SGB Update Footwear
Pentland Brands Names New President of Americas as Matt Rock Steps Down
Spies, formerly the senior vice president of sales for Pentland Brands North America, brings over 17 years of experience from his tenure at Converse, including his last role as vice president of its wholesale business for North America.
Under Armour Taps Yuron White as SVP, Sportswear, Run, Basketball/Curry & Collabs
White joins Under Armour from New Balance, where he was the VP of Global Lifestyle, Basketball and Innovation. Before that, he worked at Nike where, most recently, he was the VP of Performance Sports and Cross Category Concepts.
Wolverine Worldwide Enters Licensing Agreements for Merrell and Saucony Brands
WWW entered two new global licensing agreements as part of its ongoing “strategic transformation” into a brand-led growth company for Merrell and Saucony kids footwear and Merrell apparel and accessories.
Big 5 Sporting Goods Falls to Q1 Loss as Comps Fall 13.5 Percent
The company said the calendar shift of the Easter holiday, during which the company’s stores were closed, from Q2 2023 to Q1 2024, negatively impacted sales comparisons by approximately 100 basis points.
Rocky Brands Swings to Q1 Profit as Organic Sales Grow 7.6 Percent
The owner of the Rocky, Georgia Boot, Durango, Lehigh, The Original Muck Boot Company, Xtratuf, and Ranger brands divested the Servus brand in the year-ago period, which boosted sales and margins on an organic basis.
Rocky Brands Inks Comprehensive Debt Refinancing Deal
The debt refinance agreement includes a $175 million revolving credit facility and a $50 million term facility, amending and restating the company’s existing $175 million revolving credit facility with Bank of America.
Wolverine Worldwide Appoints Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary
Dave Latchana was promoted to chief legal officer and corporate secretary, overseeing the company’s legal, compliance, corporate communications, risk management, ESG, security, and loss prevention functions.
Sal Barbier Returns to Etnies as Creative Director for SLB Line
Barbier starts his role with the relaunch of the Sal 23 for Holiday 2024. He is “designing an SLB by Etnies collection that will launch in Spring 2026.
Skechers Opens First Concept Store In Brussels
Skechers expanded its retail presence across Belgium with a new 5,270-square-foot store showcasing the brand’s footwear, apparel and accessory collections.
Birkenstock Opens First Flagship in Mumbai
Celebrating 250 years of tradition in shoemaking in 2024, Birkenstock opened its first flagship store in Mumbai, marking its commitment to the region.
Rally House Opens Storefronts in Chicago, New Jersey, New York, and Kentucky
The retailer opened Rally House Old Orchard (Chicago), Rally House Deptford Mall (Deptford, NJ), Rally House Jefferson Mall (Louisville, KY), Rally House Walden Galleria (Buffalo, NY)
Report: U.S. Footwear Market Flat Year-Over-Year in First Quarter
Circana is reporting that the footwear market turned a corner in the first quarter, in terms of retail sales, as U.S. footwear industry sales revenue remained on par with Q1 2023, at $9.1 billion, and units sold experienced a 1 percent lift.
Report: Sporting Goods Manufacturers’ Sales Grew 4.2 Percent in 2023
In 2023, the sporting goods industry grew 4.2 percent compared to 2022, reaching $121.66 billion, according to the SFIA report, and grew 26.8 percent compared to 2019 pre-pandemic levels.
Skechers USA Gets International and DTC Lift to Post Solid First Quarter Results
DTC sales grew 17.3 percent to $829.8 million for the quarter, including increases in APAC of 16.5 percent, AMER of 10.5 percent, and EMEA of 62.4 percent. Direct-to-consumer volume increased 15.5 percent and average selling prices increased 1.6 percent.
Columbia Sportswear Ups 2024 Profit Guide, Maintains Sales Decline
First quarter net sales decreased 6 percent to $770.0 million. The decline primarily reflects lower wholesale net sales in the U.S. and Canada, driven by retailer cautiousness, a challenging competitive environment and generally soft consumer demand.
