Must-read
Nike, adidas, PUMA: the World Cup brand battle decoded
One brand built a system. One owns the tournament. One is playing the long game in Africa. Reading (and watching) the 2026 World Cup brand battle.
Swipe left, buy Local: the Douyin athleisure takeover
Grandparents with 34 million Douyin followers, a $910 billion silver economy, and a guochao generation rewriting who buys local activewear, and why.
Shoes almost never get recycled. Here’s the data.
The first large-scale material analysis of European post-consumer footwear finds adhesives, black pigments, and missing pairs are the real obstacles to recycling.
Gymshark goes bratty
A four-piece drop, a nostalgia property, and data on female gym discomfort: collaboration as a statement.
Nike, adidas, PUMA: the World Cup brand battle decoded
One brand built a system. One owns the tournament. One is playing the long game in Africa. Reading (and watching) the 2026 World Cup brand battle.
adidas takes the World Cup to Nordstrom
The 35-store deal spans eight US host-city markets, with immersive installations in New York and Seattle running through late July.
ASICS aims for decision simplicity at retail
ASICS cuts through tennis footwear complexity with a two-profile system built around how players move on court.
Frasers wants a Big Four auditor. Will any take the job?
The Sports Direct owner has approached all four major accounting firms about a 2029 mandate, per FT reporting
Swipe left, buy Local: the Douyin athleisure takeover
Grandparents with 34 million Douyin followers, a $910 billion silver economy, and a guochao generation rewriting who buys local activewear, and why.
Shoes almost never get recycled. Here’s the data.
The first large-scale material analysis of European post-consumer footwear finds adhesives, black pigments, and missing pairs are the real obstacles to recycling.
Why Oner Active is opening in NYC, not London
The British activewear scale-up signs its first-ever store lease: in Manhattan’s NoHo, not its home market
The paddock is the new pitch: adidas moves in, Nike watches
The confirmed three-year deal, effective 2027, gives adidas three top-tier F1 teams and sharpens the question of Nike’s continued paddock absence.
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Worldly’s Chief Strategy Officer in conversation with SGIE
Worldly’s CSO changed careers to fix an industry. Several acquisitions later, he says the urgency is greater than ever.
PARTNER CONTENT
ISPO launches Leaders Summit with €3 million investment programme
The ISPO Leaders Summit will open ISPO 2026 on 3 November in Amsterdam, convening a senior audience of C-suite executives, policymakers and industry leaders from across the global sport, outdoor and winter market.
Frasers wants a Big Four auditor. Will any take the job?
The Sports Direct owner has approached all four major accounting firms about a 2029 mandate, per FT reporting
The paddock is the new pitch: adidas moves in, Nike watches
The confirmed three-year deal, effective 2027, gives adidas three top-tier F1 teams and sharpens the question of Nike’s continued paddock absence.
ZUMIEZ Q1 2026: Europe outperforms as North America slows
Zumiez’s struggling European business just became its best-performing region — right as the US consumer hit the brakes.
Q1: Lululemon’s 4% growth hides a 37% profit collapse
China grew 30%, America shrank 3%, and a new CEO inherits the gap between them.
adidas takes the World Cup to Nordstrom
The 35-store deal spans eight US host-city markets, with immersive installations in New York and Seattle running through late July.
Why Oner Active is opening in NYC, not London
The British activewear scale-up signs its first-ever store lease: in Manhattan’s NoHo, not its home market
Scotland’s back: JD Sports celebrates with adidas
JD Sports and adidas celebrate Scotland’s first World Cup in 28 years with a campaign fronted by Ally McCoist and current squad stars.
SportsShoes.com signs YETI as UK retail partner
The Bradford-based retailer with £93.3m turnover adds YETI coolers, drinkware, and bags to its 150-brand running and outdoor roster
Gymshark goes bratty
A four-piece drop, a nostalgia property, and data on female gym discomfort: collaboration as a statement.
Nike, adidas, PUMA: the World Cup brand battle decoded
One brand built a system. One owns the tournament. One is playing the long game in Africa. Reading (and watching) the 2026 World Cup brand battle.
adidas takes the World Cup to Nordstrom
The 35-store deal spans eight US host-city markets, with immersive installations in New York and Seattle running through late July.
