Must-read
Margit Gosau: AI will make specialty retail more human
Sport 2000 reshapes its ownership structure and separates format licenses as it stakes its future on specialization over generalist scale.
The athlete economy is rewriting the brand playbook
Athletes now own equity stakes, media companies and venture portfolios. For sporting goods brands, the implications go well beyond sponsorship.
Nostalgia is not a strategy for the European Outdoor Week
The outdoor trade show’s Riva comeback generated real energy, and real questions about whether the industry has truly moved on.
Sprinter back in the black
The Spanish sports retailer posted a €33.9 million net profit in FY25, reversing a loss tied to a subsidiary write-down, not operations.
The athlete economy is rewriting the brand playbook
Athletes now own equity stakes, media companies and venture portfolios. For sporting goods brands, the implications go well beyond sponsorship.
The polo shirt that predates the brand by a century
U.S. Polo Assn. is building its biggest global campaign around a garment older than the company itself, and the sporting credentials no rival can replicate.
No screen, no ROI: India’s FIFA World Cup lesson
India still has no confirmed FIFA World Cup broadcaster. For the brands funding the tournament, that is not just FIFA’s problem.
Margit Gosau: AI will make specialty retail more human
Sport 2000 reshapes its ownership structure and separates format licenses as it stakes its future on specialization over generalist scale.
Padel earns medal status at South American Games
FIP adds South America to a continental multi-sport calendar that now spans four continents and six events by 2027.
DEICHMANN plays the World Cup card
Europe’s largest footwear retailer uses the World Cup window to signal a shift toward sports-lifestyle – with creator-driven traffic as the conversion mechanism.
Why Ultimate Sevens built its tech stack before its first match
Outsourcing the entire digital layer on day one reflects how new sports properties now compete for audiences and investors
Fanatics and The FA sign exclusive Topps card deal
The agreement covers trading cards, stickers, and trading card games for both England national teams, beginning in 2031.
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World Cup 2026: The business of the beautiful game
Three brands outfit 77 percent of teams. Sponsorship is at record levels. And yet FIFA’s own pricing strategy may be the industry’s biggest risk.
PARTNER CONTENT
ISPO launches Leaders Summit with €3 million investment programme
The ISPO Leaders Summit will open ISPO 2026 on 3 November in Amsterdam, convening a senior audience of C-suite executives, policymakers and industry leaders from across the global sport, outdoor and winter market.
Sprinter back in the black
The Spanish sports retailer posted a €33.9 million net profit in FY25, reversing a loss tied to a subsidiary write-down, not operations.
Nostalgia is not a strategy for the European Outdoor Week
The outdoor trade show’s Riva comeback generated real energy, and real questions about whether the industry has truly moved on.
Arctos to take a stake in NFL’s Browns
Arctos, now part of KKR, has NFL approval to buy into the Cleveland Browns — its third NFL franchise after the Bills and Chargers.
HOKA powers Deckers to record $5.47bn in FY2026
Deckers closes fiscal 2026 with record $5.47bn in revenue, driven by HOKA’s 16% growth, and guides for further expansion through 2030.
Margit Gosau: AI will make specialty retail more human
Sport 2000 reshapes its ownership structure and separates format licenses as it stakes its future on specialization over generalist scale.
Fanatics and The FA sign exclusive Topps card deal
The agreement covers trading cards, stickers, and trading card games for both England national teams, beginning in 2031.
Community over product is selling in Seoul retail
From rotating pop-ups to base camp concepts, Seoul’s retail landscape is transforming how sportswear brands engage digital-first consumers.
DICK’S Sporting Goods makes AI the spine of its apps
The rollout of Coach by DICK’S brings together ScoreCard data, GameChanger users and a full Adobe AI stack.
The polo shirt that predates the brand by a century
U.S. Polo Assn. is building its biggest global campaign around a garment older than the company itself, and the sporting credentials no rival can replicate.
No screen, no ROI: India’s FIFA World Cup lesson
India still has no confirmed FIFA World Cup broadcaster. For the brands funding the tournament, that is not just FIFA’s problem.
