Foot Locker And Pensole Open Registration For Annual Design Competition
Pensole Footwear Design Academy, in collaboration with Foot Locker Inc., opened registration for the company’s 2018 edition of “Fueling the Future of Footwear.”
Golf Rounds Tumble In April
According to Golf Datatech, golf rounds played on a national level were down 13.5 percent April 2018 compared to April 2017.

FDRA Spring Survey Shows Even More Footwear Shoppers Heading Online
According to the FDRA’s “Spring 2018 National Shoe Sales Survey,” 35 percent of Americans planned to buy shoes online this spring, up from 31 percent in 2017. Amazon was found to be only increasing dominance as the go-to place for purchasing footwear online.

NRF Disappointed Over China Tariffs
NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said in a statement, “China’s trade practices raise serious concerns, but job-killing tariffs aren’t the answer. As the U.S. and China prepare for another round of negotiations, we hope the administration has clearly defined objectives and concrete solutions to resolve this trade dispute without tariffs.”

Report: Eddie Bauer, Pacific Sunwear Exploring Merger
Eddie Bauer and Pacific Sunwear, both owned by private-equity firm Golden Gate Capital, could merge in a play that would shrink store count from their combined 700 locations, sources told Reuters.
Academy Sports Opens New Store In Matthews, NC
Academy Sports + Outdoors now has 12 stores throughout North Carolina and four in the Charlotte metropolitan area.
American Hiking Society Announces 2018 National Trails Fund Recipients
The National Trails Fund gives trail clubs and land managers the necessary funding to complete critical trail projects across the country, thanks to the support of the fund’s Charter Sponsor, L.L.Bean.
The Buckle’s Q1 Profits Climb 12 Percent
The Buckle Inc. announced that net income for the fiscal quarter ended May 5, 2018 was $18.3 million, or 38 cents a share, up from $16.3 million, or 34 cents, a year ago.

Foot Locker’s Shares Pop As Q1 Shows Some Recovery
Shares of Foot Locker Inc. jumped 20.2 percent on Friday after the sneaker leader reported first-quarter blasted past Wall Street’s targets. Management credited the arrival of more on-trend footwear styles from top vendors. But the makeup is changing, led by a resurgence for Nike, with many of styles as well as strength in Vans and Fila, offsetting some softening at Adidas, Puma and Converse.

Hibbett Remains Optimistic As Digital Initiatives Ramp Up
The leadership team at Hibbett Sports Inc. fully understands that the company is far behind competitors’ digital investments, but the company is making concerted efforts to catch up, and digital progress showed up in Hibbett’s first-quarter earnings.

All Brands Deliver For Deckers In Q4 But Ugg Stands Out
Revenue growth across the Deckers Brands portfolio—Ugg, Hoka One One, Teva and Sanuk—allowed the Goleta, CA-based footwear company to close fiscal 2018 on a “high note,” said President and CEO Dave Powers.

Strong Athletic Trend Propels Shoe Carnival
”The strong athletic and athleisure trend shows no sign of slowing down,” said Cliff Sifford, president and CEO, on a conference call with analysts.

Aisle Talk Week Of May 21
Top headlines from the active lifestyle industry you may have missed this week.
Hibbett Sports Q1 Operating Earnings Slide
Hibbett Sports Inc. reported operating earnings slid 16 percent in the first quarter as comps dipped 0.3 percent and both margins and the chain’s expense rate eroded. Hibbett said results exceeded the company’s internal plan and gross margin improvement was seen in April.

Foot Locker Q1 Blows Past Q1 Estimates
Foot Locker Inc. reported earnings before charges slid 3.3 percent in the first quarter, but came in well ahead of Wall Street’s targets. Dick Johnson, Foot Locker’s CEO, said in a statement, “The flow of premium product continues to improve, with increasing breadth and depth in the most sought after styles from our key vendors.”