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☆ Lululemon dominated the pricey athleisure market for years. Now it faces big competition
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The departure of the company’s chief product officer adds to a “wall of worry” Raymond James analysts said. Choe joined Lululemon more than seven years ago and became chief product officer in 2018, according to her LinkedIn. “I think that there’s a lot of people out there who believe that she was the person behind the scenes and was the most instrumental to Lululemon’s success,” Nikic said. Lulu has been “hyper aware” of dupe culture, Nikki Neuburger, then its Chief Brand Officer, previously said in an interview with CNN Business. However, Lululemon wasn’t stocked enough in these smaller sizes, which could have led these younger shoppers to competitors, Nikic said.

Persons: New York CNN —, Lulu, Alo, –, Sun Choe, ” Raymond James, Choe, Raymond James, Tom Nikic, “, ” Nikic, Mike Kemp, Vuori, Nikki Neuburger, Hailey Bieber, Martha Stewart, Lululemon, Nikic, Calvin McDonald, Samsul Said Organizations: New, New York CNN, preteens, Nike, Wall, Vans, CNN, Jefferies, CNN Business, Shoppers, Bloomberg, Getty Locations: New York, athleticwear, Covent, London, United Kingdom, Los Angeles, preteen, Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, China

☆ Celebrities have scored free food, sometimes for life, from places like Dunkin', McDonald's, and more. Here's how.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Brands like Chipotle frequently give celebrities and other influential figures passes for free food, hoping they'll post about it and promote the brand to their millions of followers. McDonald'sMcDonald's has reportedly issued free food cards at the franchisee and corporate level. AdvertisementBerkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett has said he has a McDonald's card good for free food in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. AdvertisementBill Gates' McDonald's Gold Card reportedly entitles him to free food for life at any location. Burger KingBurger King started giving celebrities cards for a lifetime of free food in 2006 and had given out around a dozen by 2008, according to Ad Age.

Persons: —, Olivia Rodrigo, Chipotle, Here's, McDonald's McDonald's, Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett, Buffett, Rob Lowe, Lowe, David Peterson, McDonald's, Sen, Mitt Romney, Romney, George Romney, Ray Kroc, Bill Gates, Stephanie Perdue, Perdue, Chris Nikic, Roy Murray, Tony Hawk, Big Sean, Addison Rae, Abby Wambach, Candice Beck, Ozzy Osbourne, Burger, Burger King Burger King, Jennifer Hudson, Hugh Laurie, didn't, George Lucas, Robert Downey Jr, Jay Leno, Burger King, Ed Sheeran, Jack Whitehall, Nando's, Dunkin, Novak, DunKing Ben Affleck, that's Organizations: Service, Business, Berkshire, Wall Street, Brand, Burger King, Ad, BK Locations: Omaha , Nebraska, Santa Barbara, Goleta , California, Santa, Chipotle, Burger

☆ Allbirds is trying to win back Silicon Valley with a weird sock shoe
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Dominick Reuter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The jumbo logo badge serves a key role in offsetting the shoe's carbon impact, the company said. AllbirdsLike every aspect of the shoe however, the company said the badge serves an important function in attaining a net-zero carbon rating. A typical pair of running shoes generate about 30 pounds of CO2. AllbirdsWith the M0.0nshot, Allbirds said it takes this number down to zero, which is why "0.0" is featured in the name of the shoe. The company hasn't shared pricing, but interested sneakerheads can sign up on Allbird's website to the the first to know.

Persons: Allbirds, Tim Robinson's, Tom Nikic, Jamie McLellan, We've Organizations: Service, bros, Global Fashion, MIT, Adidas, Wedbush Securities Locations: Copenhagen

☆ How our retail stocks are battling a rise in theft — and why they are set up to win
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Paulina Likos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Many retailers are grappling with a rise in theft at their stores that is cutting into profits. Most losses were attributed to organized retail crime, employee theft and process-control failures. While theft is an industry-wide phenomenon, the shrink headwind appeared to have more of a material impact among discount retailers. Off-price retailer TJX Companies (TJX) also cited shrink as a headwind to gross margins in its latest results . At its stores, TJX has also made efforts to better secure expensive merchandise by putting it behind locked cases and using more innovative tagging.

