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Earth Overshoot Day is almost back to pre-pandemic date
International research and sustainability organization Global Footprint Network has calculated this year’s date of Earth Overshoot Day being on July 29, which is the status of the years before Covid-19 kicked in and a temporary dip in carbon emissions was visible. Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity’s demand ...
New legislation in the U.S. could help the environment – and boost e-bike sales
U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (Democrats, Hawaii) and Ed Markey (Democrats, Massachusetts) have introduced the Electric Bicycle Incentive Kickstart for the Environment Act in the U.S. Senate, a bill that would prioritize electric bicycles as a zero-emission mode of transportation by making them more affordable and accessible to all Americans. If ...
Provenance.org publishes opensource communication rulebook to avoid greenwashing
London-based software solutions company Project Provenance Ltd. has published an open-source rulebook to curb misleading communication. The Provenance Framework is an encyclopedia for communication on sustainability, developed to help brands communicate sustainability with integrity and avoid greenwashing based on the latest ESG standards. The framework comprises more than 50 consumer-facing ...
Parts shortage slows Accell’s results
A growing market for bike parts and accessories helped Accell Group to raise net sales for the six months to June 30 by 3.3 percent to €699.1 million, despite a drop in sales of finished bicycles due to supply and logistics problems. Order books for electric bikes remained strong, but ...
Fenix’ Q2 sales up, but sluggish German performance weighs on overall result
Fenix Outdoor International said it was still experiencing Covid pandemic-related difficulties in the second quarter with delayed re-openings of the German and Benelux markets affecting the business. The company said the impact was unexpectedly felt more in its Brands operations than the retail division as “a lot of retail customers ...
Velocio partners with Apidura for U.K. repairs
Repairs are essential to keep products in use longer but sending a product to a central repair hub can accrue a significant carbon footprint. To reduce this negative consequence, Velocio, a cycling apparel company based in New Hampshire (U.S.), has partnered with Apidura in the U.K., a company that makes ...
High demand for bike helmets results in tremendous sales increase for Mips in H1
After a strong start to fiscal 2021, “brain protection” helmet-technology maker Mips AB stepped it up a notch in the second quarter. As a result, the Swedish company posted total sales of SEK 225 million (€22.0m-$25.9m) in the first half of the year, despite challenging supply chain issues. Compared with ...
Pierer Mobility and Maxcom join forces for new e-bike factory
On July 21, Austria’s Pierer Mobility AG and Bulgaria’s largest bicycle manufacturer Maxcom Ltd. announced the establishment of a joint venture in which each party will hold a 50 percent stake. With an investment of €40 million, this joint venture will develop a state-of-the-art e-bike production facility in Bulgaria on ...
OutDoor by ISPO 2021: Less exhibition, more conference
The upcoming OutDoor by ISPO, dubbed the “Global Summit Edition” and scheduled for Oct. 5-7, 2021, will focus more on the conference component in combination with the European Outdoor Summit and offer a scaled-down exhibition space with pre-built booths limited to 80 to 100 brands. This was one of the ...
“Stronger than ever“ – ISPO Munich to open up to end consumers and tourism
During a webinar by “Dein Winter. Dein Sport”, a German initiative to support winter sports, Jeanette Friedrich, global ISPO Group director, gave a short presentation on the new ISPO Munich concept, which will already be implemented at the next event from Jan. 23-26, 2022.
Thule benefits from growing recreational trends despite lockdowns in Q2
Continuing its strong growth trend for the fourth quarter in a row, the Swedish-based Thule Group reported improved results for the second quarter ended June 30. Net sales went up by 58.1 percent to 3,229 million Swedish kronor (€315.5m-$371.4m) compared to the same period a year ago, when major markets ...
Learning from experience: How one startup discovered what’s in a (brand) name
The underlying goal of a brand name is to trigger a reaction. How do you make sure it’s the right one?
Dometic Q2 sales rebound but supply-chain issues persist
Scandinavian Outdoor Group member Dometic saw second-quarter earnings rebound from the impact of the Covid pandemic despite persistent supply-chain challenges.
DDK Group increases production capacity with new factories in Vietnam
Like all Asian manufacturers, the Taiwanese bike saddle manufacturer DDK Group has been overwhelmed by much higher production demand than expected. Not only is DDK’s factory in Changhua, Taiwan, running at full capacity, but the group’s factories in Nantong, China, and in Thủ Dầu Một, Vietnam, are also overloaded. The ...
New anglers help Rapala reel in strong H1 sales rise
Finnish tackle company Rapala VMC reported a sharp rise in first-half net sales driven by strong demand for fishing gear from new anglers and faster-than-expected implementation of its restructuring strategy. Sales for the six months to June 30 increased 36 percent to €159.6 million as fishing’s popularity as a Covid-safe ...
