
Kizik Opens Two New Retail Locations
Hands-free footwear brand opens new store in Mall of America and King of Prussia as part of its brick-and-mortar retail expansion strategy.

Rally House Opens Second Storefront in Wisconsin
Rally House expands its presence in Wisconsin to two storefronts after opening Rally House Outlets at The Dells in Baraboo on May 17. Last October, Rally House opened its House Mayfair Collection in Wauwatosa, WI.

REI Chicago Union Workers Disrupt Anniversary Sale, Walk Off Job
REI Union Chicago workers walked off the job this on Saturday May 18, during the retailer’s annual Anniversary Sale, demanding the retailer reach a “fair contract” by the end of 2024.

EXEC: Tom Cove to Retire from SFIA Leadership Post in October
Always the gentleman, always understated and always a class act, Tom Cove let slip this week that he will retire from his leadership role at the SFIA, the Sports & Fitness Industry Association, formerly SGMA, in the fall.

Snipes Appoints Martin Badour as President of Snipes USA
He succeeds Jim Bojko, who has left Snipes. In his new role, Badour will be responsible for managing the company in the United States, according to a press release from the company..

EXEC: Is Adidas Killing the Golden Goose?
This week, the headlines in the sneaker world were filled with a billboard proclaiming, “Adidas Plans Cheaper Versions of Popular Shoes Like the Samba” and outrage from sneaker aficionados that the brand would dare step on the toes of its iconic shoe.
Ex-Nike DEI Boss Sentenced to 5 Years for Fraud
Barbara Furlow-Smiles stole over $5 million from Nike and Facebook as a DEI manager. Her greed got her a sentence of five years and three months in Federal prison this week.

Adidas SPZL continues 10th Anniversary Celebration with Decade Pack
As tenth-anniversary editions, Gary Aspend subtly reworked four iconic Adidas SPZL silhouettes from the past ten years: Blackburn, Lacombe, Garwen, and Ardwick.

EXEC: CEO Kevin Plank Outlines Dramatic Turnaround Plan for Under Armour
With some apparent aggravation on what the brand has become, Plank noted that Under Armour has become a brand that competes primarily on price versus what should be its core competency—performance and technical innovation.

Pnuma Outdoors and Heated Core Appoint Brand Manager
Amber Liljestrand previously worked at Bass Pro Shops, where she was the assistant merchant for Hunting and Tactical Apparel, overseeing design, development and promotion of proprietary brands while collaborating with major national brands.

Dillard’s, Inc. Sees Fiscal Q1 Comps Dip 2 Percent; Net Income Sinks 11 Percent
Total retail sales, which excludes the company’s construction business, CDI Contractors, LLC, for the fiscal first quarter were $1.49 billion, down 1 percent from $1.52 billion in the year-ago Q1 period.

Under Armour Issues Tepid FY Outlook as Company Resets Weak U.S. Business
The company reported fiscal 2024 Q4 net revenue was down 5 percent year-over-year to $1.3 billion for the three-month period ended March 31, 2024, while reported EPS shrank to to 2 cents a diluted share in Q4 from 38 cents in the prior-year Q4 period.

Puma Rewrites a Classic: Takes Easy Rider From the Tracks to the Streets
A retro running silhouette that “embodies a classic era of footwear design,” the iconic Easy Rider, rooted in running, has undergone an evolution in 2024.

MEC to Open New Store in Ontario, Canada
MEC, the Canadian outdoor retailer, reported it will open a freestanding store in Whitby, Ontario, in July 2024, its seventh standalone store in Ontario and 23rd standalone in Canada.

EXEC: Industry Organizations Push Back on Biden Administration’s Tariff Decisions
The decision to maintain Section 301 China tariffs and implement new tariffs has U.S. retail and brand companies up in arms over the decision released this week by the Biden administration.