Madsen to Retire from REI; Jewel to Take the Reins
REI CEO Dennis Madsen will retire from the company at the company's annual membership meeting on March 28, 2005, and said he will spend the next 10 months helping to transition the company's leadership to its current COO, Sally Jewell. Jewell wi
REI Opens Second Houston Store
REI will open a second store in Houston, Texas, in the Willowbrook Shopping Center in October. The new store will serve more than 17,000 active REI cooperative members
in the Houston area. REI opened its first store in Houston in 1996. Last year, that ori
Chinook Hires Coogan for New Brand Strategy
Chinook Trading has selected Mike Coogan, former VP of global marketing at Kamik, to launch a branded division.
Coogan, who will serve as president of the newly formed branded division at Chinook Trading, is launching a unique multi-brand strategy for the
The GolfWorks Hires Redferne as Technical Manager – U.K.
The GolfWorks has appointed former Clubmaker of the Year Kevin Redfern as the new Technical Manager of The GolfWorks, U.K. Owner and operator of Custom Golf Stix in London and recipient of the Golf Clubmakers Association (GCA) European Clubmaker of the Y
Kitty Bradley Joins Stonewear Designs as GM
Great Trango Holdings has hired Kitty Bradley as the Brand Manager for Stonewear Designs. Kitty joins the team to continue her career in the outdoor and apparel industries. She got her start in the Outdoor Industry as the GM of the Boulder Mountaineer fro
Keen’s CEO Joins TimBuk2 Board
Timbuk2 has added Angel Martinez to its Board of Directors. Mr. Martinez, the CEO of Keen Footwear and former Chief Marketing Officer of Reebok International, brings nearly three decades of consumer brand building expertise to the rapidly growing luggage
June is Proclaimed ‘Great Outdoors Month’
President Bush has formally declared June “Great Outdoors Month.” According to the OIA, the request for this proclaimation was made by the organization's key contact in the White House. Much of the language used in the document is based on the OIA�
American Skiing Company Appoints New VP — Eastern Lodging
American Skiing Company has appointed Brandon McCarter to the newly created position of Vice President — Eastern Lodging. Most recently, Mr. McCarter was Vice President of Lodging and General Manager of the Grand Summit Resort Hotel at Mount Snow, Vermon
All Eyes on Gander Mountain…
Several top investment firms initiated coverage of Gander Mountain this week, including Piper Jaffray, Bank of America and William Blair & Co. – the firm that floated the outdoor retailer’s IPO. The company received high marks from all analysts, who cited
Retail Execs See Lighter Traffic But More Sales in May…
It looks like the most recent Executive Opinion Survey, a monthly index by the National Retail Federation, was a fair indicator of the health of the retail business in May as retail execs also noted that the prediction of a negative impact of higher gas p
Forzani Sees Continued Challenges in Canadian Sporting Goods Market…
Forzani started the year off on shaky ground on the sales front, thanks in large part to heavy price competition and a declining sporting goods market north of the border, but shook off the tougher market and posted a 38% increase in net income for the pe
Zanatta Leaves Lotto Board; Tecnica is Now Sole Focus…
Giancarlo Zanatta, President of the Tecnica Group, has resigned his position as a member of the board of directors of Lotto Sport Italia in an effort to focus on re-launching the Nordica and Rollerblade brands world-wide…
American Recreation Parent Boosts Net Income 18.5% in Q1…
Kellwood, Inc. first quarter sales increased 2.1% to $686.1 million, compared to $672.3 million last year due to a combination of organic growth of $5 million, or approximately one percent, and the acquisition of Phat Fashions which provided an additional
But Loses Hoosier Deal to adidas…
The Hoosiers have made the switch from Nike to adidas for the school’s entire athletic department. The decision marks the first time that adidas has been the licensed product vendor for all of IU’s sports. Nike had held a majority of the contract since 20
Sporting Goods Sales Pace Online Sales Growth in 2003…
According to The State of Retailing On-line 7.0, a Shop.org study conducted by Forrester Research of 150 retailers, 2003 on-line retail sales improved 51% to $114 billion, surpassing all industry expectations. Each on-line product category experienced str
