ATHLETES
+++ With Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola, Dodgers player Chris Taylor and Cardinals player Brendan Donovan, Skechers has added three more MLB players to its list of ambassadors
+++ British triathlete and cross-country runner Hugo Milner, 25, has joined the roster of athletes of Swiss brand On
+++ Puma has officially signed 58-year-old Milind Soman as its running ambassador, marking the Indian actor, model, film producer and fitness icon’s first-ever partnership with a performance-wear brand and endorsing Puma’s Nitro line of running shoes
+++ Up-and-coming Swiss talent and 800m specialist Valentina Rosamilia is the latest addition to the On team
+++ Skechers has chosen cricketer Ishan Kishan as a new brand ambassador for the Indian market
+++ Gatorade has announced its official sports drinks partnership with Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds’ football club Wrexham AFC, who have just been promoted to League One, two tiers below the English Premier League +++
CORPORATE
+++ US-based company Pickleball Kingdom, the largest indoor pickleball franchise in the world, continues its massive global expansion by opening clubs in Canada, starting immediately with multiple clubs in Ontario +++
M&A
+++ Thai Central Group has taken over ownership of the property of Berlin’s luxury department store KaDeWe (previously owned by the insolvent Signa Prime Selection) for an alleged €1bn and is still considered a possible full owner of the department stores’ business, which also includes the Alsterhaus and Oberpollinger in Hamburg and Munich, respectively +++
PERSONNEL CHANGES
+++ Evnroll Putters has appointed industry veteran Greg Sabella as Vice President of Global Marketing
+++ Fast-growing Idaho-based pickleball brand Selkirk Sport has named Jason Dunlap, a veteran of Osprey Packs and Black Diamond, as its new CFO and hired former VF Corp. and Filson executive Doug Thielen as CMO
+++ World Surf League has announced Ryan Crosby, previously President of Publishing at Riot Games, as its new CEO, effective May 13, 2024
+++ LaLiga has promoted Keegan Pierce, most recently managing director for the UK and Ireland, to new director of international relations, a newly created role that he will hold while continuing to oversee the organization’s office in London
+++ Tchernavia Rocker, Under Armour’s Chief People and Administrative Officer, who joined the company in February 2019, announced that she would leave the company on June 1, 2024, for personal reasons, according to an SEC filing dated April 11+++
BRANDS
+++ Babolat has renewed its partnership with Badminton England and enhanced its involvement in the National Schools Championships
+++ On has partnered with South Korean brand Post Archive Faction (PAF) to unveil “Current Form 1.0”, a collection that blends “high-performance athletics with imaginative design”
+++ Puma and Sony Interactive Entertainment have introduced a new collection with products like track jackets, technical caps, hoodies and shorts +++
LEGAL
+++ The plan for a new £2.5 million (€2.9m) padel facility near the Trafford Centre in Greater Manchester has been approved by the Trafford Council
+++ Skechers has filed suit in California district court against American Exchange Apparel Group for copying nine patents related to its shoe upper designs +++
RETAIL
+++ On April 11, 2024, the Absolute Teamsport TTS-Sport store opened in Trier, Germany, with 700 sqm of retail space – 350 sqm of which is dedicated to team sports and another 350 sqm to large fitness equipment, indoor, running and leisure goods
+++ Decathlon has inaugurated a new 2,600-square-meter store in Trento, the retailer’s first in Italy under the new brand identity and Orbit logo
+++ French sneaker brand Veja will open its first London shop on Monmouth Street between Covent Garden and Soho on April 25, making it its sixth store location worldwide
+++ B Corp-certified clothing brand Pangaia will open its first standalone flagship store in the UK this summer at 57 Carnaby Street in London +++
OBITUARIES
+++ Italian fashion designer Roberto Cavalli has died at 83 +++
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