Bain Forecasts Record Black Friday/Cyber Monday Sales
U.S. retail sales over Black Friday – Cyber Monday (BFCM) weekend may set a new record, surpassing $75 billion in sales, according to a forecast from Bain & Company. The weekend is expected to deliver year-over-year growth of around 5 percent, outpacing Bain’s overall holiday sales growth forecast of 3 percent for the entire holiday season.
Golden Goose Debt Ratings Affirmed After Suspended IPO Process
S&P Global Ratings affirmed Golden Goose SpA ‘s debt ratings and removed the ratings from CreditWatch Positive as the Italy-based luxury footwear company has suspended its plans to undergo an initial public offering (IPO).
Sqairz Secures Strategic Investment to Expand Across Sports
Golf footwear upstart Sqairz announced a “significant” strategic investment from Thirty-5 Capital. The funding will be used to help Sqairz expand across multiple sports, including baseball and pickleball.
Ski Kare Has New Owners
Ski Kare, LLC, the largest distributor of Vola Racing Waxes in the United States, was acquired by Kyle and Rachel Kucin. Gifford Hoback, the former owner, will continue to work for the company in a consulting and manufacturing capacity.
Accell Group Undergoes Debt Restructuring
Backed by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR), Accell Group agreed to a restructuring that writes off 40 percent of its debt and will see its liabilities at the operating group level cut to €800 million ($881 million) from €1.4 billion, with maturities extended through to 2030.
Gill Marine Taps Travis Watson as National Sales Manager, Gill Fishing
The company said Watson brings a wealth of experience to his role, with 20 years experience in sales, buying, product development, and sourcing in the hunting and fishing space.
Paka Expands Senior Leadership to Fuel Brand Growth
The Peru-based sustainable apparel brand hired Christian Castellani as director of wholesale sales, Matt Etzler as senior director of e-commerce, Erika Marsh as senior director of supply chain and operations, and Megan Krajco as design director. Paris Karstedt was promoted to director of brand and marketing.
Association of Golf Merchandisers Adds Vendor Advisory Board Member
Susan Shade is an industry veteran with over 30 years of professional management experience in apparel, golf, fitness, and e-commerce. At Tharanco Lifestyles, Shade oversees the golf division, which includes distributing the Greg Norman Collection to over 50 countries.
Malbon Golf Hires Ex-Nike Exec as CEO
Heiser worked for Nike for over 17 years before leaving the company in September 2023. As CEO of Malbon Golf, Heiser will work closely with Founders Stephen and Erica Malbon, who will continue as co-chief creative officers and board members.
Crunch Fitness Updates and Adds to Its Florida Franchisee Operation
The CR Fitness team updating two Fort Myers locations and opening an Apollo Beach gym in Florida currently operates 69 Crunch Fitness locations in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas and Tennessee, with plans to open 6 more locations in 2024.
Coal Headwear Names Sales & Marketing Manager
Mike LeBlanc will “modernize the brand’s marketing approach, expand sales channels and elevate Coal’s presence in the global headwear market.”
NuOrder by Lightspeed Appoints New Head of Revenue
Chris Akrimi, most recently, was the CEO of The Layer, a tech company that “transforms commerce data through AI. ” There, he focused on positioning the company at the “forefront of AI-driven product data management.”
Footasylum Secures Funding to Drive Expansion
The company secured a £35 million ($46 mm) revolving credit line from HSBC to support expansion and sustainability initiatives, and set a goal to achieve carbon net zero for Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030 and Scope 3 by 2040.
JCPenney Bogged Down by Soft Traffic in Q2
The retailerr eported a net loss of $96 million in the second quarter, which ended August 3, as same-store sales declined 7.7 percent. The loss compares with earnings of $19 million a year ago. Net sales declined 8.9 percent to $1.53 billion from $1.68 billion.
Adidas’ UK Sales Fall 9 Percent in 2023
Companywide, Adidas’ sales in 2023 declined 5 percent to €21.4 billion in Euro terms with flat currency-neutral revenues. The discontinuation of the Yeezy business represented a drag of around €500 million on the year-over-year comparison during 2023.