Persons: —, hasn't, Jim Cramer's, Locker, Dana Telsey, TJX, Tom Nikic, Foot Locker, Nikic, Wedbush, Jim, Mary Dillon's, Rich Galanti, We've, Telsey, they're, Jim Cramer, Victor J Organizations: National Retail Federation, UBS, TJX Companies, Costco, Telsey Advisory, CNBC, TAG, Wedbush, Management, TJ Maxx, Blue, Bloomberg, Getty Locations: FL, New York, U.S

☆ Allbirds stock crashes after the company said it lost $101 million last year and quarterly sales fell well below a year ago
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Matthew Kish | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Allbirds stock plummeted more than 19% Thursday within hours of a disappointing earnings report. The company reported a $101 million annual loss and a 13% quarterly drop in sales. Allbirds announced a four-part plan to restart profitability. The company also announced former Nike Chief Operating Officer Eric Sprunk joined the company's board and the appointment of Annie Mitchell as chief financial officer. Allbirds also is ramping up a new Portland office that will drive much of the new product focus.

☆ Nike, loaded with new products, is already reaping the benefits of Adidas' struggles after the abrupt end of its Yeezy business
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Danni Santana | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Nike's easy dominance of prominent sneaker releases in February is a sign of things to come. Consumers who bought Yeezys last year will likely switch over to Nike styles, one analyst says. Without a Yeezy business and amid ongoing struggles at Adidas, there is market share up for grabs. February is the first major month of the year for sneaker releases because of the NBA All-Star Game. "Looking ahead, Nike should benefit greatly from the lack of Adidas Yeezys in March," Nikic wrote, alluding to 11 different Yeezy styles that were released in 2022 compared to zero releasing this month.

☆ Adidas is facing a problem even bigger than Yeezy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Danni Santana | Mary Hanbury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Adidas expects sales to drop by $1.28 billion in 2023 if it doesn't sell leftover Yeezy inventory. The company's guidance began on a bleak note with revenue for the year expected to drop after ending its Yeezy partnership. Against this background, Adidas said it is forecasting a decline in the high-single digits in sales in 2023. "The sales decline is about more than just Yeezy," Bernstein analyst Aneesha Sherman wrote in a note to clients early Friday. Cowen estimates the brand earned $1.2 billion in sales last year before Adidas terminated the partnership in October.

☆ Sneakerheads are replacing Yeezys with Crocs
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Danni Santana | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Crocs, New Balance, and Puma are some brands benefiting from Adidas Yeezys no longer being released. Crocs, New Balance, and Puma accounted for four "high-heat" sneaker drops in December, Nikic estimates. The Crocs brand has become synonymous with comfort, like Yeezy, and has previously released successful collaborations with both Bad Bunny and designer Salehe Bembury. "Smaller brands such as Puma, New Balance, and Crocs all generated some sneakerhead 'buzz,' likely aided by the lack of Yeezy, which freed up wallet share among sneakerheads," he said. Pictures of the first possible sneaker released without Ye have surfaced online.

☆ Lululemon is everywhere and that's a problem
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Danni Santana | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

At the ICR conference, Lululemon said it now expects gross margin to be down 90-110 basis points. At the ICR conference Monday, Lululemon said it now expects gross margin to be down 90-110 basis points, compared to small gains expected late last year. Lululemon does not break out Mirror sales in quarterly earnings. Adidas, as an example, expects gross margin to be down 900 basis points following its split from Ye, he wrote in a note Monday. "Inventory growth has likely peaked, which should alleviate gross margin pressure in FY23," he said.

