TRADE SHOWS & EVENTS
+++ Informa, a British provider of information services, advanced learning, B2B exhibitions and events whose Informa Markets unit is involved in numerous trade shows, including Magic, Micam Americas, Coterie and APLF Leather, said demand for physical events “remains strong” and it expects the sector to start growing again next year after having been hit by Covid-19-related restrictions
+++ Due to the continuing difficult Corona situation, the organizers of Photo+Adventure have decided to cancel this year’s photography, travel and outdoor festival planned for June 12 and 13 in Duisburg, Germany
+++ Red Knot Racing Company, a U.S. bike and running event organizer specialized on Tanzania, plans to host the Kilimanjaro Trail Run, a race with ultra, full and half marathon distances on Kilimanjaro’s Shira Plateau, on Sept. 5
+++ Sports retail chain Stadium is organizing Running Week in Sweden from April 19-25 in collaboration with Generation Pep, Run Acadamy, Saucony, Twiik and Sverige Springer, as well as several sports clubs, to get the whole of Sweden moving during the pandemic
+++ Online visitor registration is now open for OTS 2021, the U.K.’s outdoor industry trade show, which will take place June 29-July 1, 2021, at its new venue, the Exhibition Centre in Liverpool +++
LEGAL & INSTITUTIONAL
+++ In an amendment to a draft climate bill currently passing through parliament, France plans to provide a €2,500 trade-in subsidy for the purchase of an e-bike when old, exhaust-guzzling cars are scrapped
+++ The German initiative “Retailers Helping Retailers,” which includes the ANWR and Intersport retail groups and individual retailers such as Rose Bikes or Engelhorn, plans to file a constitutional complaint against the German government’s planned Infection Protection Act, which will be voted on in the Bundestag on April 21 +++
PRODUCT
+++ With D.I.Y, a collaboration with the designers of The Handmade Cyclist, Swedish functional clothing specialist Craft has presented its first pure gravel bike collection for the summer season 2021 with 6 different styles
+++ Swiss luxury footwear brand Bally is launching a new capsule collection called Bally Hike in October in collaboration with fashion editor and stylist Robert Rabensteiner that “captures the brand’s alpine heritage with a modern feel, as technically-inspired designs meet bold color combinations”
+++ Gore Wear has released a new women’s collection for long-distance cycling and all body shapes, designed in close collaboration with the GRL PCK women’s cycling team
+++ The rear-ventilated carrying system Air Control System (ACS), which Jack Wolfskin has offered on its backpacks since 1991, has been completely revised and is now equipped with the highly porous knitted Future Dye Airmesh, a material that is dyed completely without the use of water
+++ In celebration of Earth Day, Igloo released its Ecocool collection, which is the world’s first hard-sided coolers made with recycled plastic, and the Packable Puffer cooler bags featuring Repreve fabric and PrimaLoft insulation, both made from post-consumer recycled plastic bottles
+++ CEP, the German specialist in compression apparel, has launched a new outdoor collection featuring the Hiking Merino and Light Merino socks, which prevent the formation of pressure points as well as blisters and provide an optimal foot climate, the company says +++
MARKETING
+++ Thule has won two iF Design Awards 2021 with its TopRide car bike rack and RoundTrip Bike Duffel
+++ Scott Italia has announced a partnership with VDA Trailers that makes Scott a new sponsor of Gran Trail Courmayeur, a series of three trail running races in the Italian Alps that start and finish in Courmayeur
+++ Cuore of Switzerland, a Swiss cycling apparel label that offers custom cycling garments and more, has signed a five-year deal to become the official performance cycling apparel of USA Cycling
+++ Karpos has announced Swiss climber and adventurer Silvan Schüpbach as a new ambassador +++
EXECUTIVE CHANGES
+++ Three of Shopify’s most senior executives – Brittany Forsyth, chief talent officer, Joe Frasca, chief legal officer, and Jean-Michel Lemieux, chief technology officer – are reportedly going to end their long-term tenure with the Ottawa, Canada-based e-commerce software company this June
+++ Oberalp North America, which operates the Salewa, Dynafit, Wild Country, Pomoca and Evolv brands in the U.S. and Canada, has promoted Ross Herr to sales and marketing director and named Evan Horenovsky supply chain and operations manager
+++ GB Climbing, part of the British Mountaineering Council (BMC), has recruited Lorraine Brown, who previously held leading positions at organizations including Sport England, Paralympic GB, the English Institute of Sport and others, as its new head of performance +++
FINANCIAL REPORTS
+++ Austrian Lenzing Group said it got off to a better-than-expected start to the financial year 2021, with preliminary EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) rising by 36.8 percent year-on-year to €94.5 million in the first quarter of 2021 +++
CORPORATE & M&A
+++ Sport Lavit, a German specialist in muscle oils and other body care products that are available for over 50 years at sports retailers, will introduce its new corporate identity on May 1
+++ 2021 marks the 50th anniversary of Swedish company Hilleberg, one of the few outdoor brands that have focused exclusively on only one category of product: tents and shelters
+++ Millet, the French mountain sportswear specialist based in Annecy Le Vieux and part of the Calida Group, celebrates its centennial this year
RETAIL
+++ Vaude opened its 21st franchise store with 135 sqm of retail space in Berlin’s Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district in mid-April, but it won’t be officially operational until after the current Corona lockdown +++
DISTRIBUTION
+++ Leicestershire, England-based Ultra Sport EU has been appointed exclusive distributor for Tecnica ski boots and outdoor footwear and Blizzard skis for UK and Ireland with immediate effect +++
E-COMMERCE & DTC
+++ Octane AI, a no-code personalization platform for e-commerce brands, was named the Best Storefront App by the 2020 Shopify Commerce Awards, presented on April 15 +++
CSR & SUSTAINABILITY
+++ California-based technical winter and snowboard apparel brand 686 announced that it has offset its entire carbon footprint for 2020, making it a Climate Neutral Certified company
+++ Grundéns, the Swedish fishing apparel and footwear manufacturer, has announced that its team has shifted all of the brand’s apparel product packaging away from polybags to compostable packaging as part of its sustainability efforts
+++ Online retail giant Amazon invests in nine new renewable energy projects in Canada, the U.S., Spain, Sweden and the U.K., becoming Europe’s largest corporate buyer of renewables
+++ After disclosing its process for PFC-free footwear, Keen is once again challenging the outdoor footwear industry to become PFC-free by 2025 – this time in celebration of Earth Day – and inviting product developers and anyone interested in adopting the model Keen has followed since 2014 to learn more at www.keenfootwear.com
+++ U.S. outdoor apparel brand Stio has partnered with partnering with Climate Neutral to offset its carbon footprint for 2020 and is now officially Climate Neutral Certified
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