SGB Update Footwear

Foot Locker, Inc. Swings to Q1 Loss as Global Comps Fall 2.6 Percent
Despite making ongoing progress with the company’s Lace Up Plan, preliminary first quarter results were said to be below expectations as the athletic footwear retailer experienced softer traffic trends globally.

Urban Outfitters Debuts On Rotation In-Store Experience — Starting with Nike
On Rotation will debut in UO stores featuring lounge-style installations in five key cities: New York, Washington D.C., Scottsdale, AZ, San Diego, CA, and Manhattan Beach, CA. The activation starts today, May 14, with its first partner, Nike.

Rakuten Rewards Appoints Chief Marketing Officer
Previously, Wendy Bergh was the general manager of Zoom’s Online business as the company became an AI-first work platform. She also held leadership roles at ServiceNow, Minted and Walmart.

Inflation Rise Falls Short of Estimates; CPI Posts Slowest Annual Rate Since 2021
On an annual basis, CPI came in at 2.3 percent, reportedly the slowest annual rate since early 2021, countering the consensus estimate that it would hold at 2.4 percent.

U.S. Customer Satisfaction Falls in First Quarter
The American Customer Satisfaction Index has remained flat or dropped in four consecutive quarters, something that has not occurred since the COVID pandemic.

Saks Hires Financial Advisors
Saks Global Enterprises has hired PJT Partners, Kirkland & Ellis and Bank of America Corp. to help the retailer explore ways to raise new financing alongside the asset-based loan it is pursuing.

Kohl’s Proposes Private Offering Of Senior Notes
Kohl’s Corp. launched a private offering of approximately $360 million aggregate principal amount of senior secured notes due 2030.

Academy Sports Board Member Resigns
Scott Boatwright, an independent board member, has resigned as a director, reducing the size of its board from eleven to ten directors.

Under Armour Fiscal Q4 Revenues Slump 11 Percent; Expects MSD Decline In Q1
Under Armour, Inc.’s revenues declined 11 percent in the fourth quarter and 9 percent in the fiscal year ended March 31, but both sales and adjusted earnings topped guidance.

On Holding’s Q1 Sales Top Expectations, Trims FY Profit Guidance
The Swiss running brand slightly lowered its earnings expectations as tariffs have introduced higher levels of planning uncertainty but slightly raised its it sales expectations for the year.

Import Cargo Levels Expected to See First Year-Over-Year Drop Since 2023
Import cargo at the nation’s major container ports is expected to see its first year-over-year decline in over a year and a half this month as the effect of tariffs imposed by the administration on the supply chain increases, according to the Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

Allbirds, Inc. Sees DD Revenue Decline in Q1 as Brand Transitions from DTC
The reiterated guidance includes negative impacts of approximately $18 million to $23 million of revenue associated with the transition from a direct selling model to a distributor model in certain international markets and the closure of certain Allbirds stores in the U.S.

CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor Reveals April Easter/Spring Break Boost
Growth in the Clothing, Footwear and Accessories store sector accelerated from the March trend, and the sector that includes Sporting Goods stores was up 9.2 percent y/y unadjusted in April after a strong 6.6 percent y/y gain in March.

Merrell and Saucony Post DD Q1 Growth at Wolverine Worldwide
Merrell increased 13.2 percent (+14.4 percent cc) in the first quarter, and Saucony jumped 29.6 percent (+31.1 percent) year-over-year. International business increased 16.4 percent year-over-year.

Crocs Withdraws Outlook Despite Q1 Easily Exceeding Expectations
First-quarter resultseasily topped analyst targets as the Crocs and Heydude brands exceeded management expectations. Sales of Crocs increased 2.4 percent, or 4.2 percent on a constant-currency (cc) basis, while sales of Heydude declined 9.8 percent.