Layne Rigney

Great post Matt- good to see numbers for Run! The price issue is not all brand margin related, new polymers and processes are really expensive and factories are mostly left to do all development and pre-production as brands lack qualified talent and are mostly staffed by those looking to avoid adding risk or attachable decisions to their daily- to try and keep the desk! Nike’s well chronicled layoffs (also your posts!) have further spooked the industry creative/engineering and Production players! I do not see prices coming down any time soon, due to China avoidance and Vietnam capacity tightening ( plus the political footballs in Cambodia/Myanmar) - so those walls will need to be climbed to grow the category and capture market share from the big brands! Well spotted on womens as the fastest growth market - which will hopefully drive investment capital and we continue to see better technical/well fitting products come to the segment! #mattpowell #runningshoes #femalerunners

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Had an insightful conversation with Shoshy Ciment of Footwear News on the topic of loyalty, resulting in a highly informative article by her. Grateful to have been a small part of this key discussion. Check out the article below to learn more about loyalty programs from Foot Locker, UA, Kith, Naturalizer and more. Link: https://lnkd.in/eXSNTr_K

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Nike has continued its shift from direct-to-consumer (D2C) to wholesale channels over the past three months. Matthew Friend John Donahoe #Retail #TextileRetail #ApparelRetail #RetailNews #DailyNews #USA #footwear #RetailIndustry #ApparelResources #ApparelIndustry #FashionBrand

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One of my most memorable moments is golfing as a family for the first time. 4 hours of quality outdoor time and exercise together. No phones, no interruptions, just talking and laughing together. Golf is our favorite family sport that we all love! It’s nice to start reading about it in the retail industry and see the evolution of indoor golf like Topgolf (rainy day and winter strategy). The brands should listen to me when I tell them to do golf capsules😊. Its a big business opportunity…not one existing brand does it completely! 4 golfers in our family and the guys are estatic with the gear and garb. Women unfortunately have to shop ten different brands (sometimes mens only brands) to put an outfit and equipment together. Men’s needs an updqte and stronger white assortment that isn’t sheer 🙄. Not fun to see boobs and chest hair on the course (imagine when it rains 🤦🏻‍♀️). Kudos to Sunday Golf (made my favorite bag) and G/FORE (pops up at our course)and REDVANLY for (bright colors, matching sets and pull on yet very cool shorts for men, Yes they have belt loops) If you want to grab your market share of the golf apparel industry, reach out to me and let’s collaborate now on design, fit, assortment and marketing approach. Golf is an all year, global, multigenerational BUSINESS with massive reach, buying power and growth potential. Tinag@tgretailconsulting.com. Huge revenue and client acquisition opportunity 🙌🏻 PS the image with the golfer in short shorts is misleading Great share Tim Boerkoel

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"...The other good news is that there will always be a market for new, innovative and high performance product. Just look at the continued success of On, Arc'teryx and Vuori or the emergence of newer brands like Wild Rye, Gnara and LIVSN." This synopsis on the saga that has been the outdoor industry since I entered it, which recognizes that what we are doing at Gnara with our GoFly Technology is both important and working (from a PE-backed retail CEO with successful exits to Walmart and Dicks Sporting Goods, who also happens to be a personal mentor I look up to in this industry, no less) means a lot. #femalefounder #outdoorindustry #patentedtechnology #inclusivedesign #innovation #entrepreneurship #startup

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“Our new store concept cements Foot Locker’s position as the leader in sneaker culture by offering an engaging, cutting-edge shopping experience for the sneaker passionate,” Foot Locker’s president and CEO Mary Dillon stated in a press release.  I spoke with Inside Retail US and Nicole Kirichanskaya and what this all means for the 👟 retailer. Some of my insights: Foot Locker is headed in the right direction with their ’store of the future’ strategy. In fact, it is long overdue. This strategy will put a spotlight on product obsessed sales associates, hyper-localized assortments as well as curated experiences. Rethinking the physical store will get Footlocker to take customer insights and inform product and store decisions based on location and community. This will make every store different and get customers excited about visiting the retailer. The sneaker industry has lost a lot of its luster. Brands like Nike and Under Armour are overstocked with SKUs, and adidas would have had a rough year if it wasn’t for the Samba. Additionally, there are more brands competing for market share. On and HOKA have taken the running community by storm. Brooks Running is focused on innovation and wholesale while PUMA Group and Reebok are relying on celebrities as creative directors to capture a new customer base. The hype around exclusivity and limited editions is not as exciting for consumers, and it will take a lot more than just the product to persuade shoppers to buy. Retailers like Footlocker have the upper hand if they reimagine the physical store as a destination for innovative and exciting experiences vs. focussing on pushing a handful of brands. It’s all about the customer and getting them to spend time in your store. Find the entire article here --> https://lnkd.in/ebzaEUam Shoutout to Neil Saunders and Marie Driscoll, CFA 🙌🏽 #retail #retailnews #footlocker #footwearnews #stores #cx #merchandising

