SGB Update Footwear

Kane Footwear Names Chief Marketing Officer
Mark Tarnuzzer will be key in shaping the designer and manufacturer of active recovery footwear’s strategy, marketing activations, partnerships, and optimizing e-commerce performance.

Reebok Appoints New Head of Basketball
Reebok has named Jide Osifeso, founder of the contemporary menswear label Hymne, as its new head of basketball. Reebok re-entered the basketball category following its acquisition by Authentic Brands Group in 2022.

Golden Goose Initiates Bond Sale to Refinance Debt
The luxury Italian sneaker maker plans to sell €480 million ($543 million) of bonds to refinance debt, with the option to buy the notes back should it successfully revive plans for an initial public offering over the next year,

ThredUp Lifts Guidance on Q1 Beat
The resale platform raised its targets for sales and earnings for the year after reporting first-quarter results that topped estimates. Sales grew 10 percent in the first quarter.

Duluth Trading Outlines Inducement Grant Agreement with New CEO
The company granted a total of 1,759,532 shares of Class B common stock to the new chief executive pursuant to the terms of the Inducement Stock Award Agreement and the Inducement Restricted Stock Award Agreement.

REI Co-op Appoints New Chief Financial Officer
Shannon Damen joins the company from Gap, Inc., where, most recently, she was the global head of real estate and held roles as chief financial officer and chief commerce & experience officer at Athleta.

Boot Barn Holdings Removes “Interim” from John Hazen’s CEO Title
Hazen has served as the company’s interim CEO since November 2024. In October 2024, Boot Barn reported that then-CEO James Conroy was leaving the retailer to become CEO of Ross Stores.

Nike, Inc. Names Amy Montagne Nike Brand President as Heidi O’Neill Retires
Amy Montagne was named president, Nike Brand; Phil McCartney appointed EVP and chief innovation, design & product officer; Nicole Graham appointed EVP and CMO; and Tom Clarke named chief growth initiatives officer.

Lowa Names New U.S. General Manager as Peter Sachs Plans Retirement
Peter Sachs is stepping down as the brand’s USA general manager, with Lance Taylor, an outdoor industry veteran, assuming the role. Taylor worked at Salomon for 17 years, most recently as head of its Outdoor National Business Unit.

Report: Performance FW Outperforms Total FW Market in Q1; Running Grows 7 Percent
The retail tracking and market advisory firm reported that Sport Lifestyle, or athleisure sneakers, once again was the largest footwear segment, growing almost 1 percent for the quarter. Performance Footwear grew 4 percent during the period, led by Running.

Puma Plans to Move London HQ to Manchester
The 20,000-square-foot space will house Puma sales, marketing, merchandising, finance, operations and direct-to-consumer departments.

Kohl’s BOD Terminates New CEO for Cause; Forecasts Q1 Comps Down in Mid Singles
Multiple sources are publishing that Buchanan was terminated after an investigation found that he violated the retailer’s code of conduct by entering into a “highly unusual” business deal.

Stio Promotes Four Employees, Hires an Associate Creative Director
The company has promoted Sarah Raff to VP of operations, Liz Barrett to senior director of brand marketing, Stirling Cobb to product marketing director, and Chris Ragusa to director of customer experience. John Brown joins Stio as an associate creative director.

Report: More U.S. Consumers Will Abandon Shoe Purchases Based on Price
The new Spring 2025 U.S. Footwear Consumer Survey from AlixPartners and the FDRA found that consumers are more likely to abandon a purchase due to cost, with 78 percent of respondents in its latest survey stating they halted a purchase due to price, up 12 percentage points from 2024.

Liberated Brands Europe Acquired by OneTurn S.A.S.
OneTurn S.A.S., a company newly formed by members of Liberated’s leadership team — CEO Joost Grootswagers and COO Antoine Lanusse — will continue to “preserve and grow the business independently.”