CORPORATE AND M&A
+++ Authentic Brands Group (ABG) and SPARC have completed the acquisition of Eddie Bauer, previously announced in May and reported by the Outdoor Industry Compass
+++ U.S.-based Weyco Group, owner of U.S. waterproof specialty boots provider Bogs among others, has acquired substantially all of the operating assets and certain liabilities of Forsake, Inc., a Wisconsin-based carbon neutral certified outdoor footwear provider, using it and Bogs to form a new Portland-based outdoor division
+++ Pelican Products, Inc., a company best known for the design and manufacture of high-performance protective cases, has achieved ISO 9001:2015 certification for its Australia manufacturing facility, joining nine Pelican locations worldwide that already hold this certification, including three Advanced Case Centers
+++ Delta Apparel, a U.S. provider of core activewear and lifestyle apparel products through its DTG2Go platform, has acquired Dallas-based technology company Autoscale.ai to streamline its product workflow of on-demand branded apparel from design to delivery +++
PRODUCT
+++ The road cycling apparel experts of Rapha have launched their mountain bike category with summer-focused wear that includes shorts, jerseys, jackets, helmets (made in collaboration with Smith), sunglasses and bags, and Merino wool garments planned for the near future, along with a broader line-up
+++ The North Face Japan, part of the Goldwin group, has opted to use Polygiene Stays Fresh technology in its latest range of sneakers to help keep the shoes fresh for longer and ultimately extend the life of the products
+++ Archroma has introduced its new Color Atlas by Archroma Polyester Library, a new library of colors for polyester that features 1,440 colors for sportswear, athleisure, swimwear, children’s clothing, shoes, fashion and home textiles, which add to the already available 4,320 colors of the Color Atlas for cotton +++
MARKETING
+++ Shimano has become the exclusive official group-set supplier to the Great Britain Cycling Team and British Cycling, an expansion of the ten-year relationship between the brand and the national cycling governing body
+++ Schöffel received the Gold Brand Award from the German Design Council and the German Brand Institute in the category “Excellence in Brand Strategy and Creation: Social Media” for its #ichbleibdrin (“I stay inside”) campaign launched at the start of the pandemic in 2020, which put social responsibility above commercial success
+++ Cicli Pinarello has extended its partnership with the INEOS Grenadiers for the next four seasons, taking the deal beyond 15 years by the end of the contract
+++ Scarpa added climber Jordan Cannon, a longtime grassroots brand ambassador and the fifth person to free-climb “Golden Gate” (5.13) on El Capitan in under 24 hours in November 2020, to its professional athlete team +++
RETAIL
+++ Je suis à vélo (jesuisavelo.com), the French multi-brand e-tailer specializing in cycling, has opened a 100-square-meter pop-up store in Paris’ rue de Rivoli, which will be in place until the end of June
+++ Since April, 43 Austrian Sport 2000 “Berg Profis” (“mountain pros”) complement the already existing “Profi” retail outlets with expanded services for particularly demanding athletes in the areas of running, bike, team sports and ski
+++ U.K. outdoor brand Craghoppers has opened its first flagship store on Edinburgh’s prestigious George Street offering “kit and inspiration for everything from weekend hikes to camping staycations”
+++ After opening its first German store last November in Berlin, Canada Goose has now announced to open additional stores in Frankfurt and Munich later this year +++
EXECUTIVE CHANGES
+++ Chemical company Huntsman Corporation has appointed Phil Lister as executive vice president and CFO, effective July 1, replacing Sean Douglas
+++ Alterra Mountain Company, the Denver-based mountain destination group that also offers the Ikon Pass, has named CMH veteran Rob Rohn president & COO of CMH Heli-Skiing & Summer Adventures, based in Banff, Alberta, Canada, effective immediately
+++ Johan Eliasch, who has held the position as CEO of Head since 1995 and has presided over the transformation of Head from a heavy loss-making company to a highly profitable sports equipment group, was elected the successor of Gian-Franco Kasper as president of the International Ski Federation (FIS) on June 4 and is stepping down as CEO of Head with immediate effect
+++ Mountainsmith, a Colorado-based company that has specialized in durable products for hiking and camping for more than 40 years, today announced the appointment of industry professional Cameron Bumsted as its new marketing and events manager +++
CSR & SUSTAINABILITY
+++ Adidas has provided its latest update (direct PDF download here) on its Creating Lasting Change Now commitments, which focus on promoting greater diversity, equity and inclusion within the company and in communities
+++ Polaris, the U.S. manufacturer of powersports vehicles, has partnered with the U.S. National Forest Foundation (NFF) with a commitment to donate $5 million over five years to the NFF and provide grants and project funding through the Polaris Fund for Outdoor Recreation to support outdoor recreation and conservation work to protect forests and surrounding lands for years to come
+++ Vango, a camping brand founded in 1966 in the west of Scotland, launched a new Earth Collection of tents, rucksacks, chairs and sleeping bags on June 5, World Environment Day, which are made using environmentally friendly fabric crafted from recycled single-use plastics and will recycle the plastic waste equivalent to 1,861,134 plastic bottles (500ml) this year, and in a sneak-peek into 2022 plans, growing to the equivalent of 8,250,000 plastic bottles (500ml) in 2022 +++
TRADE SHOWS & EVENTS
+++ The U.K. Outdoor Trade Show (OTS) reports that new exhibitors continue to sign up, so that 3 weeks before the show opens its doors at Exhibition Centre Liverpool from June 29 to July 1, the preliminary total has already surpassed 110 exhibitors
+++ Outdoor Research is donating PPE face masks to every attendee of The Big Gear Show in Park City, Utah, Aug. 3-5, 2021, the outdoor industry’s only all-outdoor trade event
+++ After being postponed in 2020 due to Covid-19, the Stihl Timbersports competitions, dubbed “The Original Extreme Sport” and featuring the best men, women and rookie lumberjack sports athletes, will officially return to the U.S. in 2021
+++ A list of the more than 70 companies with over 250 brands participating in sportsdays.ch by ISPO Munich on June 21-22 in Zurich is now available online (direct PDF download)
+++ Just like the 2020 edition of the Spanish bike trade show, Festibike 2021 has been canceled due to the difficulties related to the Covid-19 pandemic +++
DTC & E-COMMERCE
+++ Klarna, the Swedish fintech founded in 2005, officially launched in France in early June with the Klarna App and “Pay in 3” (“Paiement en 3 fois”), a three-tiered interest-free installment system where one installment is due every 30 days +++
LEGAL & INSTITUTIONAL
+++ The executive committee of the German Bicycle Industry Association (ZIV) welcomes Zweirad-Einkaufs-Genossenschaft eG (ZEG) as a supporting member and Kettler Alu-Rad GmbH as a full member in the ranks of the association +++
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