Short Stops Week 8, 2023

PRODUCT & MARKETING

+++ 13 years after launching its CloudTec technology, Swiss sports brand On takes its running technology to the next level, equipping the new Cloudsurfer with the new CloudTec Phase technology, designed to even enhance the feeling of “running on clouds“

+++ Puma has signed a multi-year contract with Polish long-distance runner and European marathon champion Aleksandra Lisowska, who will wear the brand’s performance products starting with the Rotterdam Marathon on April 16

+++ Technogym has become the official supplier of fitness equipment for Ironman Poland

+++ 19-year-old Swiss 1500m runner Lilly Nageli has joined the On Running Track Team

+++ Xcel Wetsuits has signed up pro surfer Sage Erickson to the brand

+++ Hoka has announced a four-year sponsorship deal with professional triathlete Sam Laidlow

+++ Puma has signed Kenyan marathon runner Edna Kiplagat, a mother of five and winner of major marathons in New York, London and Boston and two World Championships titles, who will start competing in the company’s products at the Boston Marathon on April 17

+++ Adidas x Bad Bunny returns with a new silhouette – the eighth drop of the collaboration – that is “written in the stars“ and inspired by astrology, constellations and signs, inviting you to “immerse yourselves in the confines of the zodiac, on a journey of self-discovery”

+++ Adidas extended its sponsorship of Grambling State University (Louisiana, USA) for an additional five-year term

+++ Jordan Brand signed high school basketball player Kiyomi McMiller to an NIL sponsorship

+++ Golftec signed APGA Tour golfer Joe Hooks as brand ambassador

+++ Rip Curl has announced a collaboration with Erin Miller Wray, with the Los Angeles-based contemporary artist and surfer’s designs to be featured on swimwear, surfsuits and board shorts

+++ Snowsport eyewear and apparel company Vuarnet has partnered with the U.S. ski and snowboard team to release a limited edition version of its O2 Original sunglasses frame, which were also the official shades for the American team at FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Courchevel and Meribel 

+++ Adidas Golf’s sponsorship deal with Dustin Johnson has ended by mutual agreement after 15 years, and the company has additionally chosen not to renew its deal with Sergio Garcia +++

FINANCIAL RESULTS

+++ Online fashion giant Shein, which is considering a possible IPO this year, expects its revenue to more than double to nearly $60 billion by 2025

+++ Reporting a growth rate of 22% and an expected adjusted Ebitda margin of between 4 and 5 percent, the Danish soccer sports retail chain Unisport, founded in 1995, has set a new sales record of €100 million in 2022, according to habit.se

+++ With fourth-quarter net revenue of $807.2 million, up from $717.1 million a year earlier, and gross merchandise sales of $4 billion in the fourth quarter, Etsy beat Wall Street expectations and sent its shares up 4% in extended trading +++

CORPORATE AND M&A

+++ According to Snow Industry News, Burton was hit by a severe cyberattack that crippled its online ordering system, but the company promised to keep all services up and running

+++ German online retailer Zalando announced that it will cut “several hundred overhead jobs” worldwide in the coming months due to the difficult economic environment

+++ Wilson Sporting Goods Co. is the new lead sponsor of Swing Racquet + Paddle in Raleigh, North Carolina (USA), a unique multi-racquet and paddle sports center and Sportstainment™ venue designed to revolutionize the sport of paddle and increase the number of players in the United States and beyond +++

EXECUTIVE CHANGES

+++ According to Business Insider, Ratnakar Lavu, who became Nike’s first global chief digital information officer in June 2019, responsible for digital technologies, resigned last Monday

+++ British luxury department store Harvey Nichols appointed Annabel Thorburn, presently senior vice-president of e-commerce at Sweaty Betty, as its new e-commerce director, effective April 17, 2023 +++

LEGAL & INSTITUTIONAL

+++ Life Time, a U.S. operator of over 160 fitness clubs with currently around 500 pickleball courts (and growing), is bringing nine pickleball tournaments to its locations resulting from alliances with the Professional Pickleball Association and Major League Pickleball

+++ The nonprofit organization and charitable arm of USA Triathlon, the USA Triathlon Foundation, has hired Alex Egan as chair of the board of trustees and appointed Audra Mallow, Bill Shenkin and Reggie Waller as officers at its 2022 board elections

+++ Volleyball World and the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) have announced that India will host for the first time the Men’s Club World Championships for two years

+++ The CEO of Bluesign Technologies, Daniel Rüfenacht, has joined the Founders Board at the Transformers Foundation, a non-profit organization representing a unified voice for the denim industry accelerating more sustainable practices +++