BUSINESS NEWS

September 8, 2021

The National Women’s Hockey League is history. Welcome, Premier Hockey Federation.

North America’s first women’s professional hockey league to pay players a salary is adopting the new name on Tuesday as part of a rebranding to reflect sweeping changes made to its management structure, coupled with an influx of private ownership entering its seventh season. “The league has come a long...

September 8, 2021

Athleta Expands Its REI Co-op Partnership by 130 Stores to Hit $2B in Net Sales by 2023

Athleta has expanded its wholesale partnership with REI Co-op. With the expansion, the women’s activewear label will now deliver a curated selection of products in 135 of the outdoor retailer’s doors, as well as online. Prior to today’s announcement, Athleta was sold in just five REI locations. FN

September 8, 2021

Lululemon Surges on Post-Pandemic Growth

Lululemon posted $1.45 billion in second quarter earnings, a 61% rise from the same period last year, when the pandemic had shuttered much of its in-person retail. The growth represented more than just a pandemic bounceback: Revenue was also up 64% from Q2 2019. FOS

September 6, 2021

How female athletes are pushing for a level playing field

Both the US women's national teams in hockey and soccer have fought for increases in wages and equitable treatment, arguing that the value they bring to global events like the Olympics and world championships isn't being fairly compensated. In 2017, members of the women's hockey team reached a landmark four-year deal with...

September 3, 2021

Allison Corbett Named Top 100 Women in Sports at the 2021 Sports Inclusion Conference

PITTSBURGH (September 3, 2021) /WOMEN'S SPORTSWIRE/ Allison Corbett, P3R’s Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications, was recognized as a sports industry leader and named a Top 100 Women in Sports at the 2021 Sports Inclusion Conference. Nominations were received from across the country, and top leaders were selected based...

September 1, 2021

Minnesota Women’s Soccer Becomes First Community-Owned Women’s Team In U.S.

Minnesota Women’s Soccer, a pre-professional team, started selling community ownership shares on Wednesday, becoming the first women’s sports team in the country to be community-owned. The team is one of the founding members of the USL W League, which has the goal of strengthening the pipeline between college and professional...

August 30, 2021

Kara Anastasiadis Named President of OvareGroup Outdoor

Los Angeles, CA /WOMEN'S SPORTSWIRE/ The OvareGroup, a Los Angeles-based media and marketing communications company, today appointed retail veteran Kara Anastasiadis president of the newly formed OvareGroup Outdoor division. Based in Calgary, Anastasiadis spent 17 years with FGL Sports Ltd., a division of Canadian Tire Corporation, in a series of...

August 30, 2021

All-Women Broadcast Team to Call NBC Sports’ Coverage of ShopRite LPGA Classic

NBC Sports will utilize an all-women broadcast team to call the ShopRite LPGA Classic at the Bay Course at Seaview in Galloway, N.J., on October 1-3 on GOLF Channel, marking the first-ever all-women golf broadcast team in U.S. television history. The commentary team will feature Cara Banks handling play-by-play duties,...

August 26, 2021

Athleta parent company Gap acquires Berkeley startup that allows customers to try on fits virtually

Ahead of its second quarter earnings call Thursday, Gap Inc. announced it has acquired e-commerce startup Drapr, a recent Y Combinator alum that has built technology that lets customers try on clothing virtually to ensure a better fit from home. SF Business Times

August 26, 2021

New Data From The Fan Project Shows Women’s Sports Have Most Innovative, Committed Fans

Hockey Hall of Famer Anglea Ruggerio and her company partnered with the top women's pro leagues and their consumers to study how fans were engaging with the game. The NWSL and WNBA were the only professional sports leagues in North America to experience increased TV ratings during 2020 amid the...

August 26, 2021

WNBPA, Parity Join Forces to Create Marketing Opportunities and Drive Revenue to WNBA Players

NEW YORK (August 26, 2021) – OneTeam Partners is proud to announce a multi-year partnership between the Women's National Basketball Players Association ("WNBPA") and Parity, an online sponsorship platform for women athletes that aims to create strategic marketing opportunities and drive revenue for players in the WNBA. Announced on Women’s...

August 25, 2021

ESPN Moves Rachel Nichols Off NBA Coverage, Cancels ‘The Jump’

ESPN used to rely on two talented female sportscasters, Rachel Nichols and Maria Taylor, for some of its top basketball coverage. Going forward, the network isn’t going to have either. Variety reports that ESPN has decided to cancel “The Jump,” the Nichols-led weekday daily basketball-news program and take the sportscaster off of NBA coverage. The...

