Business news : Sluggish sales for New Wave’s sports unit

Weakness in Sweden has hurt the sales of the New Wave Group’s sports and leisure unit, which declined by 13 percent excluding acquisitions for the third quarter.
The unit comprises Craft and Cutter&Buck, along with smaller brands and licensing deals for Speedo and Umbro. Due to two acquisitions, its sales still climbed by 4 percent to 560 million Swedish crowns (€65.2m-$83m) but its Ebitda slumped by 18 percent to SEK 64.2 million (€7.5m-$9.5m). The entire group swung to a loss for the quarter due to restructuring costs at a glassware unit.

More in SGI Europe.

About New Wave Group :
New Wave Group is a growth company that designs, acquires and develops brands and products in the corporate promo, gifts and home furnishings sectors. The Group will achieve synergies by coordinating design, purchasing, marketing, warehousing and distribution of its product range. To ensure good diversification, the Group will market its products in the corporate promo market and the retail market.

Sports & Leisure

Operating segment Sports & Leisure includes nine wholly-owned brands (AHEAD, ANNIKA, Clique Retail, Craft, Cutter & Buck, PAX, Seger and Sköna Marie), as well as two licensed brands, Speedo and Umbro. Sales are conducted in 13 countries, primarily in the Nordic countries and North America.
Sports & Leisure answered for 40 percent of the Group’s sales in 2010 and SEK 220.1 million of the Group’s profit (EBITDA). Most of the sales relate to the retail market (sports retail sector) but some sales also stem from the promo market.
The retail sector is the natural channel fore meeting the market for all the operating segment's brands. Clique Retail, Craft, Seger, Speedo and Umbro all have a verified position in the sports retail sector, but are aslo sold in the promo market and through athletic clubs.
New Wave Group's objective is to keep the stock of fashion items low since the lifespan for these items is short. The retail sector focuses on less fashion-sensitive areas, such as Craft's functional sports undergarments and Seger's socks. Most of the products are the same for promo and retail, which provides a significatn risk diversification.
Read more about our brands here.