Gildan to Close Salisbury Factory
Gildan Activewear plans to close its factory on Heilig Road in the Charlotte, NC, suburb of Salisbury, affecting 258 employees, according to a WARN notice first reported by the Salisbury Post.
Krimson Klover Hires Pacific Northwest Sales Rep
Krimson Klover hired Katie Borgen as a sales rep covering the Pacific Northwest, which includes Oregon, Idaho, Washington, and Alaska. Borgen has a decade of experience working in the outdoor space.
Academy Sports to Open in Jefferson City
Academy Sports + Outdoors opened a store in Jefferson City, its eleventh location in Missouri, at 739 Stoneridge Parkway.
Topgolf Sets Opening For St. Louis-Midtown Location
Topgolf is poised to open its St. Louis-Midtown venue on October 20 at 3201 Chouteau Avenue; this will be Missouri’s second Topgolf venue in addition to Chesterfield.
VF Appoints VP Supply Chain Operations, EMEA
VF Corp. named An Claes as VP of supply chain operations, EMEA. She replaces Stuart Pond, who is now VP of global supply chain platforms.
Fanatics’ Debt Ratings Outlook Downgraded
S&P Global Ratings revised its debt ratings outlook on Fanatics Holdings, Inc. after the sports fan retailing giant reported meaningful margin deterioration through the first half of fiscal 2023 amid slowing consumer demand and cost pressures partly tied to strategic investments. Fanatics Commerce’s sales were approximately flat in the second quarter while Lids “experienced top line and bottom line pressures.”
Peloton Expands Into Austria
Peloton announced its expansion into Austria, its fifth market outside the U.S., through an alliance with Sport-Tiedje and Amazon.
Signa Sports’ Largest Shareholder Terminates Equity Commitment Letter
Signa Sports United N.V., which in early October announced plans to delist its shares from the NYSE, said it had received a termination notice concerning the unconditional Equity Commitment Letter from Signa Holding GmbH, an affiliate of the company’s largest shareholder Signa International Sports Holding GmbH.
SFIA Launches Super Regionals Series
The Sports & Fitness Industry Association is launching a Super Regional Series in November, offering members, partners and industry leaders the opportunity to come together to discuss business insights and topics driving today’s sporting goods and fitness environment.
New Era Appoints General Manager for North America
New Era Cap LLC has hired Steve Gallo, most recently president of the recovery footwear brand Oofos, as general manager for North America after an extensive global search.
Grand Design and Camping World Partner on Store
Grand Design RV, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Winnebago Industries, and Camping World announced the opening of an exclusive Grand Design brand store in Green Bay, WI.
Lululemon Athletica to Join S&P 500 Index
Lululemon Athletica will join the S&P 500 index before the stock market opens on October 18.
Asics Names New President and CEO for North America
Koichiro Kodama will return to Asics North America as president and CEO, effective immediately. He was CEO of Asics North America from February 2019 until December 2020. He replaces Richard Sullivan, president and CEO of the North American business since January 2022.
REI Lays Off Nearly 275 Retail Employees
REI Co-op is laying off about 275 retail employees, roughly 2 percent of its in-store workforce, as the retailer implements updates to its store operations system and labor structure.
Consumer Sentiment Slides in October
The University of Michigan’s preliminary Index of Consumer Sentiment for October declined 7.5 percent from month-over-month in September to 63 from 68.1 and below the 67.4 reading that analysts had expected.
