recruited Muge Erdirik Dogan, a longtime fashion executive at Amazon, as chief technology officer. Jenny Freshwater, most recently Amazon’s vice president of traffic and marketing technology, will replace Dogan as VP of Amazon Fashion & Fitness.
Garmont Names New CEO
Italian outdoor footwear brand Garmont International hired Andrea Nalesso as CEO. Nalesso takes over from Pierangelo Bressan, who remains chairman of the board and a Garmont shareholder.
Descente Sees Mid-Single-Digit Growth in Fiscal H1
Descente, Ltd. reported that revenues for the fiscal six months ended September 30 rose 4.9 percent to ¥59.9 billion ($396 mm) from ¥57.2 billion a year ago. Gains from the incorporation of Le Coq Sportif (Ningbo) Co. Ltd. (NLCS) into China’s consolidated results and growth in activewear overall offset decreased sales in golfwear.
EXEC: Asics Lifts Outlook On Robust Third Quarter Results
Asics Corp. raised its outlook for the year after reporting strong earnings improvement in the third quarter and nine months ended September 30. Sales grew 14.5 percent in the third quarter and 23.4 percent in the nine months with healthy gains across regions.
EXEC: Mizuno’s Fiscal Q2 Sales Expand Across All Regions; Running and Golf Decline
Mizuno Corp.’s sales grew 8.1 percent in the fiscal second quarter ended September 30 and 23.8 percent in the half. The Japanese-based sporting goods sales and profits reached record levels in the six months, with sales increasing across all geographies and in all its main business categories.
Authentic Partners with Aldo Group for Roxy Footwear
Authentic expanded its partnership with the Aldo Group to include Roxy footwear. Aldo will now design, manufacture and distribute the brand’s shoes and footwear for women and girls in the U.S. and Canada.
EXEC: Adidas CEO Sees U.S. Marketplace Challenges Lasting Well into 2024
On Adidas’ third-quarter conference call with analysts, Bjorn Gulden, CEO, said Adidas’ sales in the U.S. “will probably not grow at all in the first half” of 2024 as North America lags other regions in rightsizing inventory levels. He said, “Inventory levels in the U.S. in general is still an issue. I think it lags about six months versus the rest of the world.”
EXEC: Inside Wolverine’s Plan for the Future—and the New Realities of 2023
New CEO Chris Hufnagel said WWW continues to reshape its portfolio, reduce inventory and redesign the company to become consumer-obsessed brand builders, focused squarely on building compelling products and telling amazing stories.
OrderMyGear Acquires DistributorCentral
OrderMyGear (OMG), based in Dallas, TX, announced it acquired DistributorCentral, a technology provider for suppliers and distributors in the promotional products industry.
Zanders Sporting Goods Hires Sales Manager
Zanders Sporting Goods, a national distributor in the hunt and fish channel located in Sparta, IL, hired Jeff Krieg as sales manager following the promotions of Danny Siegler to president and COO and Lucas Poston to director of procurement.
