All Article articles – Page 195
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Ispo launches new Open Innovation platform
Messe München International, organizer of the Ispo shows in Munich and Beijing, is launching a new, independent “Ispo Open Innovation” platform to promote innovation in the sporting goods sector. The new platform, which is described as the first initiative of this kind by a trade fair organization, calls for the ...
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A new version of the Higg Index
The Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) has released the Higg Index 2.0, a new enhanced and web-based version of the Higg Index, first launched in July 2012 to better assess the sustainability of the outdoor and athletic industry's products and their supply chains. After 14 months of testing by dozens of ...
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WaterNlife launches LifeStraw Go
WaterNlife, a Danish family-owned business dedicated to creating environmentally-friendly solutions, has incorporated the award-winning LifeStraw water filter into a sports bottle, called LifeStraw Go, to give users access to safe drinking water when there is no potable water source nearby. In introducing this interesting new hydration system, the Danish company ...
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Storm expands overseas
Export sales have come to represent nearly 50 percent of sales at Storm DFX, the British company known for its waterproofing and cleaning products for outdoor garments, and the ratio is expected to grow further following the appointment last summer of a dedicated export sales manager, Katy Walker.Walker, who has ...
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Hybrid insulation systems emerge in the market
Considerations about pricing and animal cruelty have diminished the attractiveness of natural down as an insulation material in the U.S. to the advantage of synthetic insulation systems for outerwear, sleeping bags and other outdoor products. A survey of outdoor enthusiasts aged 18 to 45 conducted by Harris Interactive in the ...
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Johnson’s net doubles
Net income grew by 90.7 percent to €19.3 million at Johnson Outdoors for the financial year ended Sept. 27, mainly due to a lower tax rate. The gross margin went up by 0.3 percentage points to 40.1 percent. The operating margin improved by 0.8 percentage points to 6.0 percent for ...
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New directions at Fusalp
Fusalp is the French sports apparel company that pioneered the so-called “fuseau,” a highly technical style of stretch ski pants attached to the foot in the early 1950s. They were worn by many famous champions like Jean-Claude Killy in the 1960s, leading Fusalp to become the biggest supplier of skiwear ...
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Sales decline at Camelbak
Camelbak suffered a drop of 31.4 percent in operating income to $3.5 million in the third quarter ended Sept. 30 as sales fell by 5.5 percent to $34.7 million in the period, but the officials of the parent company, Compass Diversified (Codi), said they were still “excited” about its growth ...
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Bain takes over Canada Goose
Bain Capital has taken over control of Canada Goose on undisclosed conditions. It's an interesting move by Bain, the New York-based private equity firm that bought Jack Wolfskin from Johnson Outdoors in 2002 for €42 million and sold it for €93 million in 2005 to two other financial investors.Canada Goose, ...
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Backcountry.com buys Bergfreunde.de
Backcountry.com, which claims to be the largest online specialty retailer of premium outdoor products in the U.S., has acquired Bergfreunde.de, the leading online retailer of climbing and mountaineering products in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The two companies plan to exchange know-how on e-commerce and and other subjects, but each company ...
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Greenpeace releases follow-up report on PFCs in outdoor apparel
The Greenpeace organization in Germany published last Dec. 12 a highly publicized “Detox Report” on the findings of a new investigation into the presence of perfluorinated and polyfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) and other hazardous chemicals, such as nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs) and phthalates, in outdoor clothing. The report indicated that some of ...
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PrimaLoft announces its hybrid insulation
At least 20 brands have adopted PrimaLoft's new Performance Down Blend Insulation for use in their autumn/winter 2014/15 collections. Announcing this new hybrid insulation product ahead of the Ispo Munich show, where it will also present its new corporate image (see the next article in this issue), PrimaLoft stresses that ...
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JD buys Activinstinct
JD Sports Fashion has acquired a majority stake at an undisclosed price in Activinstinct, a hybrid British retailer of outdoor and other sporting goods products whose sales have been growing rapidly, reaching an annual level of £24 million (€28.7m-$39.2m) in the past financial year, ended in August. The company has ...
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EOCA looks to 2013 as a year of strong growth
The European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA) takes stock of 2013 as the year draws to a close and says that there are reasons for pride on the part of the outdoor industry for what was achieved over the past 12 months. EOCA gained 31 new members in the course of ...
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Reusch rushes into the outdoor sector
Known for its highly technical ski gloves and goalkeeper gloves, Reusch is moving into the outdoor sector with its first line of outdoor-specific gloves, bringing out a series of ten functional models for the next spring/summer season. The line will be presented at next January's Ispo Munich show.To support the ...
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Quechua launches its “mountainproof” smartphone
Confirming previous reports, Quechua, the outdoor brand of Décathlon, announced yesterday the launch of what it describes as “the first mountainproof smartphone” specifically designed for hikers, hoping to replicate the success of its quick-opening “two-seconds” tent. Company officials declined to share their sales projections, but revealed that Décathlon has already ...
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Functional Winter Week in Stockholm
Norrlandsgatan, one of the major shopping streets in downtown Stockholm, and the surrounding area are home to a variety of concept stores by various outdoor brands. Recently, these stores cooperated to host Functional Winter Week, a week-long event aimed at increasing brand awareness and educating consumers as well as employees ...
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Columbia Sportswear wants to be more competitive
Columbia Sportswear will introduce new products with lower entry price levels and new technologies in Europe and the rest of the world. Noting that the purpose of this is to become more competitive and affordable, responding to consumers' demand for better value, Franco Fogliato, the newly-minted European manager of the ...
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Westcomb, a new Canadian challenger
You have almost certainly heard about Arc'teryx, the fast-growing Canadian brand of sports outerwear owned by Amer Sports. You may not have heard yet about another, younger and smaller Canadian brand, Westcomb, which is moving fast in the same direction, but you probably will - sooner or later.Like Arc'teryx, Westcomb ...
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Sales decline at Camelbak
Camelbak suffered a drop of 31.4 percent in operating income to $3.5 million in the third quarter ended Sept. 30 as sales fell by 5.5 percent to $34.7 million in the period, but the officials of the parent company, Compass Diversified (Codi) said they were still “excited” about its growth ...
