Latest News & Analysis – Page 202
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Arkose snaps up Snap Climbing
Arkose, a French operator of indoor bouldering parks, has snapped up a 67 percent stake in Snap Climbing, a French brand of climbing equipment and apparel, in an apparent bid to explore synergies between bouldering facilities and the gear required to use them.Arkose already has seven indoor bouldering parks, consisting ...
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New products boost Johnson Outdoors
Johnson Outdoors posted double-digit sales growth for its fourth fiscal quarter ended Sept. 29, driven by strong demand for new products in the fishing and diving divisions, which more than offset lower sales in the camping and recreational watercraft segments. The group's total revenues jumped by 22.5 percent from the ...
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Hi-Tec’s integration leads Cherokee to a loss
Cherokee Global Brands, the American owner of the Hi-Tec, Tony Hawk and other brands, has lowered its financial projections, citing the difficult retail climate in the U.S. as well as Canada, where Sears has gone bankrupt.The challenging retail climate is affecting Hi-Tec as it is transitioning to a new licensing ...
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American Outdoor Brands suffers from weak gun sales
The parent company of Smith & Wesson is generating much higher profit margins from its outdoor products than from its sales of firearms. Like Vista Outdoor, it has been seeking to diversify away from the highly cyclical American gun market, but its management says it is not currently looking for ...
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Tenson returns to Britain
Tenson is preparing to return to the British market after the appointment of Nick Anderson as country manager for the U.K., as part of the Swedish brand's moves to expand its business under fresh ownership.The Gothenburg-based brand was purchased last year by Nedvest Capital, after the bankruptcy of the Unlimited ...
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European mountaineering associations seal union
The European Union of Mountaineering Associations (EUMA) was established in Munich last month to jointly represent the interests of this activity around Europe, and to tackle issues around safety, infrastructure and protection of the environment.The founding assembly brought together representatives from 23 national associations representing about 2.5 million climbers and ...
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A new start for Fesi
The European Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (Fesi) says it is making a “fresh start” under new leadership, to shift from a “reactive” attitude to a more “proactive” agenda. As previously reported (SGI Europe, Vol. 28 – N° 30+31 of Oct. 16), the industry's lobbying body in Brussels has ...
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EU negotiators agree to end unjustified geo-blocking
European Union negotiators have agreed to put an end to unjustified geo-blocking, meaning that consumers should be allowed to purchase more products and services online from websites in other European countries.The agreement was reached on Nov. 20 by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission, which made it a ...
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EU ruling on selective distribution may apply to sports brands
A long-awaited ruling issued by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg earlier this month in the case of a company selling luxury products may or may not support sports and outdoor brands that want to prevent unauthorized sales of their products on third-party online retailing platforms like Amazon ...
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The U.S. outdoor industry is up in arms against Trump
The American outdoor industry reacted strongly to President Donald Trump's decision to shrink the size of two “national monuments” in the state of Utah, paving the way for mining, oil drilling and other industrial activities in areas that are presently reserved for outdoor activities.By executive order, President Trump decided to ...
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Vaude, Pontetorto and the EOG tackle microfiber pollution
Biopile, a bio-degradable fleece fabric developed in partnership between Pontetorto and Vaude, has received the Performance Award for innovation in textiles at the Performance Days held in Munich last month. Vaude says that the fleece fabric with a brushed back manufactured by the Italian fabrics specialist is the first to ...
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It’s Great Out There offers students a major outdoor experience
The My Challenge project has recently enabled 13 teenagers from Friedrich Junge School in Großhansdorf, Germany to experience a 10-day trek through the Alps to Italy, via Austria. The project was organized in partnership with Primaloft and supported by The North Face. This was the first initiative to be awarded an #itsgreatoutthere grant. The ...
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The outdoor industry is urged to target “outdoor novices”
Outdoor companies ought to draw more consumers by making it clear in their marketing and participation investments that outdoor activities are inclusive and accessible, it was suggested at the European Outdoor Summit held in October in Treviso.Tom Goderis, managing partner and director at In Sites Consulting, and Sarah Grant, research ...
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The French are outdoor enthusiasts
The French love football, but when it comes to participation, walking and hiking come first. This is one of the elements that emerge from a recent study by a French market research agency, Observatoire Cetelem, on the state of play in sports participation. It is the first of three studies ...
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La Sportiva has released its first sustainability report
The Italian maker of outdoor shoes and apparel has presented its first sustainability report, a 60-page document highlighting its corporate social responsibility (CSR) targets and achievements. The company, which was founded back in 1928, has been based in Val di Fiemme ever since. Its special location, at the foothill of ...
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VF Corp. launches a new sustainability and CSR strategy
The owner of The North Face, Timberland and other brands has announced its new global sustainability and responsibility strategy, called “Made for Change.” The strategy was announced in conjunction with VF's Sustainability and Responsibility Performance Report, on Dec. 11. The new strategy commits VF Corp. to reduce its global environmental ...
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Timberland announces Q3 sustainability achievements
The cotton used in Timberland apparel during the third quarter was 79 percent organic, either of U.S. origin or Better Cotton Initiative (BCI)-certified. This figure represents an improvement from 58 percent last year but also a dip from the 87 percent announced by the company earlier this year. Timberland, a ...
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ZDHC launches a new innovation hub and boosts its certification standards
The Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) Foundation has announced the launch of its Implementation Hub, a platform which is supposed to accelerate the impact of best practices in environmental and chemical management across the value chains of the textile, apparel, footwear and leather industries. The new Implementation Hub makes ...
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WakaWaka - solar power for the outdoor with a social twist
WakaWaka, one of the newest members of the European Outdoor Conservation Association (Eoca), is an expression that means ”great light” in Swahili, one of the local languages in East Africa. It's the name of a Dutch manufacturer of special, patent-protected, portable solar chargers and lights, power banks and other solar-powered ...
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The winners of Ispo Brandnew 2018
My Esel is the Overall Winner in the latest edition of Ispo Brandnew, the international competition for sports start-ups. The jury recognized the platform My Esel, a concept for customized bicycles made from Austrian wood, as “a textbook example of digital transformation in the sports industry.” A web-based algorithm determines, ...
