Adidas’ new 10-year uniform sponsorship deal with Penn State has been caught in storm clouds descending on Happy Valley, as allegations of improprieties in the contract were quickly followed by controversy over the firing of coach James Franklin last weekend.

The family-owned sports apparel and merchandise retailer has acquired Best of Big Red and Gold Country, expanding its footprint in the Midwest, adding five stores in WI and four in MN, bringing Rally House’s store count to 11 in those two states.

The Tecnica Group-owned mountaineering, outdoor, and lifestyle footwear company confirmed the transition from its retiring General Manager of Lowa USA, Peter Sachs, to Lance Taylor, who joined the company in May.

CTC said it had identified a data breach involving an e-commerce database containing basic personal information for customers with an e-commerce account at its Canadian Tire, SportChek, Mark’s/L’Équipeur, or Party City banners.

Wenming Shi, the owner and operator of several e-commerce stores, is suing LULU in IL district court, asking for a declaratory judgment of non-infringement, arguing that none of the claims on Lululemon’s patent nos. D742,095 S and D711,626 S are infringed by his The Gym People shorts.

Another round of will-they-or-won’t-they in the tariff war broke out over the weekend after President Trump threatened an additional 100% tariff on Chinese goods following Beijing’s latest restrictions on rare earth minerals.

Revenue from global Reebok brand licenses increased 9% to $302,489,000 in 2024 from $276,436,00 prior, according to a Companies House filing by U.K.-based Reebok International Limited and its subsidiary RILUK IPCO Limited, which owns the Reebok intellectual property under Authentic Brands.

Yue Yuen’s footwear manufacturing revenue grew 11% in Sep. to an implied $443,573,000 from $400,410,000 last year, while total revenues at the Chinese footwear maker and retailer increased 5% to $633,036,000 for the month.

Chinese running specialist 361 Degrees said that core brand retail sales and sales of its independently run 361º Kids brand both grew approximately 10% in Q3.

The Swiss running brand is being sued in OR district court in a proposed class action brought by plaintiffs Louis Bologna and Patricia Ramirez, who claim its CloudTec sole technology causes “a noisy and embarrassing squeak” with every step.

Following a 7.2% drop in 2023, total hardgoods sales increased 1.8% last year to $107,039 million from $105,122 million, but just 16 of the 42 companies on our list saw an improved top line.

The bottom line at the Japanese retailer plummeted 95% to just ¥11 million ($0.1 mm) from ¥206 million on sales that were up 3% to ¥60,447 million ($418.3 mm) from ¥58,512 million for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31.

Asics North America announced a major restructuring of its management team under CEO Koichiro Kodama, headlined by the promotion of Mike Dougherty to chief operating officer, based in the Boston office.

The athletic brand, which was founded by sports agent Rich Paul, hired 28-year Eager Beaverton Scott Munson as its new president and general manager.

The Sports Direct parent acquired a majority stake in Miami-based luxury retailer, The Webster, aiming to expand its footprint in the space.