SGB Update Footwear

Target Shuffles the Executive Deck in Legal, Operations and Merchandising
Michael Fiddelke has been named chief operating officer, effective February 4 and Rick Gomez and Jill Sando will split categories on the merchant side. Additionally, Target announced the upcoming retirement of chief legal and compliance officer Don Liu.

Birkenstock Posts Strong FY 2023 But Shares Down in Pre-Market
Birkenstock said it anticipates sustaining its profitable growth trajectory across its products and regions in fiscal year 2024, but it expects sales growth to moderate slightly from the trend in fiscal 2023.

Asics and Ugg Top Key Movers in StockX Annual Report
Fueled by consumer’s growing obsession with mesh runners, StockX said Asics saw hockey stick growth in 2023, with trades increasing 239 percent and the brand moving from the #10 top-traded sneaker brand in 2022 to #5 in one year.

Jam Collective Adds Three to PR Team
Heather Villanueva is the new PR director, Logan Waddell joins the company as a PR account manager and Cassidy Oonk as the agency’s executive operations manager.

Census Bureau Sees Core 2023 Holiday Retail Sales Growth in Line with Inflation
Core retail sales during the 2023 holiday season, November and December combined, reportedly grew 3.8 percent versus the corresponding period in 2022, supported by continued inflation and despite high-interest rates.

Winmark Corp. Board Member to Exit
Mark Wilson informed Winmark that he will not stand for re-election to its Board of Directors at its next Annual Meeting of Shareholders in April 2024.

Big 5 Lowers Q4, Full-Year EPS Guidance as Q4 Comps Fall 17.7 Percent
Big 5 now expects to report a loss per basic share in the range of 38 cents to 40 cents, which compares to the company’s previous guidance for a fourth quarter loss per basic share in the range of 20 cents to 35 cents per share.

Event Fabrics Hires New Product Manager
Evelyn Yang is responsible for enhancing the company’s product strategy, new product introductions, product life cycle, pricing, and customer support.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Appoints Chief Customer Officer
In his role as EVP and chief customer officer Chad Fox will oversee omni-channel, marketing, customer insights, and customer care. Fox joined Academy this month and reports directly to Steve Lawrence, CEO of the company.

Equip Outdoor Technologies Appoints New CEO
The former President of the Berghaus brand and founder and director of Outdoor Gear for Good succeeds Matt Gowar.

La Sportiva Opens First Retail Store in the U.S.
The Boulder, CO store is reportedly part of La Sportiva’s global brick-and-mortar strategy that “aims to further integrate the brand into mountain towns worldwide.”

361 Degrees Int’l Owned-Retail Posts Strong Double-Digit Growth in Q4
Brick-and-mortar retail sales of 361º core-branded product increased over 20 percent year-over-year for the fourth quarter of 2023 ended December 31, while kids sales grew approximately 40 percent and e-commerce sales increased 30 percent.

NRF Foundation Adds Four Board Members
The new members from Gap, Inc., Dick’s Sporting Goods, Goodwill Industries, and Burlington Stores were elected during the organization’s winter board meeting in New York City, ahead of NRF 2024: Retail’s Big Show and the NRF Foundation Honors.

Fleet Feet Franchisee Adds Fifth Store in Ohio
The new store is the fifth location in the Cleveland area for franchisees and husband and wife team Heather and Jody Herzog.

Snipes Names New CEO as Co-Founder Transitions Out
Dennis Schröder, general manager of Snipes Europe business since April 2023, will succeed Voth and assume responsibility for Snipes Europe. Voth will remain an advisor, with an expected departure by January 1, 2026.