News Topics
May 3, 2024
‘A Swoosh Affair’: Nike Accused of Undue Influence on Picking Olympics’ Toughest Marathon Team
The Kenyan Olympic marathon team is maybe the hardest to crack in sports, with dozens of the world’s best long-distance runners clawing for only three spots every four years. And every four years, it seems, there’s a furor about Nike jamming an unqualified athlete onto the team. Nike sponsors Athletics...
May 2, 2024
Ultrarunning con man cheated employees and charities
What seemed like a remarkable running-inspired charity endeavour has turned into a shocking tale of deception and unpaid debts. Extreme endurance athlete Tomasz Drybala of London claimed to be raising a whopping $1.3 million for UNICEF by running the circumference of the Earth, as reported in MailOnline—but it now appears that Drybala...
May 2, 2024
Fox Factory Posts Q1 Loss as Sales Fall in Mid-Teens, Bike Sales Post $65M Decline
Fox Factory Holding Corp. reported a 16.6 percent decrease in net sales for the first quarter to $333.5 million compared to net sales of $399.9 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2023. Aftermarket Applications Group (AAG) net sales declined $36.9 million, or 26.6 percent, year-over-year. The decrease in AAG...
May 2, 2024
iFIT, Freemotion Take Hybrid Fitness to New Heights With AI Coach
The commercial equipment brand has long embraced its relationship with parent company iFIT, whose vast library of fitness and wellness content, including around 18,000 workouts from expert coaches, is available to stream on Freemotion’s newest cardio machines. Soon, iFIT will be launching its AI Coach, an artificial intelligence-powered digital coach that interacts...
May 2, 2024
Peloton CEO Steps Down; Company Cutting About 400 Jobs
Barry McCarthy is stepping down as Peloton’s CEO, president and Board director. Peloton Board members Karen Boone and Chris Bruzzo will serve as interim Co-CEOs; Jay Hoag will become the chairperson of Peloton’s Board of Directors. Peloton Interactive, Inc. announced that Barry McCarthy is stepping down as president, CEO and Peloton Board director and take...
May 2, 2024
Brooks Achieves Highest Quarterly Results in the Brand’s History in Q1
In the first quarter of 2024, the Seattle-based performance running brand reported a 9 percent year-over-year increase in revenue. This marks the company’s highest quarterly results in the brand’s history, Brooks said in a statement. In an interview with FN, Brooks’ new chief executive officer Dan Sheridan said that North America led...
May 1, 2024
Amer Sports sells Enve Composites to private investment firm
Enve Composites has been sold by Amer Sports to PV3, a Utah-based private investment firm. Amer Sports’ chief operating officer Michael Hauge Sørensen said: “Enve has gone through major changes in the past years. The brand has positive momentum, and we see that it has good potential. Enve Composites was founded in 2007...
May 1, 2024
Wolverine Worldwide Enters Licensing Agreements for Merrell and Saucony Brands
Wolverine World Wide, Inc. announced that it entered two new global licensing agreements as part of its ongoing “strategic transformation” into a brand-led growth company. Under the first agreement, Vida Shoes International will become the global licensee for Merrell and Saucony kids footwear, with rights to these products in almost all markets...
April 30, 2024
Are sleep trackers hurting runners’ performance?
With increasing studies showing that better sleep can lead to faster speeds, many runners now rely on their GPS watches’ sleep trackers for insights into how well they sleep. However, a recent study suggests that the use of sleep trackers may have the opposite effect, leading to orthosomnia–an unhealthy obsession with...
April 30, 2024
Adidas Swings to Q1 Profit as DTC Drives Top-Line Growth
Adidas is reporting that currency-neutral (c-n) revenues increased 8 percent in the first quarter of 2024, compared to the the 2023 first quarter. The better-than-expected performance was said to be driven by the “strong momentum” of the underlying Adidas business, which grew 5 percent in the period. In addition, the...