SGB Update

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.

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.

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.