SGB Update Apparel

Diane Pelkey Joins Chewy

Diane Pelkey, the former long-time SVP of communications at Under Armour, has been appointed head of communications and PR at Chewy, the online pet products retailer.

Duluth Trading Announces Additional Coronavirus Measures

Duluth Trading announced the furlough of 68 percent of salaried staff, a pay reduction for senior leadership ranging from 10 to 20 percent, and temporary raises for workers at distribution centers in response to the extended impact from COVID-19.

Less than Half Of U.S. Golf Courses Remain Open

As of the end of last week, 44 percent of the nation’s golf courses were still allowing play, down slightly from the previous week, according to research from the National Golf Foundation (NGF).

New Balance Undergoes Furloughs

New Balance has decided to furlough a “portion” of its retail, factory and office workers because of the coronavirus pandemic. The decision will not impact factory workers in Lawrence, MA and Norridgewock, ME who are producing general use face masks for first responders.

Canada Goose Bringing Back Up To 900 Workers To Make Medical Gear

Canada Goose Holdings Inc., based in Toronto, announced its plans to ramp up domestic production of personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline healthcare workers across Canada. Over the next two weeks, the company will begin to reopen all of its eight Canadian facilities and, at full capacity as many as 900 employees will be working to support the efforts.

The Buckle’s March Sales Tumble 50 Percent

The Buckle Inc. announced that total net sales for the 5-week fiscal month ended April 4, 2020, decreased 50.2 percent. As previously announced, Buckle closed all brick & mortar stores due to the COVID-19 pandemic for an indefinite period beginning March 18, 2020.

REI Postpones Billings Opening

REI Co-op’s planned opening of a store in Billings, MT, in spring 2020 has been postponed due to the ongoing pandemic.

Puma Reopens First Location In Wuhan, China

Puma has re-opened its store in Wuhan, China, the city where the coronavirus was first reported. The company plans to re-open its five other stores in the greater Wuhan region by mid-April.

HanesBrands Takes Actions to Navigate COVID-19 Pandemic

HanesBrands, the parent of Champion, announced that it is taking actions to navigate the global economic environment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, including limiting discretionary spending, reducing executive pay, managing inventory, leveraging the company’s e-commerce business across the online channel, and diversifying production to include face masks.