Glassed on the run Newsletter #65
Hi,
I hope you are all well and will enjoy this week's selection.
What was interesting in the business of running
There were a number of annual results announced over the last couple of weeks, so I am starting with some of them.
Asics sales grew 19% year-on-year during 2024, reaching 678.5 billion yen (~$4.5 billion). Its main business line continues to be Performance Running, making up 48.2% of the total. The largest region continues to be EMEA, growing 21.2% to 179.4 billion yen, followed by Japan with 166.4 billion yen, and North America with 135 billion yen (Asics and Footwear News).
Salomon shoes sales surpassed $1 billion in 2024, joining the likes of Hoka, Brooks, and On who also reached that milestone over the last couple of years. Salomon is part of the Outdoor Performance line of its parent company Amer Sports, alongside brands like Atomic and Armada. Amer Sports' revenues overall grew 18% in 2024, driven by its DTC channel, which grew 42.7% and now makes up 43.7% of the total (Amer Sports and SGB Media).
Saucony's parent Wolverine Worldwide had a drop of 21.8% in revenues to $1.76 billion for 2024, as compared to the year before. 2024 however was a year focused on stabilising the company, as stated by CEO Chris Hufnagel, and he expects growth to return in 2025. He is particularly optimistic about Saucony, which grew 60% in China, 20% in EMEA, and is gaining market share in the US (SGB Media and Wolverine Worldwide).
Garmin was another company that reported its 2024 results. Sales grew 23% year-on-year up to $6.3 billion. Its Fitness business line, which includes running products like the Forerunner watch series, grew 32% to $1,77 billion, making up 28% of the total. The largest business continues to be Outdoor (a range of devices from adventure watches to dog trackers) with 31% of the total (Garmin).
Moving on to Strava, which has initiated a clampdown on cheating in its leaderboards. I am sure many of its users would consider it overdue (Cycling Weekly). And here is a list of some of the other significant updates Strava has introduced this year so far (TechRadar).
Finally, New Balance's dad shoes are apparently reaping success among with Gen Z (The Harris Poll).
As always, thank you for reading,
Momchil
