You’re in the Army Now…

While most companies operating in the outdoor market try to keep the facts under wraps, it’s a well-known fact that the industry has become a hot-bed of innovation servicing the U.S. military complex…

You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby…

The ads from the 70’s are but a distant memory now as women take a spot front and center for many companies’ growth prospects for the new millennium…

Oh, Those Election Year Politics…

The political scene in the Bicycle, Outdoor, and SnowSports industries has never been more polarized with strong and conflicting opinions expressed, sometimes violently, from left and right wing advocates…

Quiksilver Eyes Rossignol…

Skis Rossignol shares jumped early on Monday after a French newspaper reported that Quiksilver Inc. was making a bid for the company…

OIA Takes Lead in Disaster Relief Effort…

Frank Hugelmeyer has again driven OIA to pick up a ball dropped by other sporting goods industry associations and led an industry-wide fund raising campaign for the victims of the tsunami that devastated so many countries around the Indian Ocean…

Consolidation Again King in a Maturing Market…

At first glance the merger and acquisition deals in 2004 did not appear to be as large or as plentiful as in 2003, but it soon becomes apparent that the deals this past year may turn out to be more significant in the long run…

Industry Again Outpaces Market…

SEW has been using the S&P 500 index since 2000 as a baseline to measure performance in the sporting goods industry versus the rest of the public market. Since that time, we have seen the S&P both fall sharply and regain momentum, but the sporting goods

The Just for Feet Effect…

The fallout from the implosion and alleged management improprieties resulted in a number of highly visible industry executives sentenced for charges related to an alleged scheme to inflate sales and earnings figures..

Changing of the Guard…

It was a tale of two cities in the fourth quarter as Phil Knight, the founder, chairman, president and CEO of Nike, Inc. announced in December that he was stepping down from the president & CEO role and handing the reins of the company to an outsider…

The Shift in the Retail Landscape…

The year saw the landscape of sporting goods retail shift dramatically in 2004 as the industry gained its second legitimate national sporting goods retailer after Dick’s acquired Galyan’s.