Tender Corp. Acquires Counter Assault
Tender Corporation announced the acquisition of Bushwacker Backpack & Supply, maker of the popular Counter Assault brand of personal-defense products, including the leading bear spray and tools for law enforcement and self-defense.
Ares Outdoors Acquires Hunting And Outdoor Apparel Brand Thlete
Ares Outdoors, LLC , based in Franklin, TE, has completed the acquisition of the assets of Thlete, LLC, an online retailer based in Eagan, MN.
Vista Outdoor Announces Sale Of Savage Arms
Vista Outdoor Inc. announced that it has completed the sale of its Savage Arms and Stevens firearms brands to a financial buyer for $170 million. The company’s transformation includes divesting both its eyewear brands and firearms brands in order to focus on categories where the company believes it can be market leaders.
American Outdoor Brands Still Seeing Firearms Softness
American Outdoor Brands wrapped up a challenging year with a fourth quarter that came out well ahead of guidance. But James Debney, president and CEO, said the beat was largely driven by promotions and he still sees flat demand for firearms despite May’s uptick in firearms background checks.
MeatEater Acquires Hunting Apparel Brand First Lite
MeatEater Inc. announced its expansion from media into direct-to-consumer retail with the acquisition of hunting technical apparel and gear company First Lite.
Moody’s Confirms Camping World’s Debt Ratings, Outlook Negative
Moody’s Investors Service confirmed all ratings of Camping World, including the B1 Corporate Family rating, and assigned a negative outlook. Moody’s said, “”At present, both leverage and interest coverage are outside of Moody’s downgrade triggers, with sequential improvement beginning in Q2 necessary so that tangible progress towards levels more appropriate for the rating are achieved.”
Report: Remington Furloughing Workers At New York Plant
Remington Arms will partially close its plant in Ilion, NY this summer, furloughing about 500 workers, local leaders said.
Sellmark Acquires Kopfjager
Sellmark announced the addition of Kopfjager to the corporation’s family of popular brands.
Salesforce Bans Gun Dealers From Using Its Products
Salesforce, the leading provider of cloud-based software, is barring customers from using its system to sell semi-automatic guns and other firearms.
Cause Marketing Platforms Not Breaking Through With Gen Z
Several brands in the active lifestyle space, including Patagonia, Nike and Toms, are being recognized for their purpose-driven ethos and related cause-marketing efforts according to an extensive study from DoSomething.org. But the study still found it’s not easy to break through and create belief among consumers.
Cannondale Driving Rebound For Dorel Sports
Dorel Industries said its Dorel Sports’ segment showed some recovery in the first quarter. Growth at Cycling Sports Group (CSG), led by Cannondale, helped offset continued pressures at the mass channel. Said Martin Schwartz, Dorel’s CEO, “We’re excited about prospects with the Cannondale line demonstrating excellent momentum.”
Sturm, Ruger Again Faces Activists At Annual Meeting
Sturm, Ruger & Company Inc. reported another quarter of double-digit declines with so signs of a pickup in the firearms market while yet again facing a number of gun-control activists at its annual meeting.
Johnson Outdoors Q2 Boosted By Strength In Fishing And Diving
Johnson Outdoors Inc. said it faced challenges in its kayak and tent businesses in the second quarter March 29, but still managed to show a slight increase in profits in the period due to momentum in its larger Fishing and Diving segments.
Big 5 Delivers Robust First Quarter But Weak Outlook
Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp. delivered a strong first quarter as cold weather boosted its winter business. But the California-based sporting goods chain also warned of a loss in the current quarter due to a later Easter this year and also warned that overall sales appear soft.
Rocky Brands Inc. Ramps Up Reinvestment After Strong Q1
Marketing efforts clearly paid off for Rocky Brands Inc. in the first quarter, with the company reporting a 9.1 percent earnings increase on a 7.4 percent revenue gain, both of which beat Wall Street’s estimates. Now the company plans to double down on that strategy by reinvesting some of the profits from last quarter into a revamped and rejuvenated marketing strategy aimed at taking more share across end markets.
