EXECUTIVE CHANGES
+++ According to LinkedIn, Bastian Dietz, cycling & new mobility category manager for IAA Mobility and previously community manager bike & snowsports for the two Munich-based sports trade shows ISPO Munich and OutDoor by ISPO, had his last day of work at Messe München on Nov. 26 and announced that he would be returning to the bike industry after a bit of time off
+++ Co-founder Jack Dorsey is stepping down as chief executive of Twitter, passing the reins to former chief technology officer Parag Agrawal, effective immediately
+++ Former Amazon vice president Cameron Janes has been hired by REI as chief commercial officer, a newly created position that could indicate a shift in the U.S. retailer’s retail strategy
+++ On Nov. 29, Heather Jackson stepped down from her position as non-executive director after more than six years on the JD Sports Fashion board, with Mahbobeh Sabetnia, a strategic and results-driven executive with an extensive track record of achieving digital growth in global organizations and with leadership positions at Amazon.com, McDonald’s, HSBC and most recently Mars, taking her place
+++ VF Corp. has appointed Maite Bastús, who most recently spent 9 years first as head of apparel & accessories merchandiser and then as strategic account manager at Converse, as The North Face’s new key account manager for Spain, replacing Alessandro Alterio +++
E-COMMERCE & DTC
+++ E-commerce platform Shopify has announced a record-breaking Black Friday with sales of nearly $2.9 billion worldwide, corresponding to a 21 percent increase over 2020, when Shopify merchant sales rose 75 percent over 2019, driven by the Covid-19 lockdowns last year
+++ With a new design and a completely revised menu structure, German company Ledlenser has completely revamped its web store, offering more than 270 flashlights, headlamps and multifunctional lamps and new services, including a chat-like form connecting customers directly with the service team
+++ Snowleader, a leading online retailer of outdoor and snow sports products based in the Savoy region of France, has moved to a larger, eco-friendly office of 3,000 square meters at Epargny, near Annecy, while inaugurating a new and bigger automated warehouse at a different site further away at Versoud
+++ Umeå, Sweden-based Sigr, a brand that specializes in making cycling apparel that is more visible on the road, has opened a brand store in Seoul, South Korea +++
TRADE SHOWS & EVENTS
+++ 70 companies with more than 220 brands will present their collections for winter 22/23 as planned on Dec. 13-14, 2021, during the “sportsdays.ch by ISPO Munich” in the Zurich TMC, Trendhaus, House 9, Industriestrasse (Switzerland)
+++ The winter edition of the German trade show for sustainable textiles, Innatex, which is reportedly almost fully booked with around 200 brands, will take place as a physical event from Jan. 21 to 23, 2022, at Messecenter Rhein-Main +++
CORPORATE AND M&A
+++ Monomoy Capital Partners, a New York City-based middle-market private investment firm focused on operational value creation, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Michigan-based Thetford Corporation, a manufacturer of mobile sanitation products for the RV, marine, camping and truck markets, from The Dyson-Kissner-Moran Corporation, a private investment company from Poughkeepsie, New York
+++ Minnesota-based Flagg Bicycle Group announced that it acquired Vermont-based women’s cycling company Terry Bicycles, renaming it Terry Precision Cycling +++
TRADE SHOW & EVENTS
+++ Messe München’s overseas trade show company IMAG GmbH, founded in Munich 75 years ago and Germany’s first overseas trade event company, will be integrated into its parent company in the first quarter of 2022 +++
PRODUCT & MARKETING
+++ U.S. trail runner Courtney Dauwalter has joined Leki’s international roster of athletes, which includes Francois D’Haene, Pau Cappel, Xavier Thevenard, Dylan Bowman, Kaytlyn Gerbin, Tim Tollefson and Sabrina Stanley
+++ For FW 2021/2022, Timberland introduces a new eyewear collection at Marcolin featuring urban-outdoorsy designs that are made of at least 35 percent bio-based plastic
+++ Electric Eyewear has launched the Jason Momoa Collection series including the Jason Momoa signature Knoxville model, produced from bio-resin, shipped in a recycled chipboard box and including a Repreve® recycled nylon microfiber bag for storage and cleaning
+++ The North Face has launched the Conrad Anker Lifestyle Collection, paying homage to the legacy of TNF’s team captain for 26 years, rock climber, mountaineer and author and to his “Hold fast, all storms pass” motto
+++ A second Gucci x The North Face Capsule, just launched for FW21, picks up directly from the first collab collection from 2020 and is again packed with TNF classics and reworked Gucci designs that include everything from luxury to retro
+++ Continuing the dialogue started with artist Peter Doig for the Dior Winter 2021 collection, the fashion brand’s men’s designer Kim Jones has designed a new Dior Ski Capsule in collab with Descente, ski maker AK Ski and POC +++
CSR & SUSTAINABILITY
+++ VF Corp-owned brand Eastpak has partnered with fashion marketplace Depop for the Re-Rebuilt to Resist collection, which takes steps toward a sustainable future with a limited edition of fifty upcycled backpacks (available exclusively at Eastpak’s U.S. Depop store)
+++ As part of its sustainability strategy, the German fashion and lifestyle retail company Breuninger has published a comprehensive animal welfare policy with far-reaching guidelines on the handling of animal materials; among other things, sustainable materials are to be promoted even more strongly across the entire product range in the future
+++ Fashion magazine Elle is banning fur from its 41 issues worldwide as well as internet and social media presences
+++ Celebrating „National Sock Day“ in the U.S. (Dec. 4) and demonstrating progress on its path to 100 percent circularity, Merino wool sock specialist Smartwool is turning more than 90,000 used socks into dog beds, the „Second Cut K9 Camp Cushions”
+++ Nilit, producer of high-quality Nylon 6.6 for apparel and owner of the Sensil® sustainable brand, has joined The Ocean Foundation’s Blue Resilience Initiative to reestablish and safeguard essential ocean meadows and other coastal habitats +++
LEGAL & INSTITUTIONAL
+++ The Netherlands has gone into an evening lockdown until Dec. 18 due to rising infection numbers, with stores (except supermarkets), cultural venues, restaurants and sports clubs closing at 5 pm
+++ Due to the spread of the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) of Covid-19, masks are again mandatory in stores and public transport in England since Tuesday +++
+++ More than 20,000 garment workers in Laos affected by the Covid-19 pandemic have benefited from emergency income support (worth roughly $1,850,000) that was paid from March to October 2021 and funded by the German government, supported by the International Labour Organization (ILO) +++
RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
+++ With a new 190-square-meter store in Laval – its 14th store in the country and third in Québec – Arc’teryx is continuing its retail expansion in Canada
+++ From January 3, 2022, Schweizer-Nova AG, whose portfolio also includes Sport Lavit and Hey Sport, will take over distribution of the Holmenkol brand in Switzerland and Liechtenstein from the Tecnica Group +++
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