Latest Headlines – Page 370
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Taiwan’S Bike Exports Suffer
Last year was a disappointing one for Taiwanese bicycle producers, as exports by volume dropped a full 20 percent compared with the figure from 2008. The country exported 4.32 million bikes in 2009. It had a smaller drop by value, which fell by 10 percent to $1,249.7 million. The ...
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PHYSIOLOGICAL FOOTWEAR is booming IN THE U.S. AND coming to EUROPE
Americans call this category toning footwear, and while these unstable shoes have been around for a long time, they have become the buzz of the moment in the U.S. market, especially among women. New Balance is the latest big player in the athletic footwear market to have jumped on the ...
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Mbt Hopes To Benefit From The Expansion Of The Toning Shoe Market
“MBT congratulates the other brands that join our revolution,” says an advertisement that has been running in some trade publications over the last few weeks. Officials of the Swiss firm are in fact convinced that the entry of heavyweights such as Skechers and Reebok into the category can only benefit ...
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Mbt’S Founder Explores New Horizons
Karl Müller, the Swiss mechanical engineer who launched Masai Barefoot Technology (MBT) in 1996 and sold it 10 years later to an American investment fund, is about to launch a totally new footwear concept under the umbrella of his holding company, Karl Müller Science Footwear. He declined to elaborate. ...
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China Insists On Wto Anti-dumping Probe, May Raise The Yuan
Insistent reports indicate that the Chinese government may decide to revalue the national currency, bowing to strong pressure from the U.S.. While most sourcing deals are labeled in U.S. dollars, such a move could lead to higher prices for the numerous kinds of sports products imported from China, aggravating the ...
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Sports Direct Is Not Bidding For Blacks
Sports Direct International (SDI), the British sports wholesale and retail group, has said that it would not issue any firm offer for Blacks Leisure Group, its rival in the outdoor market, due to uncertainty about the willingness of key suppliers to continue to deliver to Blacks under SDI’s ownership. The ...
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Stag Continues To Grow
In contrast with the bleak British economy, STAG is alive and kicking. The growing British buying group reports an increase in the retail members’ turnover to £240 million (€272.0m-$369.5m) after VAT for the year ended last Jan. 31, compared with £215 million in the previous financial year, although some of ...
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Another Drop For The French Market
After a 0.5 percent drop in 2008, the French sporting goods market again fell by 0.5 percent in 2009, according to FPS, the French sporting goods retailers’ association, which estimates its size at €9.11 million, including bicycles. The drop is attributed to the poor economic situation as well as to ...
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Intersport Gains Market Share In France
The turnover of the retailers affiliated with the French Intersport group increased by 2.12 percent to €1,131 million last year, with slight increases on a same-store basis of 0.4 percent for those operating in the mountains and 1.32 percent for the others. With a total of 349 stores and ...
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Usg Acquires Tenson
After hectic negotiations, Tenson was acquired last week by the shareholders of Unlimited Sports Group (USG), the Dutch sports wholesale and retail behemoth. The company wants to bring Tenson back to growth after several years of decline, which reduced its sales to about €10 million, mostly in Scandinavia and the ...
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Major Turnaround For Swix
After several years of losses, Swix managed to post a small profit in 2008 and a bigger one in 2009, thanks to a series of strategic moves intended to improve operational efficiencies and to improve the Norwegian company’s position in the international market, with a strong bent for innovation. ...
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Le Coq And Boards & More Turn Around
After several years of heavy investments, Le Coq Sportif, the French sports brand, returned to profit in 2009. It ended the year with sales up by about 19 percent to nearly €83.5 million, and a net profit of about €2.7 million, compared with a loss of some €5.4 million the ...
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Elmec Prevails Despite Greek Weakness
In spite of the upheavals that have been shaking the Greek economy in the last months, Elmec, the Greek sports and retailing group, lifted its sales by 6.7 percent to €267.5 million for the past year, a jump of 9 percent in constant currencies, driven by growing retail sales. ...
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Basicnet Continues To Post Higher Sales
BasicNet indicated, without giving details, that its sales in the opening months of 2010 were higher than a year earlier. Earnings are also expected to be on the rise, even though higher advertising costs and unstable currency rates make it difficult for the company to assess the increase. During ...
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Big Profit Margins For China Dongxiang
China Dongxiang, which trades mainly under the Kappa and Phenix brands, has reported a 19.5 percent increase in net profit to 1,459.8 million renmimbi (€157.3m-$213.7m) for the year ended last Dec. 31, giving it a huge net profit margin of 36.7 percent on its revenues, which grew by 19.5 percent ...
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Xtep Grows By Nearly A Quarter
Xtep, the Chinese sportswear company, had a 23.7 percent jump in sales for the year ended Dec. 31, reaching 3.5 billion renmimbi (€382.1m-$512.0m). Net income rose by 27.4 percent to CNY 648 million (€70.7m-$94.8m). The 2009 gross margin increased by 2.0 percentage points to 39.1 percent. The Xtep ...
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Yue Yuen’S Profits Grow But Sales Dip
Yue Yuen Industrial Holdings had a 3.2 percent drop in sales to $1.32 billion for the first quarter ended Dec. 31, though it recorded a 10 percent increase in profits to $120.2 million. Turnover from footwear production fell by 9.8 percent to $905.8 million, with volumes down by ...
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Nike Golf Continues To Support Tiger, Has A New Deal In Italy
Tiger Woods’ off-course problems over the last few months have not negatively impacted sales of Nike golf products named after him, according to an exclusive “Tiger Index” created by the specialty retailer Golfsmith. In reporting “no noticeable or precipitous drops in unit sales” over the past several months, Golfsmith said ...
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Taf Looks For New Franchisees In Europe
NexCen Brands, which purchased The Athlete’s Foot in 2006, is trying to expand its footprint in Europe, based on a new store concept that has already proven its worth in the U.S. TAF is in the process of rolling out this new store format in Portugal, where it has 11 ...
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Three Majors Work Toward Greater Sustainability
Nike, Puma and Timberland have all announced new initiatives in the last days in favor of the environment. Puma presented a new sustainable packaging and distribution system developed by Yves Béhar, an industrial designer based in San Francisco, at the Design Museum in London today. Puma's new packaging, ...
