Iconix Brand Group Announces Cooperation Agreement With Sports Direct
Iconix Brand Group Inc. announced that the company has entered into a cooperation agreement with Sports Direct International plc, pursuant to which Sports Direct has the right to appoint two members of the company’s board of directors.

Under Armour See North American Rebound
Under Armour Inc. reported a steep loss in the second quarter after restructuring activities and said the company had planned to spend an additional $80 million on restructuring efforts this year. The loss before charges was in line with Wall Street’s expectations. Sales were ahead of expectations as North American sales grew for the first time in a year.
Amer Sports Sees Modest Growth In Q2
Amer Sports reported a slightly higher loss on a modest sales gain in the second quarter, the company’s smallest quarter of the year. Amer still expects a “solid” second half, driven by up to double-digit pre-order growth in Winter Sports Equipment, Arc`teryx, Sports Instruments and strong expected order position in Precor, which just won the company’s largest ever customer contract.

Puma’s Currency-Neutral Sales Climb 15 Percent In Q2
Puma reported earnings rose 37.8 percent in the second quarter on improving margins and continued sales momentum. Sales rose 15 percent on a currency-neutral basis, led by an 18.7 percent gain in the Americas. The outlook for the year remained unchanged.

Adidas Opening Creative Community Space In Brooklyn
Coinciding with the latest iteration of its P.O.D. System sneaker, Adidas Originals announced the opening Factory 55 in the heart of Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood. Local artists, musicians and designers will lead workshops and open lab sessions on both zine and poster making, a neighborhood photography session, a ‘how-to’ tutorial on silk-screening t-shirts and more.

U.S. Road Race Participation Numbers Hold Steady For 2017
For the vast majority of road races of all sizes across the U.S., participation held steady in 2017, according to an analysis of road race participation trends released by Running USA.
Payless Appoints Mary Chris Gay to Board Of Directors
Payless Holdings LLC announced the appointment of Mary Chris Gay as an independent director of the company.
Meridian Community College Reaches Deal With Under Armour And BSN Sports
Meridian Community College signed a five-year partnership with Under Armour through an agreement signed with BSN Sports.

What’s Behind Brooks Running’s Shop-In-Shop Initiative?
On June 16, Brooks Running announced the company was partnering with 30 run specialty shops in the U.S. and Canada to launch the company’s first shop-in-shop program. SGB Executive reached out to Mike Billish, VP of U.S. sales, to explore the new program.
Worldwide Distributors Names Sean Maygra President
Worldwide Distributors (Worldwide), the Kent, WA-based buying cooperative for independent retailers, has named Sean Maygra as president.
OIA Releases First-Ever Sustainability Report
Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) released the association’s first-ever State of Sustainability in the Outdoor Industry report surveying 120 individual small, midsize and large companies in the outdoor industry to quantify the outdoor industry’s long-time collaborative efforts to reduce the impacts of its products and processes.

Outdoor Industry Leaders Issue Call-To-Action On Participation
Likening outdoor participation to a “leaky bucket,” the Outdoor Foundation Board Chair Sally McCoy, said at the OIA Industry Breakfast that the industry has been able to “get some people in but we’re losing more out the bottom.” Moreover, she said Outdoor Foundation research confirms “we’re late in the game” as far as reversing trends.

Nike Overhauls Compensation Structure After Internal Review
Nike Inc., according to an internal memo, plans to increase salaries for more than 7,000 employees after an internal pay review. The annual bonus awards process is also being changed.

Experience Counts … Demo Day Kicks Off Outdoor Retailer Summer Market
Outdoor brands took to Denver’s Confluence and Commons parks Sunday afternoon to showcase some of their newest offerings for 2019 and give retailers a chance to paddle SUPs, pedal e-bikes and check out dozens of products from water bottles to energy bars to a stand-to-pee accessory for women.
Brooks Running Releases New FastTrack Mobile Application
The Brooks FastTrack mobile application acts as a one-stop-shop for retailers to manage orders, check inventory and drop-ship directly to customers both inside and outside the physical retail store directly from a smartphone.