Latest Headlines – Page 259
-
Article
Decathlon announces Innovation Awards
Quechua, Nabaiji and Kalenji are the three “passion brands” that have been honored with this year's Innovation Awards Decathlon (IAD). The eight Decathlon brands that had been selected to present their innovative products included Artengo, B'Twin, Domyos, Fouganza, Kalenji, Nabaiji, Quechua and Wed'ze. The award ceremony was followed online by ...
-
Article
Futuristic products and manufacturing in focus at WFSGI forum
Advances in the production of sports-related gear appear to have suddenly accelerated in the last two years. But the Manufacturers' Forum organized for the fourth time by the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI) next month will be discussing even more advanced concepts, involving large amounts of data ...
-
Article
Vibram progresses on several fronts
Intellectual property protection is one of those fronts. Working together with Mark Monitor, the Italian company says it has led to the shutdown of 198 websites that were selling counterfeit models of its Vibram FiveFingers shoes or shoes with fake Vibram soles. Action is pending against more than 150 other ...
-
Article
Timberland issues an update on its CSR efforts
Timberland recently released an update about its corporate social responsibility (CSR) actions. In the second quarter of this year, 95.5 percent of the leather used by the brand was produced by tanneries with a silver or gold rating. In the same period, 44 percent of the cotton used in its ...
-
Article
Little growth for outdoor shoes in 2015
The major outdoor brands saw their sales of footwear grow by only 1.2 percent in terms of U.S.dollars in 2015, coming just under €5 billion for the year. They would have risen by more than 10 percent, especially outside the U.S., if currency exchange rates had remained constant.Our annual study ...
-
Article
Sportisimo targets regional markets with new investors
Sportisimo, the leading Czech sports retailer, wants to turn into a bigger regional player following the sale this summer of half of its shares to Slovak and Czech investors. Sportisimo, which has been operating in Slovakia as well, moved into Poland and Romania last year, and the change in ownership ...
-
Article
SDI warns on profits, Ashley becomes CEO
Mike Ashley has tightened his grip on the management of Sports Direct International (SDI), the embattled British sports retailer, by taking over as chief executive after the resignation of Dave Forsey on Sept. 22.Forsey's departure came after several months of intense pressure on SDI, which continued last week after another ...
-
Article
Nike invests in marketing and the supply chain
The Nike group managed to raise its sales in constant currencies in all regions for the quarter until the end of August, including a return to growth for the Nike brand in North America. Yet some investors remained concerned about the relative low level of orders in North America, which ...
-
Article
The European sporting goods market grew by 3.8% in 2015
The Western European sporting goods market grew by 3.8 percent in constant currencies in 2015, according to our annual analysis of retail sales in 15 countries. It was the same growth rate that had been registered in 2014, despite the absence of major sports events. In terms of euros, retail ...
-
Article
Some big retailers outperform the market
Except for Sports Direct International (SDI), which performed badly in Austria, international-oriented sports retailers performed relatively well overall, due in part to the opening of new stores. As previously reported, Intersport International, whose core business is in Europe, grew by 5.1 percent to €11.03 billion after VAT in 2015. Sport ...
-
Article
New Intersport licensee in ex-Yugoslavia
Intersport ISI, the Slovenian-based master franchisee for Intersport in eight countries across the western Balkans, is to be acquired by a fund that belongs to Enterprise Investors, a Polish investment group that is among the largest in Central and Eastern Europe.A purchase agreement to this effect has been sealed with ...
-
Article
Bumper results for JD Sports Fashion
As it continues to expand in Europe and other international markets, JD Sports Fashion delivered bumper results for the 26 weeks to July 30, with a 20 percent hike in sales to £970.6 million (€1,127.2m-$1,259.4m) and profit before tax and one-off items soaring by 66 percent to £77.4 million (€89.9m-$100.4m). The ...
-
Article
Sprinter sponsors humanitarian causes
Sprinter, the growing Spanish chain of sporting goods stores controlled by JD Sports Fashion, is helping a cancer survivor, Juan Pedro Orellana, to collect funds for cancer research by running 28 marathons in 28 days. It will publicize his exploits and donate clothing to a team of runners and cyclists ...
-
Article
SDI responds to investor calls for independent governance review
Sports Direct International (SDI) is apparently complying with requests from influential shareholders who called for a review of governance at the beleaguered British sports retail group to be more independent. SDI said this morning that a full review on working practices and corporate governance would be led by an independent ...
-
Article
Lifestyle Sports is reportedly studying European expansion
Lifestyle Sports, one of the leading Irish sports retailers with 63 stores around Ireland, is reportedly considering a return to other European countries, after it achieved sales of €103 million and pre-tax profit of nearly €4.2 million last year.Lifestyle Sports' sales in the Republic of Ireland were reported at €96.6 ...
-
Article
Decathlon changes country managers
Decathlon's increasingly broad international forays are leading to more leadership changes for the French retailer, as several of the managers involved in established operations have been sent out to explore new markets in Asia and Latin America.Among the latest changes, Eric Bodhuin, former general manager for Decathlon in the Netherlands, ...
-
Article
Fashion and sport pull the Spanish market
The consumption of sports products remains lower in Spain than in many other countries, but the data collected by us (see the retail charts in this issue) and by the NPD Group (see our previous issue) indicate that it grew briskly last year. Apparently, it was driven both by fashion ...
-
Article
Aqua Lung might be sold soon
Air Liquide has asked Goldman Sachs to find a buyer for Aqua Lung. In a statement on Sept. 7, the Paris-based industrial gas giant and current owner said it is evaluating the opportunity to potentially divest Aqua Lung. Aqua Lung, formerly known as La Spirotechnique, is a French firm that ...
-
Article
Hi-Tec’s owner buys Duca del Cosma
Frank van Wezel, the founder and owner of Hi-Tec Sports, has purchased and relaunched Duca del Cosma, the formerly German-based golf footwear brand that filed for bankruptcy last year. He has appointed a team to lead the brand from an office with warehouse near Amsterdam, and has started distribution again.Duca ...
-
Article
Halfords’ results are boosted by the weather and the Olympics
Halfords Group's bike sales struggled last year due to a wet summer but sales rebounded this year in the seven weeks to Aug. 20, thanks to the hot summer and the success of Halfords' Olympic cycling athletes. Halfords has deals with Bradley Wiggins and Laura Trott, both of whom won ...
