Many Active Stocks Miss Market Rally In 2017

While the broader stock markets soared to record highs in 2017, many major stocks in the active lifestyle industry weren’t invited the party.

For the year, the S&P gained about 20 percent, the Dow moved up more than 25 percent, and the Nasdaq ran up nearly 29 percent. All three recorded their best year since 2013.

But shares of Dick’s Sporting Goods, Hibbett Sports and Big 5 Sporting Goods were all off more than 40 percent. Beyond the disruption caused by the shift to online selling facing most retailers, those in the athletic space have been dragged down by a number of liquidations over the last two years – led by Sports Authority but also compounded by the exit of MC Sports, Gander Mountain, Golfsmith as well as City Sports at the close of 2015  – as well as some counterproductive trends, including a shift away from performance footwear.

In the sneaker space, Foot Locker gave back 10.0 percent and Finish Line was off 19.9 percent. Shares of Genesco fell 47.7 percent as the Journeys chain struggled at the first part of the year and its Lids segment faced challenges in the back half.

Amazon, seen leading the disruption in retail, added another 56.0 percent, while Wal-Mart, which made significant progress with its online operations, grew 46.6 percent. Other winners included Camping World, which entered the active space with its purchase of Gander Mountain; as well as Lululemon and Tilly’s, which both saw their businesses recover.

Vendors in general saw a better year on Wall Street with many showing a rebound after struggling earlier in the year amid the bankruptcies and a challenging 2016 holiday season. Skechers grew 54 percent; Wolverine gained 46.3 percent, VF Corp. added 42.8 percent and Columbia Sportswear grew 24.9 percent.

Among the major sports brands, Adidas continued its recovery efforts and saw its stock appreciate 28.5 percent for the year. Nike gained 24.8 percent after launching an ambitious effort to revive its North American sales and continuing to find strong growth overseas and in its own direct-to-consumer businesses. Under Armour, which in October saw its quarterly sales decline for the first time since going public, gave back 50.4 percent. American Outdoor Brands, Vista Outdoor and Sportsman’s Warehouse were hurt by a politically-driven decline in demand for firearms.

The biggest gainers among vendors went to three companies seeing profit turnarounds: Crox, up 84.3 percent; Rocky Brands, ahead 68.9 percent; and Johnson Outdoors, rising 57.8 percent.

Canada Goose was the only stock in the industry to complete an initial public offering. Priced at $12.78 on March 16, shares rose 26 percent on its first day of trading and closed the year at $31.56.