EXECUTIVE CHANGES
+++ Clarus, the Utah-based corporation that owns the Black Diamond and Pieps brands, among others, nominated Susan Ottmann, a director of graduate programs at University of Wisconsin - Madison, to its board of directors
+++ Dominic Köfner, previously managing director of the communications agency Serviceplan Austria and most recently senior consultant at the agency group Sports & Media in Munich, will take over as head of corporate communications & public affairs at Austria’s Lenzing AG at the beginning of May
+++ SGB Media reports that Tom Mackin, president of Rapala USA and executive vice president of North American sales and brands for Rapala VMC Corporation, the Finnish manufacturer of fishing lures and equipment, will retire from the company on Dec. 31 +++
E-COMMERCE & DTC
+++ Camera accessories specialist Peak Design has launched an online secondhand marketplace in the U.S., which it plans to expand to other countries after a successful beta phase
+++ After the successful reception of its online store in the U.S. launched in 2015, the German underwear supplier Anita is launching a DTC online store for Germany and Austria in May, which is designed to strongly incorporate the interests of the brand’s brick-and-mortar retailers +++
PRODUCT
+++ LifeStraw, the B Corp best known for its outdoor water filters, is expanding its product portfolio to include the BPA-free LifeStraw Home water filter dispenser for home use, which not only removes bacteria from water but also protects against over 30 other contaminants such as lead, parasites, microplastics, mercury, PFAS and a variety of chemicals, herbicides, pesticides and pharmaceuticals
+++ New York-based cycling accessories brand Po Campo has developed the world’s first reflective hemp fabric, Visi-Hemp®, a blend of 55% hemp and 45% recycled polyester that is visible both day and night and makes the wearer feel safe while commuting
+++ Working in remote mode in collaboration with Allbirds for 12 months, Adidas has developed its most sustainable performance running shoe +++
LEGAL & INSTITUTIONAL
+++ According to an announcement on Facebook, Sara Wänseth is stepping down from her position as secretary-general of the Scandinavian Outdoor Group (SOG) after seven years to pursue new challenges +++
DISTRIBUTION
+++ Sonja Freundt is Columbia’s new sales contact for the regions of southern Bavaria (Germany), Vorarlberg and Tyrol (Austria) and is also representing Sorel in the two Austrian regions
+++ Schoeller Textil AG has appointed Megan Fulton and Jack McPheron as sales managers for North America, covering the western U.S. and parts of Canada
+++ After 22 years of sales service for Maier Sports, Inge Canis is retiring with her commercial agency and is handing over the agency territory in southwest Germany to her successor Florian Jeblick, who was most recently on the road for the brands Casall, Halti and Chilllout +++
RETAIL
+++ Swedish company Db has rolled out an exclusive launch of its two surfboard bag models - The Bunker and The Shelter - with 100 surf specialty stores in the U.S., Europe and Australia, promoted heavily on social media and for which the „Buy” button on the aforementioned products on the Db website has been removed for two months to support brick-and-mortar stores
+++ California-based travelwear label Royal Robbins, acquired by Fenix Outdoor in 2018, has accelerated its retail expansion plan and opened its first retail store in downtown Seattle in May +++
MARKETING
+++ French ski brand Black Crows has added U.S. ski mountaineer Jim Morrison, who most recently attracted attention for an ascent of the world’s fourth-highest mountain and descent of the dizzying 7,000-meter Lhotse Couloir in 2018, to its team
+++ PEARL iZUMi has been appointed as the official technical clothing partner of the Tour of Britain, Women’s Tour and Tour Series in the U.K. for 2021, all of which organized by SweetSpot
+++ Rab has added U.S. skier Julian Carr to its roster of athletes, giving the company a celebrated name in the world of skiing as well as a prominent face in the burgeoning sport of mountain running +++
CORPORATE
+++ Having already sold shares worth a total of more than $7 billion in February and November 2020, Jeff Bezos has now reportedly sold $6.7 billion worth of additional Amazon stocks, but remains the company’s largest single shareholder with a stake of around 10 percent
+++ Kinetyx, a Calgary-based technology company that improves human movement through the development of kinesomic sensors, has closed a $3.1 million seed investment round led by Next Ventūres with participation from Paddock Capital, Thuja Ventures and other investors
+++ Amazon plans to sign up 75,000 new warehouse and delivery logistics employees in the U.S. and Canada, and it’s said to offer $100 bonuses to candidates who have already been vaccinated against Covid
+++ Lithuania-based second-hand fashion marketplace Vinted, Europe’s largest second-hand online platform with more than 45 million members globally, has raised €250 million of new investment in a Series F funding round for global expansion +++
TRADE SHOWS & EVENTS
+++ Emerald has unveiled its health and safety plan for the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market in Denver on Aug. 10-12 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, listing precautions that go beyond what has been mandated by government and local agencies, including temperature checks of all attendees, face mask requirement, ban on hugging and handshaking, regular disinfecting and more
+++ ISPO Munich is supporting the new sportsdays.ch event for the Swiss market, which will take place on June 21 and 22 in Zurich and is thus being renamed sportsdays.ch by ISPO Munich +++
CSR & SUSTAINABILITY
+++ Amazon has issued a new $1 billion bond focused on funding projects in the key sustainability areas of renewable energy, clean transportation, sustainable buildings, affordable housing, and socioeconomic empowerment +++
OBITUARY
+++ U.S. entrepreneur Paul Van Doren, one of the co-founders of the Vans footwear and apparel brand, has passed away last week at age 90 +++
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