Executive Changes:
+++ According to The New York Times, Fanatics has hired Glenn Schiffman, the CFO of IAC, the parent company of several Internet-based media commercial enterprises, as CFO of its new ventures beyond sports apparel
+++ Aqualung, a French designer and manufacturer of diving and watersports equipment, has appointed Jason Spradling, previously senior national sales manager Outdoor at Under Armour, as director of sales for its dive business in the U.S. and Canada +++
Corporate and M&A:
+++ Asics Ventures Corp., a subsidiary of Asics Corp., has invested in Japan HealthCare, a start-up that develops custom-made insoles (“HOCOH”) created through photos of feet taken by smartphone, which are said to stabilize the body and to help prevent foot and hip pain
+++ Hyperice announced the acquisition of Core, a U.S. company offering a meditation training device and app +++
CSR & Sustainability:
+++ Natalie Glaze and Zanna Van Dijk, the co-founders of swimwear brand Stay Wild Swim, are among the nominees – as “eco-nominees” – for the British Fashion Council (BFC)’s Changemakers Prize in Partnership with Swarovski, a recently launched award that celebrates “ unsung stars with the ability to ignite dreams” within the fashion industry +++ Anta Group has donated around $7.7 million (¥50 million) in funds and equipment to the Henan Charity Federation after the heavy rain and catastrophic floods that have hit the Henan Province since July 16, according to a recent post by the sportswear company on Chinese social media platform Weibo +++
DTC & E-Commerce:
+++ StockX, the U.S.-based online marketplace for sneakers, streetwear, collectibles and other items, is venturing into the beauty segment for the first time with the limited-edition Hot Girl Sunset collab cCollection from Revlon and U.S. rapper Megan Thee Stallion +++
Product & Marketing:
+++ Hurley will sponsor the Spanish Skateboarding Federation for the next three years, until the end of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, Palco23 reports +++ Bridgestone is supporting the Olympic Games in Tokyo by supplying tires and service for about 3,000 vehicles, bicycles for the games’ volunteers and staff, “seismic isolation technology” in two venues, and “sustainable piping” in more than a dozen temporary buildings
+++ Dunlop, currently the Official Ball of the ATP Tour, the Australian Open and the Miami Open, has reached a multi-year agreement with the Truist Atlanta Open presented by Fiserv to serve as the Official Ball and Racquet for the tennis tournament
+++ Training products specialist TRX is partnering with Myzone, a wearable fitness brand, as its heart rate monitor partner in the EMEA region +++
Retail & Distribution:
+++ Canada Goose has announced plans to open a store in Edinburgh this fall – its seventh in the European market
+++ Superdry is set to open a global flagship store at 360 Oxford Street in London, which will act as a hub for both its influencer program and wholesale customer base
+++ JD Sports will open the fourth of its five stores announced for 2021 in the autonomous region of Valencia in Spain on July 31, in Túria +++
Legal & Institutional:
+++ France’s competition regulators have imposed a fine of more than €125 million to Luxottica, the owner of the Oakley performance eyewear brand, for price-fixing and forcing other sales terms on opticians, a decision against which the company will file an appeal +++
Trade Shows & Other Events:
+++ The Ironman Group has announced that the Ironman Wales triathlon event that was scheduled for September has been canceled, after another cancellation last year, due to the ongoing uncertainty related to Covid-19, and will return on Sept. 11, 2022 +++
Other:
+++ Australia and New Zealand have both withdrawn from the Rugby League World Cup 2021 (RLWC2021), which is set to take place in England this autumn, citing welfare concerns due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic +++