August 23, 2021

Highest-Paid Female Athletes 2021: Osaka and Serena Ace the Competition

Life on the court has been a grind for Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams over the last six months. Injuries, shocking losses and skipped tournaments have limited the pair to only nine on-court WTA match wins combined since February, when Osaka captured the Australian Open after defeating Williams in the semifinal. And yet, their...

August 23, 2021

Simone Biles named world’s most marketable athlete for 2021

Gymnastics icon Simone Biles has been named as the world’s most marketable athlete for 2021. The 19-time world champion and owner of four Olympic gold medals edges out four-time Grand Slam tennis champion Naomi Osaka to take top spot in SportsPro’s 2021 list of the World’s 50 Most Marketable Athletes presented...

August 19, 2021

WNBA Becomes First Women’s Professional Sports League On Buzzer

Buzzer, the new mobile platform for personalization and discovery of live sports, today announced a new agreement with the WNBA to distribute live game content, making the WNBA the first women’s professional sports league to be offered on the platform. Beginning August 25, Buzzer will provide frictionless access to WNBA...

August 13, 2021

HEX Releases Complete Creative Series, Women In Focus, Featuring Top Female Photographers

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - August 13, 2021 - HEX, award winning fashion accessory brand, today released the complete series, Women In Focus, each episode highlighting female creatives and photographers as they share their stories, challenges, successes and give advice to encourage other women in the industry. Drawing on decades of...

August 12, 2021

Study: Female athletes earned record-high ratio of NBC’s primetime Olympic coverage, but inequities remain

The Tokyo Olympics were a milestone moment for the women of Team USA. They made up nearly 54% of the team and won 58.4% of the medals, including 23 golds. They also set a record on television screens, taking up 59.1% of NBC’s primetime coverage of the Games . It is the highest percentage of...

August 10, 2021

Aqualung Group Appoints Kendall Brandau as Director of Go-To-Market, North America

 VISTA, Calif. (August 10, 2021) – Aqualung, the leading global designer and manufacturer of dive and water sports gear, today announced it has appointed Kendall Brandau as Director of Go-To-Market, North America. Brandau will play a key role in helping to coordinate the planning, development and execution of go-to-market activities...

August 10, 2021

Alterra Mountain Company Names New President and COO of SVAM

Alterra Mountain Company announced today that Dee Byrne has been named President & COO of Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows (SVAM) based in Olympic Valley, California, effective immediately. Dee has worked in the ski industry for over 30 years and has held numerous positions across prominent mountains and brands. Dee joined SVAM in...

August 9, 2021

Brooks Running Revenue Grew 75% in Q2 as It Continues to Steal Share in Women’s From Nike and Adidas

The running shoe brand, which is a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., reported that its global revenue rose 75% in Q2 of 2021 compared to 2020. Overall, revenues for Berkshire Hathaway’s consumer units, which include its apparel and footwear operations such as Brooks, increased about $1.5 billion, or 68%, in Q2. FN

August 5, 2021

Levi Strauss & Co. to Acquire Activewear Brand Beyond Yoga

The acquisition will bring the athletic and lifestyle apparel brand Beyond Yoga brand to more consumers through direct-to-consumer expansion, including brick-and-mortar retail, gender and category growth, and further develop its wholesale footprint with premium partners. With this transaction, LS&Co. enters the activewear category. Businesswire

August 3, 2021

Wolverine Acquires Sweaty Betty for $410 Million as It Looks to Expand Digital and Reach More Women

Wolverine World Wide is furthering its goal to expand its digital presence with the acquisition of fitness lifestyle brand Sweaty Betty. The move represents Wolverine’s commitment to e-commerce, which also gives Wolverine a stake in the competitive women’s activewear category. FN

August 2, 2021

prAna Reaches 100% Plastic-Free Packaging Goal on Anniversary of Responsible Packaging Movement Launch

Carlsbad, CA – August 2, 2021 – prAna, creator of Clothing for Positive Change and a leader in sustainable outdoor fashion, announced today that it has officially reached its long-term goal of 100% plastic-free packaging with the launch of the Fall/Winter 2021 collection. The accomplishment coincides with the one-year anniversary...