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One of the most rewarding things I get to do professionally is this presentation - a session aimed at helping brands and their sales teams understand how most independent retailers formulate their buying plans, and how that understanding can lead to more long-term sales. Over the past few years, I have been fortunate enough to present this to dozens of brands. I’ve been in front of the sales team for the biggest brand in the outdoor industry, and startups that have one employee. The consistently surprising thing that I observe is this - most people responsible for selling to wholesale have at best a fuzzy understanding of the math that buyers use to spend their open-to-buy, and it’s a huge unlock for their success when they learn it. Knowing how and why a wholesale account spends money with you - beyond “because we make cool stuff” - gives you the opportunity to be an exceptional brand partner. Plus, it can make everyone more money. If you’re interested in learning more about how to bring this session to your team, please reach out. One other thing. This was my first time back to Outdoor Retailer in years. It’s a completely different show than what it once was . The thing that inspired me to accept this gig was that it’s mostly now made up of small brands. Some of those brands are very small businesses- just like Sunlight Sports. I hope that something that we talked about in my session helps one of those people who have risked so much on their new startup brand be successful. If so, what a great feeling. More thoughts on OR overall to come. Katie Soule thanks for the post! #outdoorretailer #outdoorindustry #independentlyowned

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More on the big news of the day. Season? Big news of the year.

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Leadership, business and market transitions, navigating the unexpected, and driving velocity, AG1 Athletic Greens... we cover these topics and more on this episode of Kleiner Perkins Grit Podcast @kpgrit with Joubin Mirzadegan. I've learned so many tough lessons along the way - great to share a few!

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1190, the latest size in the Eagle range, in between the 1090 and 1290 (max). Read more here BAKS Distribution F-ONE

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I recently read an article in Inc. Magazine regarding Bjorn Gulden, CEO of Adidas. Highly competitive, highly driven kind of leader. The athletic footwear industry is fiercely competitive, but Gulden's approach stood out. And he gave a talk, addressing thousands of employees, and gave his cell number. This surprised many. However, his reasoning was clear: people need access to leadership to build trust. When I see leadership examples at the top levels with thousands of people to lead, it gives an example to all of us of what really counts. Here's a person who could have easily driven a lot of conversations in different ways, but he opened himself as the leader to be contacted. I would encourage you to do the same. #Leadership  #Trust

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Ideally, I would start with “Outdoor Retailer is dead, long live [Powerful brand name for this new show]!”  My time in SLC was not what I expected—both in positive and negative ways. As I already alluded to, Emerald should strongly consider changing the name. The event that wraps up today in the Salt Palace is not recognizable as the heritage OR.  It’s not the same brands, the same feel, the same buyers, or even the same smell.  It’s something else: smaller, younger, rougher around the edges.  Anyone who came to the show thinking they would get the old show was disappointed, which I think is a huge issue.  Because the event itself wasn’t disappointing if you had different (or in my case, lower) expectations - it was pretty energetic, relatively well-attended, and to my eye, full of potential if a couple of other changes happened. Second, there is no way that this show should be in the middle of June.  I’ll say it again:  June is full, please come back again next month.  The reps and retailers have spent the last 4 weeks looking at lines, and now we need to write orders with our major brands.  OR isn’t about big brands anymore - it’s more of a show for peripheral brands.  And while I did find four small companies to buy from, I did that at the expense of being back in my office.  Meanwhile, I saw very few independent buyers from other states (because they are all in the same spot in the buying process).  I did see a fair number of buyers from two other silos.  There were badges from local Utah shops, and then there were the huge corporations.  Most of the retailer badges I saw were from Wal-Mart, Sam’s, Urban Outfitters, TJX, Academy, and the like. Most of the attendees were people not directly involved in the buy/sell process.  Tons of media, many service providers, and people just walking the show made it a little tough to get into booths in the afternoon. But the Emerald team that put this show together should feel great about the progress that they have made.  It’s a way better scene than had been described by people who had gone to recent iterations.  And you can see how this thing could work. Will I go back to OR?  If it continues in its current timeframe,  I don’t know that I would.  Now that I am at home, looking at a pile of order forms I am already behind on, I am very stressed.  Would I go to that show in July (or January for the winter season)?  Yeah, I think that I would.  My big orders would be done, and I would be looking to gamble a little with my remaining open-to-buy. It was fun, the vibe was good, and it felt like a place where I might find smaller brands that I could sell.  Plus, I would suspect that a later-in-the-season show might attract other people to whom I am connected. Just don’t call it Outdoor Retailer. #outdoorindustry #outdoorretailer #specialtyretail

