SGB Update

NSSF Endorses Federal Excise Tax

The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) has been leading a broad coalition of sportsmen and conservation groups, including the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation, National Rifle Association and Ducks Unlimited, in an effort to reform the fed

prAna Taps Crooke as New Chief Executive

Veteran outdoor executive Michael Crooke was named CEO at prAna Living, LLC last week in a move that should free up co-founder Beaver Theodosakis to focus more on product design and the future…

Data Suggests Black Friday Not a Big Win

‘It is darkest before the dawn’ seems to be an appropriate reminder as November proved to be an especially pitiable month at retail. Though several retailers claimed success following Black Friday, those gains were not enough to offset an otherwise dismal

Co-Founder Leaves Native Eyewear

George Schott, one of the original founders and the current VP of sales and marketing for Native Eyewear, has announced he will leave the company, effective Jan. 16, 2009. Schott said he was leaving to pursue other avenues outside of the sales field…

PacSun, Zumiez Comps Fall, The Buckle Remains Strong

Pacific Sunwear of California reported that total PacSun sales for fiscal month of November declined 8% to $101 million versus total sales of $110.2 million in the year ago period. PacSun same-store sales decreased 10% during the same period.

Nielsen and OIA to Survey Retailers on OR Show

Outdoor Retailer and Outdoor Industry Association will launch a four-week online survey to gather retailer's suggestions on improving the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market trade show…

Puma Acquires Stake in Dobotex

Puma AG will take a majority stake in Dutch company Dobotex as of January 1, 2009. In a brief statement, the company, based in Herzogenaurach, Germany, did not indicate the size of the stake or the terms of the deal…

Confluence Hires CFO, IT Director

Confluence Watersports has appointed Jim Berwick as VP and CFO and Kelly Hemphill as director of IT. Berwick is overseeing the areas of finance, IT, distribution and logistics, and customer service. He has more than 20 years of consumer products experienc

Reebok, AstroTurf Partner Up on Performance Study

Reebok has partnered with GeneralSports Venue, the exclusive U.S. licensee of the AstroTurf brand of synthetic sports turf products, to study the interaction between athletic footwear and field surfaces for athletes…

Co-Founder Sullivan Named Cloudveil President

Cloudveil named Co-Founder Stephen Sullivan president of the company following the resignation of Co-Founder and President Brian Cousins. Cousins leaves Cloudveil after helping to complete its integration with parent company Spyder Active Sports to pursue

Adidas Buys Sensor Company

Physic Ventures announced that adidas International, Inc. has acquired Textronics, Inc. a developer of wearable sensors for use in fitness monitoring…

Eddie Bauer, The Walking Company to Carry Ahnu

Ahnu Footwear has formed two new retail partnerships that will send the brand past the 800-retailer milestone in spring 2009. Both The Walking Company and Eddie Bauer will begin carrying Ahnu…

Daiwa Seiko Acquires Fourteen Golf

Daiwa Seiko Inc has acquired the entire share capital of Japanese golf club manufacturer, Fourteen Golf Inc. Best known for its wedges and hybrids, Fourteen Golf has been designing clubs for major manufacturers such as Titleist and Wilson for nearly 30 y

SRAM Cycling Fund Makes First Donation

The SRAM Cycling Fund has made a $200,000 contribution to the Safe Routes to School National Partnership. This is the first award made by SRAM's Cycling Fund that was created on Sept. 30, 2008. During the next five years, the Fund plans to award $10

Bally Total Fitness Files for Chapter 11

Bally Total Fitness Corporation filed for voluntary Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Bally intends to use the Chapter 11 process to significantly reduce debt from its balance sheet while