NRF to Present Dick’s SG Chairman Ed Stack with The Visionary Award
Presented annually to an outstanding retail leader, the 2023 NRF Visionary Award honors Stack for his leadership of the largest omnichannel sporting goods retailer in the U.S., guiding the company’s evolution from two stores in upstate New York to a Fortune 500 company.
Rock Ridge Outdoors Names New Regional Sales Manager
Dani Navickas brings more than 25 years of experience working in sales, marketing and product development within the shooting and outdoor industries, including tenures at Velocity Outdoor, Sig Sauer and Remington, to the role.
EXEC: Chairman of BDE’s Parent Makes Bid To Acquire Its Ammo Business
Clarus Corp.’s executive chairman, the largest shareholder, Warren Kanders, submitted a non-binding bid to acquire the company’s Precision Sports segment, which includes Sierra Bullets and Barnes Bullets brands, for $160 million.
West Marine Inks Agreement with Lenders
The transaction will provide West Marine with liquidity and significantly reduce total debt to strengthen the company’s balance sheet and financial profile. The agreement was supported by 100 percent of the holders of the company’s funded debt obligations and West Marine’s current principal equity holder, L Catterton.
Lands’ End Names CFO
Lands’ End, Inc. announced that Bernard McCracken, the company’s interim CFO since January 2023 and chief accounting officer since April 2014, was named chief financial officer.
Dick’s Sporting Goods Appoints BJ’s Chairman to Board of Directors
New director Bob Eddy has served as president and CEO of BJ’s since April 2021. He was appointed chairman in June 2023 and has served on the company’s Board of Directors since 2021. Dick’s Sporting Goods Board expanded to 12 directors.
West Marine Reaches Restructuring Deal to Avoid Court Proceedings
West Marine agreed to restructure roughly $800 million of the company’s debt out of court proceedings with the assistance of L Catterton, its private-equity owner. L Catterton will retain control of the business.
Grundéns Hires New CEO from Rapala
The producer of fishing apparel and footwear hired Nicolas Cederström Warchalowski as chief executive officer. Most recently, Warchalowski was the CEO of Rapala, the sport fishing company.
Cascade Designs Names New VP of Human Resources
The company hired Minor Harris as VP of human resources, working from the company’s Reno, NV office. Harris will oversee all facets of HR to “ensure that the right people are in place” to develop, design and manufacture the company’s recreational product lines.
Duluth Trading Opens New Fulfillment Center
The new facility, located in Adairsville, GA is the company’s fourth fulfillment center and first to use automation and robotics.
August Retail Sales Growth Moderates; Sporting Goods Trends Down
August sales were up in five out of nine retail categories on a yearly basis, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Circana reported flat sales growth year-over-year for their categories while the NRF and USCB saw sales up 3.3 percent for the period.
Deloitte Forecasts Softer Holiday Sales, Double-Digit E-Commerce Growth
Holiday sales in the U.S. are estimated to grow 3.5 percent to 4.6 percent between November and January, slowing from the 7.6 percent increase seen in 2022, according to Deloitte’s annual holiday retail forecast. The moderation reflects less inflation but also weaker consumer spending.
Yamaha U.S. Marine Appoints Customer Experience Division Manager
Jason Berry is now responsible for leading and supporting Marine Field Service and call centers for Outboard, WaterCraft, Bennett, and Siren. Berry first joined Yamaha in 2005.
Helly Hansen, SportChek Parent Prices Private Placement Notes Offering
Canadian Tire Corporation, Ltd. intends to use the net proceeds from the offering and sale of the Notes for the repayment of short-term borrowings and general corporate purposes.
Outdoor Writers Association of America Honors Key Members
OWAA selected six association members as recipients of the organization’s most prestigious awards. The honorees were announced at the OWAA’s annual conference in Gulf Shores, AL.