☆ Finding Nikes in stores will get a lot harder in 2023 and that could give rivals like Hoka and Hey Dude a big boost
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Matthew Kish | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

"They just entered Foot Locker over the summer and are only in a small slice of their massive store footprint. Nikic said On and Hey Dude could follow similar trajectories next year. In a recent note, Williams Trading analyst Sam Poser said Hey Dude could hit $1 billion in fiscal year 2022 sales. Poser recently met with the management of Crocs, which bought Hey Dude this year. "This quarter, we spent a lot of time with Mary Dillon and her team at Foot Locker," Donahoe added.

☆ Struggling sneaker brand Vans is trying to lure millennials away from Nike and other brands with nostalgia, high heat collabs, and better arch support
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Danni Santana | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

But Harrer, who joined Vans from Dollar Shave Club in April 2021, noted that Vans wasn't reminding people about those classic shoes. Vans stopped marketing its classic sneakers for some time before resuming earlier this year with the "Classic Since Forever" campaign. "Our top-tier limited-distribution footwear, which you may know as Vans Vault, has previously met the needs of influential footwear-trend accounts in the past," he said. With Vans Vault, the company takes classic shoes and collaborates with popular designers and boutiques on new colorways. Vans Vault releases compete with Nike, Adidas, Converse, and others for the general sneaker lover.

☆ Nike basketball sales aren't expected to suffer after cutting ties with Kyrie Irving as anticipation builds for a Ja Morant signature shoe
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Matthew Kish | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant is expected to get the next Nike signature shoe. "When his signature shoe starts selling, it has the potential to be what Kyrie's was the first three years." Still, Burns noted Nike basketball is on the upswing, and Morant has a strong reputation. The shoe is nearly sold out on Nike's website, suggesting strong demand for performance basketball shoes and room in the market for a new signature shoe. "Nike basketball has rebounded," Burns said, citing the popularity of the GT Cut.

☆ Adidas considered its relationship with Kanye West a risk as early as 2018, new reports show. Here's the nine-year timeline of Adidas and Yeezy's turbulent partnership.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Matthew Kish | Danni Santana | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Adidas announced an endorsement deal with Kanye West in November 2013. By 2019, Adidas sales of his Yeezy brand eclipsed $1 billion annually. Across the company, sales were flat. But that same month, Adidas announced a partnership with Kanye West, the polarizing musician and fashion designer, now known as Ye. Despite the turbulence, Adidas Yeezy sales continued to grow.

☆ Shares of Nike and Adidas could score at the World Cup
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Noel Randewich | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 25 (Reuters) - As 32 teams compete for the World Cup in Qatar, Adidas (ADSGn.DE) and Nike (NKE.N) also hope their shares can score. Adidas shares lost 6% during the month-long 2018 World Cup, when heavily favored Germany, an Adidas team, was knocked out early and the FIFA tournament was won by France, a Nike team. Nike did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the importance of the World Cup on its sales. Nike is providing jerseys for 13 teams in this World Cup, including Brazil, France and the United States, overtaking Adidas as the leader in World Cup jerseys. Nearly a week into the World Cup, Nike teams have accumulated 22 points, while Adidas-clad teams have accumulated 11 points and teams wearing Puma jerseys have won eight points.

☆ These discounted e-commerce stocks could be winners this holiday season. Here’s why
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Christina Cheddar Berk | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

The National Retail Federation expects holiday sales growth of about 6% to 8% over 2021 — about in line with inflation. Adobe Analytics is predicting U.S. online sales during November and December will grow 2.5% from last year. "The last few years, we actually saw an incredible amount of sales demand momentum, if you will, really early in the season." Her observations, which are based on data from hundreds of clients she works with, echo findings from Adobe Analytics, released Wednesday, that show a slow start to online sales in November. "I think [investors] should expect a continued commitment to sustainable growth and what we mean by that is sort of aggressive, ambitious growth coupled with expanding profitability," he said.