USWE expands offering with premium cycling apparel through acquisition of VOID Cycling
On July 16, USWE Sports AB, founded in Skåne, Sweden, in 2007, signed an agreement to acquire VOID Cycling, founded in Gothenburg in 2014, from Tenson BV and Color Group BV. Both USWE and VOID are strong in e-commerce and have each established a global presence.
MarketMedia24 studies see long-term growth for athletic footwear in Germany
Looking as far into the future as 2028, the new Branchen-REPORT Sport 2021 by MarketMedia24 predicts a considerable growth of the athletic footwear sector even in the most conservative models calculated by the Cologne-based market research and consulting institute. Triggered by growing health awareness and despite (or perhaps because of) ...
SOG starts circular outdoor project
To meet the demand of many of its members for circular economy solutions, the Scandinavian Outdoor Group (SOG) has started a circular outdoor project called SOG Circular Outdoors a few weeks ago in collaboration with Peak 63, a development company based in Östersund, Sweden, with the goal of launching a ...
Textile Mission publishes research report on microplastics
An interdisciplinary research project run by the Federal Association of the German Sporting Goods Industry (Bundesverband der Deutschen Sportartikel-Industrie/BSI) and worked out by its Textile Mission team (with support of the German ministry of education and science) has now published its final report on the origin and reduction of textile ...
Sympatex Technologies among Best for the World B Corp companies of 2021
German Sympatex Technologies has been placed in the “Best for the World” top 5 percent of 4,000 certified B Corporations worldwide by B Lab Global for its CSR performance in 2021. The Munich-based company is involved in initiatives like the European industry partnership wear2wear for the rapid closure of the ...
New Canadian brand norda launches seamless trail running shoe made of bio-based Dyneema
norda™, a young Canadian running shoe brand, introduced the first seamless trail running shoe made from bio-based Dyneema® fiber.
TMC releases database for microfiber shedding and standardized test
After a joint effort of The Microfibre Consortium (TMC) and its members, a wide database and globally aligned and standard test method to determine the level of microfibers shed from fabric during domestic laundering has just been released. The test method and detailed database for the specification of over 250 ...
ABS and Pyua with new shareholders and sales manager
Following the acquisition by Spin Capital in 2018, brand relaunches and a renewed and expanded product range for both ABS Protection GmbH and Pyua, the team around Spin Capital’s CEO, Dr. Stefan Mohr, is now receiving further support from some well-known sports and fashion industry veterans.
CONEBI’s publishes Bicycle Market Report 2021
“The European bicycle industry is booming.” That is the headline the Confederation of the European Bicycle Industry (CONEBI), the umbrella organization for national industry associations, is using to promote its BIMP Edition 2021 (“European Bicycle Industry and Market Profile”), unveiled June 12, with the latest figures for 2020.
Shimano with new factory in Singapore, new machines in Japan
A few weeks ago, Japanese bicycle component manufacturer Shimano Inc. had to close its Malaysian plant, forced by the Malaysian government’s Covid lockdown. The Japanese company now announced that it would invest in a new factory in Singapore and new machinery in Japan. All this is being done with an ...
Portugal officially inaugurates Europe’s first large-scale carbon frame factory
Led by Portugal’s minister of state for the economy and digital transformation, Pedro Siza Vieira, Carbon Team’s new production facilities were officially inaugurated on July 9 in Camoia, in the Portuguese municipality of Vouzela. Carbon Team is the first European automated carbon bicycle frame factory outside Asia. Hardtail monocoque carbon ...
Anta Sports Q2 sales growth continues at slightly slower pace
Anta Sports continued to show strong sales growth in the second quarter ended June 30. However, the pace of growth slowed somewhat from the first quarter, which benefited from a strong comparison effect as strict lockdown measures were imposed in China in the first quarter of 2020.
Helen of Troy’s Hydro Flask starts year strongly
Helen of Troy’s Houseware segment, which includes outdoor drinkware brand Hydro Flask, posted revenues of $193.6 million in the first fiscal quarter ended May 31, up by 37.7 percent compared to the year earlier.
Klarna acquires social shopping platform Hero
Klarna, the retail banking, payments and shopping service from Sweden with over 90 million active users worldwide and 2 million transactions per day, has acquired Hero, a social shopping platform founded in 2015 and based in London and New York. Hero aims “to provide consumers with inspiration, advice and immediately ...
Light My Fire welcomes new EU guideline to restrict single-use plastics
As of July 3, it is forbidden to put new single-use plastic products on the market. This is in line with the EU directive on single-use plastics. The Swedish brand Light My Fire, founded 25 years ago, welcomes the directive as a step in the right direction. Light My Fire ...
