SGB Today

SGB Editor Picks: Winning Summer Socks

It’s a crowded sock market, and as consumers pack away their thick, winter hosiery, a fresh lineup of lightweight summer options are hitting retail shelves. Here are three of our favorites to wear this season.

Socks Get Tighter and Hipper

Contoured and durable fits, higher needle-counts and good-looking style hit the sock drawer. Sock brands are tightening up designs for awesome contour fit and compression, as well as introducing styles that bring performance with personality. Thank runners and bikers who are demanding high-tech hosiery to accompany their hi-tech footwear. The thin and tight socks bump up […]

The Silent Giant

The Sock category for many retailers has often been referred to as the silent giant — quietly driving apparel sales and providing a stable source of revenue for retailers. Despite a 14 percent drop in unit sales year-to-date (YTD) according to analysis of retail point-of-sale data compiled by SSI Data* powered by SportsOneSource, the Sock […]

Insoles Move Beyond Injury Prevention

Flexibility, moisture management, anti-microbial benefits and demand for instant built-in comfort, are supporting new levers for insole sales.

Inside Look at Insole Data

Insoles have long been a favorite point-of-sale (POS) add-on for the Outdoor, Family Footwear, and Run Specialty retailer but since early 2015 the category has seen a steady decline in sales.

Vinyasa On Venus

The modern yogi searches for apparel and equipment to satisfy their personal flavor. Yoga – a word first written in ancient Rig Veda text, is now a $16-billion-dollar industry with roughly 36.7 million practitioners in the U.S. alone, according to the 2016 Yoga in America Study done in part by Yoga Alliance and Yoga Journal. Of […]

2016 SGB 40 Under 40 Honorees Announced

SportsOneSource has announced the honorees for the ninth annual SGB 40 Under 40 Awards. This year’s class contains individuals from all corners of the sporting goods and active-lifestyle industry, who are recognized as leaders making a difference in their businesses and the market. The 40 recipients were selected by a panel of SportsOneSource analysts, editors and […]

For Studios And Clubs, Customer Loyalty Is In The Details

Why exactly do members cancel classes, switch studios and take their dollars to another location? A retention report released in April 2016 by Listen360 found the devil really is in the details when it comes to dissatisfying members and growing customer loyalty. Listen360 analyzed more than 9,000 customer survey responses to learn which aspects of […]

One-On-One with Kathryn Budig, International Yoga Rockstar

Going big in the yoga industry while staying true. Do a quick Google search for Kathryn Budig and you might think you’ve stumbled upon rock star. She’s gorgeous, fit, chic, glows with confidence — and she’ll joyfully lead you in your next vinyasa class. At 33 years old, the internationally renowned yoga instructor’s expertise is […]

Baby Boomers Don’t Want Six-Packs

How and why health clubs and classes need to shift gears to attract the 50-plus consumer. The wave of fitness boot camps, music-thumping spin classes and done-in-an-hour high-intensity workouts have helped revitalize the fitness industry, but have they left behind a significant consumer base? About one out of every three Americans are over the age […]

Sneak Peek to Spring/Summer 2017

The North Face, yesterday, gave outdoor media in Boulder, CO a preview of what’s to come for spring/summer 2017, including an expansion of its Fuse Form technology, a foray into performance cushion footwear, and a broader view on how it plans to balance the business between its core outdoor roots and growing urban lifestyle markets. […]