☆ How Nike's Air Jordan 1 became — and remained — the most prized lifestyle sneaker
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Matthew Kish | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Nike on Saturday will release the Air Jordan 1 Chicago "Lost and Found"Some collectors consider it the "most iconic sneaker of all time." "The Air Jordan 1 is the most iconic sneaker of all time," said Jordan Geller, a sneaker collector and former owner of the ShoeZeum who in 2020 sold a pair worn by Jordan for a record $560,000. Michael Jordan wearing the Air Jordan 1 in 1985. AP Photo/Marcio Jose SanchezScarcity, storytelling, collaborations and the "Last Dance"After 1985, The Air Jordan 1 didn't re-release in original specs until 1994. "All of those releases are coveted by sneaker collectors and the 'Lost and Found' Air Jordan 1 will be as well," Geller said.

☆ Kanye West's Turbulent 9-Year History With Adidas
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Matthew Kish | Danni Santana | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Adidas announced an endorsement deal with Kanye West in November 2013. By 2019, Adidas sales of his Yeezy brand eclipsed $1 billion annually. In November 2013, Adidas sales in North America, the most critical territory for sportswear sales, were down 1% for the year. But that same month, Adidas announced a partnership with Kanye West, the polarizing musician and fashion designer, now known as Ye. Despite the turbulence, Adidas Yeezy sales continued to grow.

☆ Nike execs have become some of the hottest hires in sportswear, triggering a talent war among rivals like Lululemon, North Face, and Columbia — and raising fears of a brain drain
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Matthew Kish | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Nike alums lead numerous brands, including Lululemon, Allbirds, Columbia Sportswear, and The North Face. Tim Sheerin, the senior vice president of global wholesale at Columbia Sportswear, at an investor day event this year. The trend has accelerated in recent years, with competing sportswear companies including Lululemon and Allbirds opening offices in Portland, Oregon. While sportswear companies are a natural fit for former Nike executives, nonathleticwear companies also have hired from Nike's top ranks. Crocs, which named the former Nike vice president Emma Minto the senior vice president of the Americas in 2020, also has been on a hot streak.

☆ Adidas might try to dig out of its Yeezy crisis with a new CEO in what could be a 'first step toward better days' for the embattled company
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Matthew Kish | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Adidas is "in talks" with former Puma CEO Bjørn Gulden about becoming its next CEO. Investors responded favorably to the news, with Adidas shares climbing more than 20%. Adidas shares have now nearly recovered since Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, wore a "White Lives Matter" T-shirt and engulfed the company in controversy. In a one-sentence news release, Adidas subsequently confirmed it's "in talks" with Gulden, who stepped down as Puma CEO today. "Hiring Mr. Gulden as the next CEO would likely be a first step towards better days," Nikic wrote.

☆ Nike likely to see biggest boost in the aftermath of Adidas cutting ties with Kanye West, footwear analyst says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Sarah Belle Lin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

With the Adidas and Yeezy partnership terminated, other shoe brands could see a boost in sales, an expert says. "I think the most obvious beneficiary is Nike," Tom Nikic, senior vice president of equity research at Wedbush Securities, told Insider. Adidas became the latest company to cut ties with Kanye West following antisemitic remarks and controversial behavior. "I think the most obvious beneficiary is Nike," Nikic said. "They either had to take the hit financially or they had to take the public relations hit," Nikic said.

☆ Nike is clamping down on resellers botting its apps, but insiders and analysts say new policies don't go far enough
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Matthew Kish | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday reported on a recent change to Nike's terms of sale. A Nike insider, as well as analysts, said it's a good move, but it won't solve the problem. But Nike's revised terms of sale, while applauded by many, still comes up short of a full solution to its reselling problem, insiders and analysts said. Nike also has policies that prohibit reselling in Europe and South Korea, but they don't specifically state any repercussions. In September, Nike reported a 44% increase in inventory.

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