SGB Update Apparel

Athletic Footwear a Ray of Sunshine in Cloudy August

As the numbers roll in for the retail fiscal month of August, it is pretty clear that retailers are looking to athletic footwear to keep footwear sales numbers in positive territory. While the later back-to-school season has clearly impacted retailers, a

Lehman Acquiring Minority Stake in SRAM

Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking (LBMB) has agreed to purchase a minority stake in the bicycling components maker SRAM. While terms of the deal were not disclosed, SRAM will use part of the proceeds to establish a $10 million SRAM Cycling Advocacy Fund to

Eurobike Reports High Attendance and Confidence

Eurobike is reporting record attendance of 36,800 trade visitors from 75 countries, 18,000 bicycle fans at its Open House Day and 1,430 journalists from 32 countries. Ninety percent of the trade visitors surveyed rated the economic situation as stable to

Cole Haan Launches Sharapova Collection

Cole Haan, a subsidiary of Nike, announced Maria Sharapova will serve as a lead collaborator and the face of Cole Haan Sporting, a new collection for Spring 2009, rooted in sport and fashion. The collection introduces new technologies like Flywire which b

Callaway Golf President and CEO Sign New Agreement

Callaway Golf Co. announced that the Board of Directors and George Fellows, president and CEO, have agreed to amend and extend the term of his employment agreement through December 2011…

Zumiez Promotes GMM Kilbourne to President

Zumiez Inc. has appointed Lynn K. Kilbourne as the company's president and general merchandising manager. Prior to Kilbourne's promotion to president, she served as the company's EVP and GMM since Sept. 2004…

Lady Foot Locker Sponsors Disney Marathon

Lady Foot Locker will be the presenting sponsor of Disney's Princess Half Marathon Weekend in March 2009, its inaugural race. Under the multi-year agreement, Lady Foot Locker will be involved in the marketing of Disney's Princess Half Marathon W

La Sportiva Consolidates Social Networking Sites

La Sportiva N.A. launched a social media web community today called LIVE. The new portal combines all of La Sportiva’s new media and social media and highlights grassroots efforts in the climbing, hiking and Mountain Running communities into one user-frie

Costco’s U.S. Comps Climb 9% in August

Costco Wholesale Corporation reported net sales increased 12% to $5.41 billion for the month of August from $4.84 billion a year ago. On a same-store basis, sales grew 9% in the U.S. and 6% internationally…

Danner Gets Largest Military Boot Order of 2008

LaCrosse Footwear’s Danner subsidiary received a $3.2 million delivery order as part of a new contract with the Department of Defense. The contract calls for delivery of the Danner Marine Temperate boot within the next 60 days. The company said this contr

Former Rossignol CEO Lands Deal to Buy Brand

Quiksilver, Inc. found a buyer for the Rossignol Group with help from a former executive and current competitor. The action sports giant said last week it had reached a definitive agreement to sell Rossi to Chartreuse & Mont Blanc (C&MB), a company formed

Hundreds of Delegates Ride Bikes in Denver

Just one day into the Democratic National Convention, more than 1,400 people had participated in Freewheelin, a bike-sharing program from Humana and Bikes Belong…

REI Names New VP of Information Technology

Recreational Equipment, Inc. named Bill Baumann vice president of information technology (IT). He was most recently the VP of IT with Musician's Friend/Guitar Center in Medford, OR. That company sells more than $600 million a year via its web site, w

SKECHERS Expands into Hong Kong

SKECHERS USA, Inc. announced that it has expanded its operations in Hong Kong and Macau through a joint venture (known as SKECHERS Hong Kong Limited) with the Onwel Group, a leading fashion company in the region. The new joint venture in Hong Kong follows

Warrior Files $30 Million Lawsuit Against NCAA

Warrior Lacrosse, based in Lansing, MI, and Athlete's Connection Inc., a retailer based in Lansing, MI, has filed a lawsuit against the NCAA seeking damages of more than $30 million they say will be caused under new men's lacrosse equipment rule