SGB Update Sports & Fitness

Haro Bikes Hires Chief Marketing Officer
Haro Bikes, based in Vista, CA, hired Megan Tompkins as chief marketing officer. Haro reported that she has “lengthy experience in international marketing and sales for cycling brands, including Crankbrothers, Specialized and Shimano.

K-Swiss Appoints VP of Lifestyle
K-Swiss hired athletics footwear veteran Andrew Richard as VP of lifestyle, responsible for leading lifestyle sales for the Americas region, including the wholesale sales team and K-Swiss distributors.

Hyperice Files Patent Infringement Lawsuit Against Therabody
Hyperice filed a lawsuit in federal court against Therabody, the maker of the Theragun line of percussive massage guns, alleging infringement of the company’s patented percussion massage technology.

Costco Store in Virginia to Unionize
At the Costco store in Norfolk, VA, employees voted overwhelmingly to join the Teamsters, the largest union in America, marking the first “victory” for workers at a Costco location in two decades.

A Range of Business Issues, Brands and Retailers Top SGB Media’s Most Read for December
December 2023 featured many of the annual recaps and look aheads inherent in end-of-year business reporting; however, traffic and readership also rewarded a piece on Macy’s $5.8 billion buyout offer with the Most Read Article nod for the month.

Survey: Building Muscle Again Cited as Top Fitness Goal for 2024
Life Time reported its 2024 annual consumer health and wellness survey results. The company surveyed 3,000 people who participated in the survey, up from 1,000 respondents for its year-ago survey.

Skechers Opens Distribution Facility In India
Skechers opened a 600,000-square-foot distribution center in Mumbai, India, to support the company’s expansion into the country. The building in the Lodha Industrial and Logistics Park in Kalyan is designed to streamline supply chain operations and can ship up to 60,000 SKUs daily.

Fairmonde Golf Secures Investment LPGA Tour Pro
Fairmont Golf, based in Sheridan, WY, reported that Angel Yin, the American professional golfer playing on the LPGA Tour, had invested and is a shareholder in its women’s apparel golf brand.

USA Pickleball Appoints VP of Competition
USA Pickleball, the national governing body for the sport in the U.S., named Steve Wong as vice president of competition. Wong will oversee USA Pickleball’s competition department, emphasizing growing and streamlining all sanctioned tournament play.

Bulls Bikes USA Hires Sales Chief
Los Angeles-based Bulls Bikes USA hired Rob Kaplan as head of sales. Most recently, Kaplan was VP of sales at Alta Cycling Group.

Xponential Fitness Secures Franchise Agreements in Japan
Xponential Fitness, Inc. signed a master franchise agreement in Japan for its Pure Barre and YogaSix studios with Sunpark Co., Ltd., its master franchisee for StretchLab.

Golf Rounds Played Jump In November
Golf Datatech reported that U.S. golf rounds played rose 8.2 percent year-over-year in November, rebounding from a slight decline in October.

Sacks Parente Golf CEO Resigns
CEO Tim Triplett has resigned from the company, effective immediately, due to family reasons. Board Chair Greg Campbell will assume responsibilities as executive chairman to facilitate a smooth transition while the company searches for a new CEO.

Survey: Wearable Technology Again Tops Fitness Trend for 2024
The American College of Sports Medicine’s (ACSM) annual survey found wearable technology ranked as the number one fitness trend for the third straight year. The Top 3 trends also included workplace health promotion and fitness programs for older adults.

Goldfish Swim School Expanding in California
The company, based in Michigan, signed multi-unit swim school agreements with two franchise groups to develop six Goldfish Swim Schools in California over the next several years.