Latest News & Analysis – Page 308

  • Article

    Columbia Appoints Top Anager For Europe

    2008-08-19T00:00:00Z

    Columbia Sportswear has appointed Patrick Chevallier as director of sales in Europe, replacing André-Pierre Bonamy, who left the company. The 46-year-old Frenchman held a comparable position with Amer Sports, where he supervised 20 countries in the EMEA region, especially in Eastern and Central Europe. Prior to that, he had ...

  • Article

    Margins Improve At Jarden Outdoor, Bolstered By Acquisitions

    2008-08-19T00:00:00Z

    Operating earnings for Jarden Corporation’s Outdoor Solutions unit, made up of Coleman, K2 and Pure Fishing, rose by 132 percent to $74.8 million for the quarter ended June 30. Revenues were 70 percent higher than the same period last year at $708.6 million, but on a pro forma basis, excluding ...

  • Article

    Rocky Brands Is Back In The Black

    2008-08-19T00:00:00Z

    In the second quarter of 2008, Rocky Brands rebounded from a $1.4 million loss in the same period last year to report a profit of $700,000. Net sales were up as well, by 2.9 percent to $60.5 million. The gross margin overall was down by 0.4 percentage points ...

  • Article

    Third-quarter Blues For Johnson Outdoors

    2008-08-19T00:00:00Z

    Johnson Outdoors suffered from the poor U.S. economy in its third quarter, with sales down by 5.8 percent to $141.2 million. The third quarter is the most important of the fiscal year for the company, as it is when customers buy equipment for boating, diving and the outdoors for the ...

  • Article

    Cabela’S Comparable Sales Keep Company Hopeful

    2008-08-19T00:00:00Z

    Cabela’s, the big American outdoor retailer, had some bad news for its second quarter ended June 28, with operating income down by 26.6 percent to $14.9 million, net income down by 35.4 percent to $7.3 million and gross margins down by 1.4 percentage points to 34.5 percent. The American outdoor ...

  • Article

    Industry Sees Price Hikes As Inevitable

    2008-07-29T00:00:00Z

    Brand owners at the OutDoor show unanimously agreed that retail price hikes would be inevitable due to hefty increases in the cost of raw materials, oil and labor – the topic at the center of many whispered conversations in Friedrichshafen. Rolf Schmid, president of the European Outdoor Group (EOG), ...

  • Article

    Columbia Reports Flat Sales In Second Quarter

    2008-07-29T00:00:00Z

    Columbia Sportswear’s sales slipped in the second quarter of fiscal 2008 by 3 percent to $213.1 million. The net loss was at $1.8 million compared to a net income at $10 million in the same period in 2007. According to the company, the second quarter is typically the lowest volume ...

  • Article

    13.7% Growth For The Outdoor Shoe Market In 2007

    2008-07-29T00:00:00Z

    While Nike, Adidas and other all-around athletic footwear brands raised their sales by 12.0 percent in dollars at the wholesale level last year to $29 billion, the more or less pure outdoor brands increased their footwear sales at a slightly higher rate of 13.7 percent to $2.92 billion, or one-tenth ...

  • Article

    Golite Restructures Footwear Business

    2008-07-29T00:00:00Z

    GoLite did not have footwear to exhibit at this year’s OutDoor show. After Timberland pulled out of the GoLite business earlier this year, it re-licensed the brand to two partners: apparel and equipment is operated by GoLite LLC, backed by the Coupounas family. GoLite was founded by that family which ...

  • Article

    Ebi Targets Wenger-brand Shoe Sales Of 1m Pairs

    2008-07-29T00:00:00Z

    Established Brands International has acquired the worldwide footwear licence for Wenger’s Swiss Army Knife. According to Ron Page, the CEO of Established Brands, there are splendid business opportunities to label footwear with the world-famous white cross because it stands for high quality and very functional products. Especially in the US, ...

  • Article

    Logistics Reshuffle Puts Haglöfs In Good Shape

    2008-07-29T00:00:00Z

    Haglöfs, the Swedish outdoor company, is preparing a Europe-wide launch of its footwear range, which was only sold consistently in Scandinavia so far. It was already tested in a handful of German stores this year but will be introduced in all of the brand’s European markets from next spring. ...

  • Article

    New Managers And Distributors For Berghaus

    2008-07-29T00:00:00Z

    Berghaus has fine-tuned its organization to place design above its separate apparel, footwear and equipment categories. The managers in charge of each of the units were removed in April, while Ross McPhee was recruited as head of design for all categories, to make sure that seasonal concepts and timing matched ...

  • Article

    Fresh Money For Houdini

    2008-07-29T00:00:00Z

    With fresh capital from its new owners, Houdini, a small but distinctive Swedish brand of outdoor underwear, is moving into higher gear. The money has enabled the company to increase its payroll from 9 to 15 employees last year, providing it with sufficient resources to expand international distribution. Lotta ...

  • Article

    Lundhags Is Ready For Expansion; Drops Own Skate Production

    2008-07-29T00:00:00Z

    Lundhags, the Swedish outdoor brand, will be closing down its production unit for Nordic skates next year, as dwindling sales no longer justify the expense. Sales of these skates decreased from about 22,000 to 7,000 pairs over the last years, after two mild winters. The capacity of the Lundhags ...

  • Article

    Klättermusen Invests Massively In The Protection Of The Environment

    2008-07-29T00:00:00Z

    Just as they do with empty bottles of beer, Swedish consumers could soon get into the habit of returning used outdoor garments in exchange for a small refund. Such an initiative was launched in July by Klättermusen, a Swedish outdoor brand. Consumers who bring a used jacket or backpack ...

  • Article

    Bergans Finalizes New Distribution Structure For Europe

    2008-07-29T00:00:00Z

    A German subsidiary of Bergans of Norway is taking over the brand’s distribution in the Germanic countries and deliveries to nearly all other countries in Europe from the beginning of next month. This puts an end to a distribution agreement with Scandic Outdoors, run by Jan Molander, which had been ...

  • Article

    Karrimor Pushes To Increase International Sales

    2008-07-29T00:00:00Z

    Just three years into an international sales drive, Karrimor, the British outdoor brand, is generating about half of its sales outside the British market. While its UK sales often take place through price-aggressive retailers, Karrimor is capitalizing on its brand name to rebuild a network of specialized customers outside its ...

  • Article

    Blacks Sees The Positive Effect Of Vacation-hungry Brits Staying In U.K.

    2008-07-29T00:00:00Z

    Blacks Leisure told its shareholders last week that its outdoor retail sales had dropped by 2.2 percent on a same-store basis in the 19 weeks ended on July 12, compared with a buoyant trading period at the same time last year. The British group’s total same-store sales fell by 5.4 ...

  • Article

    Lacrosse Opens European Office; Reports Higher Profits

    2008-07-29T00:00:00Z

    LaCrosse Footwear has created a subsidiary in Copenhagen, LaCrosse Europe, hoping to expand in the European market. It bought the operation for $3.2 million from its long-time distributor there, Gateway Footgear. The company was responsible for sales throughout Europe, but it has been successful mainly in Denmark with the colorful ...

  • Article

    Eddie Bauer, On Rebound, Reunites With Everest Climber

    2008-07-29T00:00:00Z

    Forty-five years ago Eddie Bauer outfitted the first American expedition to Mount Everest, led by Jim Whittaker. The retailer and Whittaker have rekindled the relationship, with the famous mountain climber signing an exclusive partnership with the outdoor brand to be its consultant, assist in product development, help with marketing ideas ...