SGB Update Outdoor
United Wheels Elevates Bruno Maier to Chief Executive Officer
Maier has deep roots and a proven track record of success in the cycling industry. He started his career as a sales associate at Huffy 30 years ago. He joined UW in 2017 as the president of Allite, Inc., and most recently served as president and COO of United Wheels.
StockX Breaks Pre-Cyber Weekend Trades Record; Sees Continued Momentum Into Holidays
Asics is one of the fastest-growing sneaker brands on StockX and will set a new sales record in 2024. Top picks throughout the weekend included the Asics Gel-1130 Black Pure Silver and the Asics Gel-Kayano 14 Cream Black Metallic Plum.
Report: Footwear and Apparel Among Bright Spots for Weaker Store Traffic
“Categories like Apparel, Footwear, and Jewelry saw notable traffic increases on the Saturday following Black Friday, indicating that consumers are spreading out their purchases, revealing a shift in shopping behavior, with extended promotions allowing for more flexibility and reducing reliance on Black Friday.
Report: Online Spending Grew Mid-Teens During Week Ahead of Cyber Five Weekend
Shoppers drove online sales for the critical five-day Cyber Five shopping period up 6 percent in the U.S. versus the comparative period last year, but posted double-digit growth in the week leading up to the all-important weekend.
NRF Reports Thanksgiving Weekend Shopper Numbers Fell Short of 2023 Comp Period
The five-day holiday weekend from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday saw an estimated 197.0 million shoppers, reportedly the second highest number in the NRF’s survey’s history after last year’s record of 200.4 million shoppers—exceeding its initial forecast of 183.4 million.
Thermore Appoints VP of Global Marketing and Communications
Laura Beachy has been appointed VP of global marketing and communications. She joins Thermore from Hyla Strategies, a NYC-based boutique marketing firm, where she served as a managing partner since 2014.
Academy Sports + Outdoors Opens Five New Stores to Finish Out 2024
New stores opened in Bradenton, FL; Yulee, FL; Searcy, AR; Meridian, MS; and Corsicana, TX. Overall, Academy continued its expansion in 2024 by opening 16 new stores during the year across ten states, including its first locations in Ohio.
Amer Sports Launches Public Share Offering of 34M Shares
The company said it intends to use the net proceeds it receives from the proposed offering to repay a portion of its outstanding borrowings under its term loan facilities.
Mastercard SpendingPulse: Black Friday Sales Grow 3.4 Percent; E-Commerce Up 15 Percent
The firm reported that their data indicated online retail (e-commerce) sales increased 14.6 percent, while In-store (brick & mortar) sales were up a more modest 0.7 percent, compared to Black Friday last year.
Akaso Appoints U.S. Director of Sales
Eric Squires will take on the role of director of sales for the U.S., overseeing all wholesale, professional and direct sales of the company’s action cameras, Seemor night vision goggles and accessories.
Report: Black Friday In-Store Shopper Traffic Falls 8.2 Percent Year-over-Year
The brand’s ShopperTrak Analytics insights show that U.S. shopper visits were down 3.9 percent from November 24 through November 29, in line with the in-store traffic trends seen year-to-date (down 3.0 percent year-over-year).
Malibu Boats CEO to Assume President Role as Ritchie Anderson Plans Retirement
Company President Ritchie Anderson will retire effective February 7, 2025. Upon his retirement, company CEO Steve Menneto will become president of Malibu Boats, Inc., with Donna Tallent, SVP of operations, assuming leadership for MBI operations.
Rally House Opens New Storefront in Minneapolis
Rally House Maple Grove Crossing opened on November 27. The retailer entered the Minnesota market this year with its first store in Tamarack Village in Woodbury. Today, it operates five stores in the state.
Urban Outfitters Shares Jump on Strength of “Resilient” Consumer
Comparable retail segment net sales increased 5.8 percent at Anthropologie and 5.3 percent at Free People. Comps decreased 8.9 percent at Urban Outfitters. Nuuly segment net sales increased by 48.4 percent.
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. Promotes Tenured Company Leader to CFO
Robert Ball was promoted to chief financial officer, effective November 20, 2024, reporting to Scott Lipesky, executive vice president and chief operating officer.