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Nike’s upcoming earnings report for fiscal Q4 2024 has analysts focused on its guidance for fiscal 2025 amid several key challenges and strategic shifts. The company has been experiencing slower revenue growth, prompting a revision of its full-year growth forecast to 1%. A significant area of concern is Nike's performance in the Greater China region, where revenue has dropped 20% year-on-year, pressured by rising competition from local brands and geopolitical issues. Nike is countering these challenges by accelerating its digital transformation. Notable initiatives include the launch of Nikeland on the Roblox platform and the acquisition of the virtual sneaker brand RTFKT. These moves aim to capture new revenue streams and boost brand engagement in the evolving digital landscape. More insight from @brian gilmartin Seeking Alpha

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Today’s results from Peloton bear all the hallmarks of a company that is still trying to adjust to a market that is shifting against its favor. Despite various restructuring efforts over the past couple of years, Peloton is still deeply loss making and its business model is still broken. This quarter’s $167.3 million net loss, which is admittedly better than last year’s $275.9 million loss, is one of the reasons why Peloton is taking further action to slash its costs by $200 million annually. This includes cutting up to 400 staff, or 15% of the workforce. This is effectively an admission that the business is still too large to sustain itself and that vanity projects such as retail showrooms are still not delivering financially. It was great to chat with CNBC about today's numbers... #retail #retailnews #Peloton #sportinggoods #fitness https://lnkd.in/eyDvYKwr

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DICK'S Sporting Goods Quarter 1 Results: ⚽ Delivers Net Sales of $3.02 Billion, Up 6.2% Versus the Prior Year ⚾ Delivers Double-Digit EBT Margin of 11.3% 🏀 Delivered 5.3% comparable sales growth, driven by growth in transactions and average ticket 🏈 Reported earnings per diluted share of $3.30 with 4% EBT growth 🎾 Raises full year 2024 guidance for comparable sales growth to a range of 2.0% to 3.0%, up from 1.0% to 2.0% previously 🏐 Raises full year 2024 earnings per diluted share guidance to a range of $13.35 to 13.75, up from $12.85 to 13.25 previously #dsglife #dickssportinggoods #results

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Private label footwear is an interesting discussion. I was surprised to hear REI getting out of making their own footwear. It looked good and I think offered a well-branded, unique approach offering some good value and performance (Vibram outsoles, etc.). There seemed to be an authentic story and reason to exist. Often private label is synonymous with cheap. Footwear in particular can be hard to execute well when it's at a very competitive price point, often with a large SKU offering and has the realities of tooling costs and technical development. Most commonly private label footwear is pawned off to a trading company to stick a logo on "knock-off" designs with open tooling produced at a questionable quality and performance standard. But I think private labels can compete. My first experience in footwear was with Power Footwear, possibly the largest global private label - a "house brand" of Bata Group. It showed me it is possible to craft real performance with value in mind and we did so with design as a strength. Original tooling, original technology, original design. Decathlon is also doing it really well. Some of the latest KIPRUN products I think can go head to head with Nike, Adidas, etc. Amazing design and cutting edge performance and sponsored top athletes. They have turned in-house resources and brands into a showcase for products that bring consumers into the stores. The whole point of private label in the first place. What do you think? Can private label footwear exist in today's retail landscape where a brand is more than product and needs to be supported by marketing, social, and the full experience? Do consumers want private labels? Do they know/care they aren't "real" brands? --- I’m the owner of The Directive Collective footwear design consultancy. We make great footwear, not just great sketches. #design #footwear #footweardesign

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I see significant changes coming to the gym equipment industry in the next 10 years. As long as people want to stay fit, there will always be a demand for gym equipment. With economic development, people will invest more in their health, making this industry resilient and not solely dependent on population growth. Many entrepreneurs will start to notice these trends, and more players will enter this industry. Despite this, the market still has many blue ocean opportunities, with ample room for innovation and improvement. Brands like Peloton exemplify how finding the perfect product can generate substantial revenue, even outpacing long-established industry leaders.

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Amer Sports reports strong Q1 sales growth 👏 The Finnish sporting equipment company, which owns brands Salomon, Arc'teryx Equipment and Wilson Sporting Goods Co. has reported a 13% increase in revenue for the first quarter of 2024. Total revenue for the quarter surpassed $1.2bn with net income increasing to $39m. The group saw DTC sales increase by 41% with double-digit growth across all regions. APAC performed particularly strongly with revenue up by 34%, mainly down to a 51% increase in Greater China. James Zheng, CEO of Amer Sports, commented: "The momentum behind our strong financial performance has continued through the first quarter of 2024, as we delivered sales and profitability above our guidance." “Our transformation to a brand-direct business model four years ago continues to fuel profitable growth today, and our high-performance technical products are resonating with consumers globally. We are gaining share in the premium sports and outdoor market and are well positioned to deliver another great year in 2024.” #News #Sports #Outdoor #Sales #Growth #Q1 #Finance

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