ASICS aims for decision simplicity at retail
ASICS cuts through tennis footwear complexity with a two-profile system built around how players move on court.
Swipe left, buy Local: the Douyin athleisure takeover
Grandparents with 34 million Douyin followers, a $910 billion silver economy, and a guochao generation rewriting who buys local activewear, and why.
Record numbers. New players. The soccer boom in the US is already here.
SFIA data shows U.S. soccer at peak participation, driven by Hispanic growth, female re-engagement, and millennials.
Exclusive data: Will Anta’s investment in Puma spark a China revival?
Anta took a 29% stake in Puma at the start of 2026. Can it do for Puma what it did for FILA, Descente and Salomon? Our new report with Hot Pot China unpacks the data.
Female participation reorders the US golf market
Female on-course participation in the US hit a record 8.1 million in 2025 — surpassing a 2006 peak that stood for nearly two decades.
Jens Aage Skare Nielsen confirmed as Rugby Europe CEO
Eight months in, the interim CEO gets the permanent job
Uneekor launches in UK and Europe with new sales team
The AI-powered golf simulator brand appoints EMEA Director of Sales, UK & Ireland Director, and EMEA Supply Chain Manager.
Lenzing promotes COO Kasperkovitz to CEO
Austrian cellulose fiber group returns to profit and bets on internal succession to hold its recovery course
INTERSPORT Schweiz lands top employer ranking
Culture as a retention tool: Intersport Schweiz joins Switzerland’s top-rated employers.
Shoes almost never get recycled. Here’s the data.
The first large-scale material analysis of European post-consumer footwear finds adhesives, black pigments, and missing pairs are the real obstacles to recycling.
FIFA launches female health and performance project
FIFA releases 30 peer-reviewed modules for its 211 member associations covering female physiology, nutrition, injury prevention and reproductive health.
Sport, not concrete, is building tomorrow’s cities
The IOC is deploying sport as urban policy, backed by UN Agenda 2030, across four cities on three continents.
Worldly’s Chief Strategy Officer in conversation with SGIE
Worldly’s CSO changed careers to fix an industry. Several acquisitions later, he says the urgency is greater than ever.
What Taiwan’s fitness diplomacy tells the industry
Taiwan is using the health and fitness economy as a channel for economic diplomacy, and the sporting goods industry should take note.
Oura: small ring, large ambitions
Ring 5 launch: the biggest media push in Oura’s history is also its most strategic.
WTA names Accenture technology partner
Multi-year deal covers digital platform development, AI integration, audience growth and live event experience — starting with the WTA Player Zone.
Strava’s most-uploaded sport type gets rebuilt
Strava’s strength update includes muscle maps, a workout log, and integrations with Garmin, WHOOP, Fitbod and 11 other partners.
Hainan duty-free partners with Lululemon
The Hainan duty-free retailer is expanding a sports portfolio that now includes Lululemon, Salomon, Under Armour, adidas and Nike.
Nike may pocket the tariff refund. Consumers want it back.
Footwear giant raised prices by up to $10 to offset $1bn in import costs. Now the tariffs are gone — and so is its commitment to refund shoppers.
Trump tariff refunds: are you in the queue?
$127 billion enters the queue — but not all at once
US Customs race to build IEEPA tariff refund system
Around 330,000 US importers await refunds on $166bn in IEEPA tariffs as CBP builds a new processing system under court supervision.
Spain to tighten borders to low-value foreign e-commerce
New measures target platforms like Shein and Temu, aligning with EU policy whilst introducing additional scrutiny.
Adidas probes partner data breach
Criminals claim 815,000 rows of data stolen from an Adidas extranet via a martial arts products licensee.
Nike probed in the US for bias against white employees
Federal regulators claim diversity programs discriminated against white employees, challenging past corporate DEI practices.
Nike pays Thai workers after five years
After nearly five years of advocacy, Nike agrees to compensate 3,300 Thai factory workers who were allegedly coerced into unpaid leave during the pandemic.
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