PRODUCT & MARKETING
+++ Puma is the new kit partner of Cholet Basket, a professional basketball club that is based in Cholet, in western France, starting in 2022/23 and for three seasons
+++ Watch brand Fossil has collaborated with Maui and Sons and Madrid Skateboards for two separate collections celebrating the heritage of the skateboarding and surfing communities, available June 20 at Fossil, Maui and Sons and Madrid
+++ Hummel is the new apparel sponsor of the French soccer club AS Saint-Etienne for the next 5 years, replacing Le Coq Sportif after 7 years
+++ French club Elan Chalon has signed a four-year partnership with Le Coq Sportif, becoming the very first basketball team sponsored by the brand
+++ Bollé has announced the signing of Clément Noël, slalom champion from the 2022 Beijing Olympics
+++ Nixon and Independent Truck Company have created a capsule collection of limited Nixon x Independent Custom-Built to Grind timepieces to “celebrate the commitment and heritage that the two brands share in skateboarding on a global level”
+++ Polo Ralph Lauren is to outfit all match officials, including linesmen and referees as well as ball boys and girls, with the official uniforms for Wimbledon 2022 for the 17th time
+++ Pokémon Company International and Craft have announced the Pokémon Center × Craft Sportswear line, featuring a full range of men’s and women’s apparel for a variety of terrains and weather conditions, available at PokemonCenter.com
+++ Umbro will replace Adidas as the kit supplier of English football club Ipswich Town in a new four-year deal starting next season
+++ Macron returned as the kit sponsor of South London football club Crystal Palace, succeeding Puma
+++ HanesBrands, the world’s largest provider of college fan apparel, has entered into a 10-year agreement with the University of Southern California (USC) that grants HanesBrands exclusive mass and mid-market retail rights to develop consumer-facing fan apparel collections that will expand USC’s retail presence
RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
+++ Saucony is celebrating the launch of its Endorphin Pro 3 and Endorphin Speed 3 shoes, the latest iterations in its Endorphin range, with the opening of the Saucony House of Speed in Paris, at 236 rue Saint-Martin, on June 22-25 +++
LEGAL & INSTITUTIONAL
+++ Spain and Portugal have officially made their bid to jointly host the 2030 FIFA World Cup
+++ The Norwegian Consumer Agency (NCA) has sent letters to Norrøna, H&M and SAC (supplier of the Higg MSI), according to a June 16 press release, as it believes that the law is being violated when the aforementioned companies market clothing – based on the industry tool Higg MSI – as environmentally friendly
+++ The city of Birmingham, which is staging the Commonwealth Games later this year, has officially submitted a bid to host the European Athletics Championships in 2026 +++
EXECUTIVE CHANGES
+++ Sport 2000 has appointed France Porteaux as head of omnichannel marketing for the French market
+++ Mike Farrar has been appointed as the new chair of ukactive, taking over from Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson in August
+++ Austrian company Sportalm has appointed Thomas Skuldboel as its new sales director and Stephan Wilkes as supply chain manager
+++ Amazon.com, Inc. has named longtime executive Doug Herrington CEO of its global Amazon Store business, succeeding Dave Clark, who recently resigned
+++ Recovery product maker KT Tape appointed former Skullcandy CMO, Jessica Klodnicki, as CEO, succeeding Greg Venner +++
FINANCIAL REPORTING
+++ Cowen & Co. cut its rating on Under Armour to “market perform” from “outperform” due to concerns about the company’s momentum given high inventory levels across the market and increasing inflation pressures +++
CORPORATE AND M&A
+++ eBay announced the acquisition of KnownOrigin, a nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace founded in 2018 in Manchester, U.K., enabling artists and collectors to create, buy and resell NFTs via blockchain-supported transactions +++
Click here to access our Short Stops archive.