DEICHMANN plays the World Cup card
Europe’s largest footwear retailer uses the World Cup window to signal a shift toward sports-lifestyle – with creator-driven traffic as the conversion mechanism.
Lululemon is opening six new markets in a year
Greece is market three. Romania, Austria, and India still to come: all via franchise.
Golf: The 2026 State of Play
The 9-hole round, screen golf and digital apps are rewriting the rulebook on who plays golf and how.
Activewear sells confidence. The data disagrees.
A peer-reviewed study finds no link between activewear engagement and female body confidence, contradicting a core industry marketing claim.
Athletic footwear loses ground in US survey
A new US survey finds athletic spend down 5 percent and athleisure down 8 percent, as durability overtakes performance tech as the key purchase driver.
Beyond the logo: what brands gain from mass participation sports
A 7.8% surge in event participation is reshaping where sporting goods brands can build durable equity – if they look past the finish-line banner.
Margit Gosau: AI will make specialty retail more human
Sport 2000 reshapes its ownership structure and separates format licenses as it stakes its future on specialization over generalist scale.
Fanatics Commerce names veteran marketer as CMO
Gersch unifies brand, performance and lifecycle marketing under one role for the DTC fan apparel platform.
Frasers Group merges brand and people under one exec
Andy Brown has been promoted to chief people and brand officer at the British multibrand retailer.
Oberalp passes the keys to the next generation
A dual leadership transition reshapes Oberalp’s governance for the next phase
WFSGI and Commonwealth call for sport in youth mental health policy
A World Health Assembly side event on May 20 brought together Nike, ASICS, WHO advisers and Commonwealth ministers to argue the case
Purpose-led sponsorship gets a new playbook
A UK consultancy unveils a new service to help rights-holders and brands convert social impact into measurable commercial returns.
Ortovox retains Fair Wear Leader status sixth year
An 11-point score jump and a structural shift: social compliance now sits inside procurement, not alongside it.
Sympatex rescued, but the hard question remains
The brand survives, but whether Pidigi can fund the R&D needed to keep Sympatex competitive against Gore-Tex is the deal’s central open question.
DICK’S Sporting Goods makes AI the spine of its apps
The rollout of Coach by DICK’S brings together ScoreCard data, GameChanger users and a full Adobe AI stack.
England defender Maguire co-founds AI coaching app Feedz
Feedz uses AI to convert spoken audio into structured player feedback in under a minute, targeting grassroots and academy coaches.
Golf’s AI rebuild: inside the DPWT–HCLTech deal
Multi-year deal covers full redevelopment of the tour’s website and app, plus marketing activation at six tournaments in five countries.
Polymarket hooks into another football league
Polymarket becomes Italian Serie A’s exclusive US prediction markets partner, with official data supplied via Genius Sports following its Legend acquisition.
Nike may pocket the tariff refund. Consumers want it back.
Footwear giant raised prices by up to $10 to offset $1bn in import costs. Now the tariffs are gone — and so is its commitment to refund shoppers.
Trump tariff refunds: are you in the queue?
$127 billion enters the queue — but not all at once
US Customs race to build IEEPA tariff refund system
Around 330,000 US importers await refunds on $166bn in IEEPA tariffs as CBP builds a new processing system under court supervision.
EU-Mercosur deal in force provisionally May 1
Provisional tariff cuts on footwear and apparel into South America start May 1 – but full ratification is still years away.
Spain to tighten borders to low-value foreign e-commerce
New measures target platforms like Shein and Temu, aligning with EU policy whilst introducing additional scrutiny.
Adidas probes partner data breach
Criminals claim 815,000 rows of data stolen from an Adidas extranet via a martial arts products licensee.
Nike probed in the US for bias against white employees
Federal regulators claim diversity programs discriminated against white employees, challenging past corporate DEI practices.
Nike pays Thai workers after five years
After nearly five years of advocacy, Nike agrees to compensate 3,300 Thai factory workers who were allegedly coerced into unpaid leave during the pandemic.
Intelligence, analysis and advice for the global sporting goods industry.
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