
Craft Sportswear Partners With Spartan Trail And Tough Mudder
Swedish-based Craft Sportswear has expanded its relationship with Spartan by adding its designation of official “performance apparel and footwear” partner of the brand’s Obstacle Course Racing (OCR) entity to Spartan Trail and Tough Mudder.

Crocs Appoints Former J.Crew President To Board
Crocs Inc. announced that Tracy Gardner, former president of J.Crew, has been appointed to its Board of Directors effective June 9.

Back-To-School Sales Expected To Climb 5.5 Percent
According to Mastercard SpendingPulse, U.S. retail sales are expected to grow 5.5 percent during the critical July 15 through September 6 back-to-school period compared to 2020. Compared to 2019, sales are expected to grow 6.7 percent. The biggest year-over-year gains are expected from apparel, up 78.2 percent; and department stores, up 25.3 percent.

Report: Sequential Brands Exploring Bankruptcy Protection To Sell Assets
Sequential Brands Group Inc. is close to reaching a deal with lenders to file for bankruptcy protection in order to divest its portfolio of brands or sell the company, according to a report from Bloomberg. The company’s brands include AND1, Gaiam, SPRI and Avia.

Burlington Stores’ Debt Upgraded By S&P
S&P Global Ratings raised its issuer credit rating on Burlington Stores to ‘BB+’ from ‘BB’ as the off-price retailer’s sales continue to recover strongly as the U.S. emerges from the pandemic.

TJX’s Debt Ratings Upgraded
Moody’s Investors Service affirmed TJX Companies, Inc.’s senior unsecured rating at A2 and commercial paper rating at Prime-1. The rating outlook was changed to stable from negative.

Tilly’s Declares Special Dividend
Tilly’s Inc. announced today that its Board of Directors has declared a special cash dividend of $1.00 per share, or up to approximately $31 million in the aggregate, on the company’s outstanding Class A and Class B common stock.
National Retail Federation Boosts Annual Forecast
The National Retail Federation raised its outlook for the retail industry for the year as the economy accelerates its pace of recovery. Retail sales are expected to grow between 10.5 percent and 13.5 percent to an estimated total of $4.44 trillion to $4.56 trillion in 2021.

Danner Opens New Store In Denver
Danner ventured East from its headquarters in Oregon to open its latest retail location in Denver, CO located at Basecamp at Market Station.

Surf Technicians Hires VP Of Sales
Surftech announced the hiring of action sports industry veteran, Todd Stanley as VP of sales. Stanley has worked for Vans, DaKine and Reef.

Crocs Files Complaint Over Trademark-Infringing Products
Crocs Inc. has filed a complaint with the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) seeking an investigation of unlawfully imported shoes into the United States in violation of its registered trademarks.
Skechers Signs Second Soccer Endorsee
Skechers signed Michael Ballack, one of Germany’s top-scoring midfielders, to an endorsement deal.

Weyco Acquires Forsake Brand
Weyco Group Inc. announced that it had acquired substantially all of the operating assets and certain liabilities of Forsake, Inc., a distributor of outdoor footwear. Forsake will join Bogs in forming Weyco Group’s outdoor division, headquartered in Portland, OR.

Academy Sports’ Q1 Blows Past Wall Street Targets
Academy Sports + Outdoors raised its guidance for the year after reporting first-quarter earnings that came in well above Wall Street estimates. The 38.9 percent same-store gain was driven by continued double-digit consumer demand across all product categories, notably in Apparel, Footwear and Team Sports.

Decathlon U.S.A. Announces New CEO
Decathlon announced the appointment of Christian Ollier as CEO of Decathlon U.S.A., allowing prior CEO, Michel D’Humières, to move on to other projects within the company.