RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
+++ U.K.-based footwear brand FitFlop has opened its first U.S. stand-alone retail store on Mercer Street in the heart of New York’s SoHo district
+++ Puma has opened its largest flagship store in Thailand at CentralWorld in Bangkok, the brand’s seventh physical store in the country
+++ Gym+Coffee, Ireland’s largest athleisure brand, announced it has strengthened its omnichannel business operations by implementing Oracle NetSuite to support its rapid growth
+++ Sports Direct has opened a 180-sqm, five-story flagship store in Manchester that features innovative design elements and services such as an LED information arc, large LCD/LED displays and more
+++ To celebrate the official launch of Spyder in Chile, regional partner Sparta hosted an interactive event to promote the brand’s first shop-in-shop and e-commerce store in the country, inviting local athletes and media to explore the regional collection
+++ Xponential Fitness has signed a master franchise agreement in Japan for StretchLab that will allow Xponential Fitness to license at least 40 StretchLab studios in Japan to franchisees over the next decade +++
LEGAL & INSTITUTIONAL
+++ The European Tour has announced the appointment of Abdullah Al Naboodah as a non-executive director
+++ World Triathlon has announced that it has formalized the acquisition of a new office at the Maison du Sports building in Lausanne +++
TRADE FAIRS & EVENTS
+++ The Pádel World Summit, organized by the International Pádel Cluster (CIP), is scheduled for the week of June 17, 2024, in Málaga, Spain +++
PRODUCT & MARKETING
+++ World Championship 5000m bronze medalist Oscar Chelimo, Italian runner and steeplechaser Yohanes Chiappinelli and Seattle-based Canadian track talent Kieran Lumb are the latest addition to On’s athlete roster
+++ Castore has signed a multi-year partnership with Athletic Club, seeing the brand becoming the Bilbao club’s Official Kit Partner for the 2023-2024 season and onwards and thus strengthening its presence in the Spanish La Liga
+++ German fashion label Boss has launched an American football sportswear capsule with a campaign featuring some of the NFL’s players and champions, including Micah Parsons of the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants legend Victor Cruz
+++ German ski service equipment specialist Reichmann has launched a new locker system for the efficient storage and drying of ski equipment that can be individually configured with different locking systems, door designs, water drainage options and accessories
+++ Speedo has announced a two-year partnership with the German Swimming Federation (DSV) that will see the brand provide technical and training products to senior and junior teams
+++ Nautica India has launched a brand ambassador campaign starring actor Aditya Roy Kapur for its summer ’23 collection inspired by the sea and designed for city life
+++ Reebok and Foot Locker have teamed up with Puerto Rican rapper Anuel AA in the U.S. to release their second “Sky Above the Street” sneaker collection, with proceeds donated to the nonprofit Autism Speaks in honor of National Autism Awareness Month
+++ Wattbike has added former pro cyclist Alex Dowsett and his wife Chanel to its roster of ambassadors
+++ Asics signed Olympic Gold Medalist and current WTA number 11 ranked tennis player Belinda Bencic to its team of athletes
+++ Grammy Award-winning superstar Doja Cat was announced as Skechers’ first artist-in-residence
+++ +++ Multi-brand retailer Sportano.pl has become the new official sponsor of Ironman in Poland in a contract that will run for the next two years, with an option to extend, as well as the title sponsor of the Sprint Triathlon Gdynia, an accompanying event of Enea Ironman Gdynia +++
MARKETPLACES & E-COMMERCE
+++ Amazon Fashion announced the launch of India’s first Gen-Z Next Gen Store, designed to cater to the fashion needs of Gen Z shoppers, a first-of-its-kind storefront on the marketplace aimed at filling the current market gap and addressing the specific needs of Gen Z
+++ The e-commerce marketplace Temu, a competitor of Shein, which is backed by the Chinese platform Pinduoduo, is now looking to shake up European wholesale markets such as Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, France, Spain and the U.K. after its successful launch in the U.S. in September 2022 (U.S. app downloads in Q1/2022: 19 million) +++
