U.S. Recreational Boating Industry Grows For Seventh Straight Year
The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA), representing the nation’s recreational boat, engine and marine accessory manufacturers, on Thursday announced that retail unit sales of new powerboats were up an estimated 4 percent in 2018 to approximately 280,000 units, the highest total since 2007.
Bill Seeks Universal Background Checks For Guns
Congressional Democrats on Tuesday introduced a bill that would move toward universal background checks for firearms.
SGB Industry Outlook 2019, Part 1
Over the past week, dozens of executives across the active lifestyle industry shared their outlook for 2019 with SGB. We reached out to large, medium and small brands and retailers in sporting goods, footwear, apparel, outdoors and tactical with two simple questions that were fairly open-ended: What gives you optimism and what causes concern in the coming year? This is the first of a two-part series that gauges what the industry’s key players think will or won’t happen in 2019.
GSM Outdoors Acquires Mainstream Holdings
GSM Outdoors LLC, a multi-brand manufacturer of specialized hunting and shooting products, has acquired Mainstream Holdings, the Windom, MN-based company that owns and operates Muddy Outdoors, Hawk and Big Game Treestands. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Velocity Outdoor Appoints VP Of Marketing Communications
Velocity Outdoor announced that Mike Weinkauf of Ravin Crossbows is now vice president of marketing communications for Velocity Outdoor.
Huntsman And The Chemours Company Expand Long-Standing Alliance
Huntsman Textile Effects and The Chemours Company FC, LLC have agreed to expand their long-term alliance in the area of durable water repellence (DWR).
Retail Imports Level Off After Rush To Beat Tariffs
Imports at the nation’s major retail container ports have slowed down after a months-long rush to beat increased tariffs on goods from China, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
Velocity Outdoor Appoints Dayne Lester VP Of Archery Products
Velocity Outdoor on Tuesday announced the promotion of Dayne Lester to the new role of vice president of archery products. In this role, Lester will manage innovation and sales strategy for Velocity Outdoor’s archery brands, Ravin Crossbows and CenterPoint Archery, ensuring continued leadership of the crossbow market. Lester comes to Velocity Outdoor as part of the recent acquisition of Ravin Crossbows.
Federal Unveils ‘New Look of Authority’ with Logo and Packaging Changes
Federal, the world’s largest sporting ammunition manufacturer and a brand of Vista Outdoor Inc., is rolling out a branding refresh that the company calls “The New Look of Authority,” which includes a new logo and packaging.
Camping World Acquires Minnesota RV Dealer
Camping World Holdings Inc. announced that it has closed on the acquisition of Coates RV with locations in Hugo and Cloquet in Minnesota.
Third Gander Outdoors Location Closes
Camping World has closed a Gander Outdoors stores in Appleton, WI, the third Gander Outdoors to close since re-opening the former Gander Mountain chain.
Sporting Goods’ Purge: Where Did They Land?
The liquidation of Sports Authority and other retail closures and mega-mergers over the last few years led to many executives finding new jobs inside and outside the industry. See where many landed.
Koola Buck Acquires Viper Archery Products
Brookville, PA-based Koola Buck, a meat-processing company and the inventor of the Koola Buck portable refrigeration system, announced Monday that is has purchased privately owned Viper Archery Products of South Point, OH. The terms of the sale were not disclosed.
NASGW Announces Election Of Laurie Aronson As Board Chairwoman
The National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers (NASGW) elected Laurie Aronson, president and CEO of Lipsey’s LLC, to chairwoman of the board during the 2018 annual NASGW Expo in Pittsburgh, PA. She is the first woman to lead the association as the board chair.
19 Burning Questions for ‘19
As the new year gets underway, plenty of questions linger around the active lifestyle, outdoor and sporting goods industries. The writers of SGB Executive came up with, fittingly, 19 questions that are likely to dominate headlines in ‘19, including the future of trade shows, the staying power of the athleisure trend, the effects of the trade war, the impact of channel disruption and much more. Here they are.
