Industry retailers plan to grow their aggregate square footage by 2.6% in 2026, nearly double last year’s pace, led by the ambitious opening cadence of Dick’s and Academy Sports’ big-box stores.

S&P downgraded the Eager Beavertons’ outlook from stable to negative, reflecting the prolonged time it’s taking to overhaul its merchandising and go-to-market strategies, while the ratings agency affirmed the Swoosh’s A+ long-term issue credit rating and A-1 short-term commercial paper rating.

The ratings agency affirmed GIL’s long-term issuer default rating of BBB with a stable outlook, trumpeting Gildan’s $4.5 billion acquisition of Hanesbrands, nearly doubling the company’s revenue base to just over $6.0 billion, guided for FY ‘26 from $3.3 billion standalone.

The Big a spent over €3 billion on global marketing efforts last year, and is now opening a global pitch process for its media account, Campaign UK first reported.

The Groupe Bruxelles Lambert-owned brand tapped Matthias Meier as CEO, effective May 1, succeeding founder and long-time chief, Roman Arnold, who will remain executive chairman and focus on product innovation and strategy.

The Lululemon founder and major Amer Sports shareholder is apparently taking time away from his proxy battle with LULU’s board to form a venture to back new and existing athletic-focused brands, Bloomberg reported.

The shopping network has reached a deal with lenders to restructure $6.6 billion in debt to just $1.3 billion and emerge within 90 days from a pre-packaged Chapter 11 filing in S. TX bankruptcy court.

It’s a busy month on the advocacy front for outdoor trade groups as the Outdoor Industry Association prepares for its annual Capitol Summit in Washington from Apr. 28-29, and the Outdoor Alliance penned a letter to lawmakers calling for full funding of the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management and implementation of the EXPLORE Act.

Decathlon, JD Sports, and Lululemon each appear on the NRF’s Top 50 Global Retailers list, compiled by Kantar Retail using a point system that rewards international direct selling and reveals which retailers are building genuine cross-border scale.

Revenues at the high-end sneaker maker ticked up 2% to $337.4 million to start the year, up from $331.0 million a year ago, reversing Q1 ‘25s 2% decline.

European soccer e-tailer Unisport is buying Arocam, Inc., owner of omnichannel soccer specialty retailer WeGotSoccer, for undisclosed terms.

NB promoted long-time employee Tracy Knauer to senior vice president, North America, as the brand aims to continue building on its strong momentum in its home market.

National Park recreational visits dropped 5% year-over-year to 22,963,669 last month from 24,149,220, while year-to-date visits are up 3% to 54,001,086 from 52,273,407.

The Federal Circuit declined to revive a club head patent application from Puma’s golf subsidiary that had been rejected by the USPTO’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

The Big a’s former head of women’s basketball sports marketing, Lindsay Gregg, filed suit against the company in Multnomah County Circuit Court in Portland, OR.

Allbirds has set May 18 as the date for a special meeting of shareholders to approve the sale of the footwear brand and assets to American Exchange Group, according to proxy materials sent to shareholders.

The ratings agency reaffirmed BBB- long-term issuer credit rating and deemed Amer’s outlook stable after the company fully repaid its $720 million senior secured notes due in 2031 with the $750 million proceeds from its Mar. 3 public offering of 20.6 million shares.

Kubish, a nine-year company veteran who has served as interim CEO since last Aug., has taken the reins as chief executive of Colt Manufacturing Company, the U.S. subsidiary of Colt CZ Group.

The Deuter and Ortovox parent company elevated Tom Mason to interim general manager, in addition to his current role as Ortovox brand manager, succeeding Jonathan Degenhardt.

The Chinese sportswear brand reported that brick-and-mortar sales of core branded product grew around 10% in the first quarter of 2026, while the 361° Kids brand was up by the same percentage at retail compared to last year.

The Eager Beavertons sees the United States Patent and Trademark Office reject its Bronny James “B9” trademark application due to a likelihood of confusion with a pre-existing “Back 9” golf apparel mark.