SGB Update Sports & Fitness

Sporting Goods Retail Industry Icon Jim Chick Passes Away

The National Sporting Goods Association shared that former NSGA board member and board chair, Jim Chick, passed away. Chick was president & CEO of Chick’s Sporting Goods, headquartered in Covina, CA, for nearly 40 years. He was a member of the NSGA board of directors from 1985 to 1994 and was the board chairman in 1992.

Rocky Mountain Acquires BikeAction GmbH

Rocky Mountain acquired BikeAction GmbH a bike distributor headquartered in Germany. The acquisition, built on a 30-plus-year partnership, vertically integrates the Canadian manufacturer into the European market and supports riders in BikeAction’s Northern European region.

Giant Bicycles Sees Inventory Affecting Short-Term Results After Solid 2022

Giant Group reported that 2022 consolidated revenues increased 12.5 percent to NT$92.04 billion. Due to the impact of rising material and labor costs as well as an increase in the OEM business, the overall group’s gross margin and operating profit performance were negatively affected.

Castore Sponsors First National Soccer Team

Castore, the UK sportswear brand, signed a multi-year agreement to replace Umbro as the official kit supplier and retail partner of Ireland’s national soccer teams. The six-year deal runs until 2028 and is Castore’s first with a national soccer team.

Puma Opens Running Testing Facility

Puma opened the Puma Nitro Lab, an athlete testing facility developed in partnership with Hartmann Orthopedics & Sports. Based at Hartmann’s facility near Frankfurt, Germany, the lab provides athletes with detailed, full-body insights using tests and scans, including 4D Motion analysis.

Women’s Tennis Association Secures $150M Investment

The Women’s Tennis Association announced that CVC Capital Partners, the global private equity firm, had become a commercial partner after making a $150 million investment that gave CVC a 20 percent stake in a new commercial subsidiary named WTA Ventures.

Beachbody Changes Name To BODi; Hires Vice President

The Beachbody Company, Inc. changed its name from Beachbody to BODi, reflecting the digital platform’s recently founded Health Esteem category. Petra Kolber was hired as vice president of Personal Development and Mindset

Johnson Fitness & Wellness To Open 17 Stores In Texas

Johnson Fitness & Wellness, the retail division of Taiwan-based Johnson Health Tech, reported it would open 17 stores in major metro markets in Texas and a commercial sales and service division.