B. Riley Financial Retained in Salamander Restructuring Effort
GA Europe, a subsidiary of B. Riley Retail Solutions, is assisting with the optimization of Salamander’s store footprint in Germany, Hungary and Austria. Salamander is a manufacturer and retailer of footwear with inventory across a wide selection of shoes.
Farfetch Limited Hires New CFO as Elliot Jordan Departs
Farfetch Limited hired Tim Stone as chief financial officer, effective September 1, succeeding Elliot Jordan, whose departure was announced by the company in February.
Survey: America’s Best Retailers 2023 Recognizes Active-Lifestyle Chains
Bass Pro, Golf Galaxy, Puma, and L.L. Bean were among the active lifestyle retailers that Newsweek honored in its 2023 America’s Best Retailers based on a consumer survey it conducted with Statista.

EXEC: Rocky Brands Sees Brand Momentum Build After Tough Start to Q2
Notwithstanding the slow start, at-once orders reportedly improved month-over-month as the quarter progressed and the trend continued into July, providing a good start to the third quarter creating optimism that channel inventories are getting properly aligned with demand.

Steve Madden’s Q2 Sales Drop 17 Percent
Steven Madden, Ltd. reported earnings slid 28.9 percent in the second quarter ended June 30 as sales fell 16.8 percent on reduced wholesale revenues. Results were in line with expectations and the trendy footwear manufacturer maintained its outlook for the year.
Emerald Holding Delivers 21 Percent Growth In Q2
Emerald Holding Inc., the operator of Outdoor Retailer and other trade shows, reported revenues of $86.5 million for the second quarter, an increase of 21.1 percent year-over-year, primarily due to growth in staged events.

EXEC: Vans’ and Dickies’ Sharp Q1 Declines Offer Rude Welcome for New VF CEO
Vans has an outsized impact on the fiscal first quarter while The North Face, Timberland, Jansport, and others have more impact in the back half of the year.

EXEC: Columbia Sportswear Axes Outlook on Expectations of Promotional Second Half
On Columbia Sportswear’s Q2 analyst call, Tim Boyle, chairman, president and CEO, said softer sell-through trends in the U.S. due to “cautious consumer behavior” and elevated inventory levels, particularly in footwear, caused the company to slash its guidance for the year.

EXEC: Big 5 Unable to Overcome Slow Start to Summer Selling
Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp. saw its core market in El Segundo, a city in Los Angeles County, CA, where it is headquartered, baking in extreme heat in recent weeks. Still, president and CEO Steve Miller told analysts that cool weather in the early months of the second quarter ended July 2, caused sales to fall below the retailer’s already low target.
Kelty Engages ORO Sales Group
Kelty hired On the Road and Off (ORO), a Southeast sales and marketing group, to grow sales for the brand’s camping, backpacking and lifestyle gear in the Southeast U.S.

Rocky Brands Logs Q2 Loss on 38 Percent Sales Tumble
Rocky Brands, Inc. reported a loss of $2.7 million in the second quarter ended June 30. Sales were down 38 percent, dropping 45.5 percent in the wholesale channel.

Weyco Group Sees Bogs Sales Decline 35 percent in Q2
Weyco Group Inc. reported North American wholesale sales at Bogs declined 35 percent in the second quarter ended June 30 as the company’s overall sales slid 10 percent. Weyco’s overall earnings rose 8 percent.

VF Corp. Sees Wider Q1 Loss and Revenue Decline as Vans Drag Continues
The home to the iconic Vans, The North Face, Timberland, Jansport, and Dickies brands, among others, saw 2024 fiscal first-quarter revenue slide 8 percent to $2.09 billion from $2.22 billion in the year-ago quarter.

Columbia Sportswear Cuts Full-Year Guidance On U.S. Weakness
Columbia Sportswear Co. reported second-quarter earnings and sales that topped Wall Street expectations, but lowered its outlook for the year as continued weakness in its U.S. offset strength overseas, including China. The company said it was undertaking expense reduction efforts to manage “near-term uncertainty.”

Big 5 Sees Q2 Same-Store Sales Decline 12 Percent
Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp. posted a slight loss in the second quarter ended July 2 as same-store sales dropped a worse-than-expected 12 percent due to cool weather impacting early spring selling. The California-based sporting goods chain generated positive EBITDA and earnings results were above the midpoint of its guidance range.