SGB Update

New Balance Opens Retail Concept In Boston

New Balance opened the second experiential store concept at 124 Newbury Street in Boston. The first store opened in Guangzhou, China, in December 2022.

Kohl’s Names New Chief Merchant

Kohl’s named 25-year retail veteran Nick Jones as chief merchandising and digital officer, reporting to CEO Tom Kingsbury, effective in March. 

Dick’s SG Plans 200 Trade-in Events In First Half Of 2023

Dick’s Sporting Goods and SidelineSwap are building on the success of the 60 trade-in events they executed in 2022 and expanding their partnership to offer 200 trade-in events in 19 states through the first half of 2023.

Ashworth Taps ProQuip Golf As U.K., Ireland Distributor

Ashworth is back in U.K. and Ireland golf stores for 2023 and beyond. The iconic apparel brand and its Golfman logo will soon be seen on British and Irish fairways thanks to a new agreement between Ashworth owners YGM Group and ProQuip Golf.

Yamaha U.S. Marine Business Unit Promotes Tracy To VP

Yamaha U.S. Marine Business Unit has promoted Mark Tracy to vice president. He will continue to oversee Yamaha Marine Power Sales and marketing teams, with the added responsibility of the Marine Customer Experience team.

Thrasio Hires Amazon Vet As President, Chief Commercial Officer

Thrasio Holdings, Inc., parent company of Wise Owl Outfitters and more than 200 other Amazon and e-commerce brands, tapped Steven Shure as president and chief commercial officer.  Danny Boockvar takes on a new position as president, mergers and acquisitions and new ventures.

Tractor Supply Raises Quarterly Dividend By 12 Percent

The Tractor Supply Company Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.03 per share of its common stock, which represents an increase of 12 percent versus the prior quarterly dividend rate of 92 cents per share.

S&P Affirms Varsity Brands Debt Ratings

S&P Global Ratings affirmed the debt ratings of Varsity Brands Holding Co., the parent of BSN Sports, Varsity Spirit and Herff Jones, following the company’s plans to extend the maturity on its $1.33 billion senior secured first lien term loan by two years to December 2026.

PGA Of America Names Chief Operating Officer

The PGA of America has named Craig Kessler as chief operating officer. Kessler, who served as COO and Head of Emerging Concepts at Topgolf from 2016 to 2021, will report to PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh, effective March 6.

Xponential Fitness Sets Pricing For Secondary Offering

Xponential Fitness, Inc. has priced the previously announced underwritten public offering of 5,000,000 shares of the company’s Class A common stock by certain of the company’s existing stockholders, affiliates of Snapdragon Capital Partners and Anthony Geisler at a public offering price of $24.50 per share.