
NRF: Consumer Spending Not Unraveling; Retail Sales Growth to Continue in 2025
The association’s 2025 sales forecast compares with 3.6 percent annual sales growth to $5.29 trillion dollars in 2024. This year’s forecast also aligns with the 10-year pre-pandemic average annual sales growth of 3.6 percent.

Lazydays RV Posts Revenue Decline and Wider Loss in 2024; Divests More Locations
Lazydays has signed a Letter of Intent with General RV Center to divest three stores from the company’s footprint in Ft. Pierce, FL; Longmont, CO; and Mesa, AZ.

Hest Taps Darrin Haugen as VP of Product, Boasts Growth Numbers
The company said Haugen has a tenured background in product development in the outdoor and ski markets, most recently in senior product development roles at Peak Ski Company and Sitka Gear.

EXEC: Sportsman’s Warehouse Shares Surge as Analysts Buy into Progress
Fishing led all categories for Q4 comp growth, following by Camping. Hunting and Shooting Sports comped down, but outpaced NICS trends. The retailer is estimating fiscal 2025 net sales to be in the range of negative 1 percent to up 3.5 percent over 2024.

BRP Inc. and Bryton Marine Group Ink Deal for Alumacraft Divesture
BRP earlier this week reported the sale of its Telwater business, which includes the Quintrex, Stacer and Savage brands. BRP plans to sell its Marine businesses to double down on its core Powersports activities.
Sportsman’s Warehouse Swings to Adjusted Net Profit in Q4 on Flattish Comp Sales
On a comparable 13-week basis, fourth-quarter net sales decreased 0.9 percent compared with the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023. Same-store sales declined 0.5 percent year-over-year on a 13-week comparable basis.

EXEC: BRP Inc. Divests More Marine Assets, Selling Quintrex, Stacer and Savage Brands
The parent of the Ski-Doo and Lynx powersports brands has entered into a definitive agreement to sell 100 percent of the outstanding shares of Telwater Pty, Ltd. to Yamaha Motor Australia Pty Ltd., a subsidiary of Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.

Boar Products Enters Strategic Partnership with Steelhead Outdoors
The manufacturer of gun cleaning and maintenance products and Steelhead Outdoors, the Minnesota-based manufacturer of modular, American-made gun safes, are “giving gun owners the tools they need to protect and maintain their firearms for life.”

Rural King Opens New Store in Alabama
Rural King has grown to over 130 stores in fourteen states, providing a broad range of essential goods, food, feed, seed, and other farm and home necessities to communities it serves throughout Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Franklin Armory Brings Reformation Back to Market
The U.S. manufacturer of firearms and accessories, announced that production and sales of its 7.5-inch and 11.5-inch barrel length Reformation models are now sold GCA “firearm,” not SBS, SBR or NFA.

FN American Awarded Defense Logistics Agency Contract for Machine Gun Barrels
FN has been one of the largest suppliers of small arms to the U.S. military. In addition to the M240 and its variants, the company holds contracts for the FN M249 lightweight machine gun, the FN MK 46, MK 48, MK 17, and MK 20 SSR for USSOCOM, and various other contracts.

Leatt Corp. Revenues Jump DD in Q4 on Strong Body Armor and Helmet Growth
Sales of the brand’s most established category, neck braces, were down 25 percent in Q4 year-over-year as inventory is digested at the dealer and distributor level. Sales of ADV gear, designed for Adventure riding, exceeded expectations.

SBA Implements Made in America Manufacturing Initiative
The new SBA effort will cut $100 billion in regulation, expand access to capital and create dedicated infrastructure to support blue-collar boom.

Bass Pro Shops to Officially Open in Tyler, TX, with Evening for Conservation
The retailer will host a grand opening of its new retail store in Tyler, TX, with an Evening for Cnservation, on Wednesday, April 16. Every dollar spent during the event, 20 percent (on most items) will be donated to local conservation organizations, a tradition owner Johnny Morris started many years ago.

BKK Hooks Hires New Director of Marketing
BKK said Casey Yoern previously served as the marketing specialist/photographer at Daiwa Corp., where he spearheaded digital marketing campaigns, managed product launches and oversaw catalog creation for over 2,000 SKUs.