March 30, 2022

Read in Browser [[link removed]]

POWERED BY

Saint Peter’s historic March Madness run may have ended in the Elite Eight, but the New Jersey school won big off the court. According to Bloomberg, donors pledged close to $2.3 million between March 9-26, while on-campus merchandise saw $47,000 in sales — plus an extra $100,000 in sales of licensed products on Amazon.

Lululemon Reports Historic $6B Fiscal Year

Mary Chao/Design: Alex Brooks

Lululemon surpassed $6 billion in annual revenue for the first time in the company’s history following the release of the athleisure giant’s latest earnings report.

The athletic apparel retailer generated [[link removed]] $2.1 billion in revenue in Q4 2021, a 23% increase compared to the same period the year prior, behind growth across all business segments.

Lululemon opened 22 new company-operated brick-and-mortar locations during the quarter, bringing its total to 574 stores worldwide.

Full-year revenue reached $6.3 billion, a 42% increase year-over-year.Company-operated store revenue increased 70% compared to FY2020.Revenue grew by 40% in North America and increased 53% internationally.It repurchased 2.2 million shares at an average price of $369.16 per share.

Earlier this month, Lululemon stepped into footwear with the launch [[link removed]] of The Blissfeel, the company’s first-ever women’s running shoe, which retails for $148. Lululemon plans to release three additional lines of women’s footwear. The company will unveil men’s footwear in 2023.

Fierce Competition

Lululemon’s foray into footwear is the company’s latest attempt at competing with top athletic brands like Adidas and Nike, but the brand also has a rival in fitness giant Peloton.

In November 2021, Peloton sued [[link removed]] Lululemon for allegedly infringing intellectual property rights regarding its private label apparel line, which launched in September 2021. Lululemon immediately countersued.

Lululemon ran into more legal issues in January when Nike sued [[link removed]] the company for patent infringement related to its Mirror Home Gym.

Broncos Ownership Bidders ‘More Than 5, Less Than 20’

Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports/Design: Alex Brooks

There is robust competition to be the new owner of the Denver Broncos, and team CEO Joe Ellis shed some light on the state of the sale.

“It’s more than five and less than 20,” Ellis told [[link removed]] 9NEWS on Monday, referring to the number of bids for the team.

Ellis said the goal was to sell the team by the start of the next NFL season but could not guarantee that timeline.The price is likely to top $4 billion – a record for a sports team sale.The league wants bids to be fully capitalized.The NFL is encouraging [[link removed]] at least partial minority ownership for the team. Fire Repairs and More

A fire at Empower Field at Mile High last week damaged 14 suites and around 200 seats.

“I’d be very surprised if those 200 seats are available this year,” Ellis noted, adding that the suites should be ready for the season. The team will need to replace steel risers, an issue compounded by supply chain issues.

Ellis said that the new owner will be faced with refurbishing the existing stadium or building a new one, but he would like to see the current one remain, featuring new developments in the south parking lot pre-approved by the city.

“I think the new owner is going to take a long, hard look at that and see whether he or she can use that as a stepping stone to improving the stadium and making it a year-round destination.”

SPONSORED BY NIKE

How Nike is Moving Sport Forward With a Purpose

For 50 years, NIKE, Inc. has been moving sport forward with purpose. And since 2002, the company has publicly shared its social and environmental impact.

Committed to bold and ambitious targets as a company, Nike believes in transparency and holding itself accountable to ensure progress.

In our latest event, Moving Sport Forward With Purpose: Nike’s Impact on People, Planet, Play [[link removed]], Front Office Sports Editor-in-Chief Ernest Baker spoke with Vanessa Garcia-Brito, VP of North America Communications at NIKE, Inc., about the company’s FY21 Impact Report and how Nike is tracking against its 2025 targets.

Watch on demand [[link removed]] now!

Premier League Club Announces $70M in Losses

Brighton & Hove Albion/Design: Alex Brooks

COVID continues to impact the sports world — most recently a Premier League club.

Brighton and Hove Albion released its 2020-21 finances on Monday, announcing it had suffered $70 million in losses.

The number is staggering, though still lower than their 2019-20 reported losses of about $88 million.

“While we are once again reporting a loss, which is never ideal, we have seen an increase in turnover and reduction in the losses, despite the pandemic impacting the entire season,” deputy chairman and chief executive Paul Barber said.

Barber attributed half of total losses “directly” to the pandemic:

Matchday, event, and commercial turnover was “all but wiped out for the entire season.”There were extra costs associated with providing COVID safeguards.

The announcement noted that the financials don’t include Ben White’s transfer to Arsenal.

Major Trend

The news is unsurprising given the gargantuan losses suffered by the European soccer market during the pandemic.

In 2019-20, for example, the market dropped [[link removed]] by a total of $29.7 billion, according to Deloitte. There was, however, a $7.1 billion parachute fund organized by UEFA that mitigated some of the losses — though clearly not all.

iFIT CEO Reportedly Forced Out by Investors

NordicTrack/Design: Alex Brooks

The CEO of NordicTrack-owner iFIT is being pushed out after investors insisted on a new direction, according to a New York Post report.

The company secured a $355 million funding round in February, including $325 million from Pathlight and $25 million from L Catterton, but it came with strings attached. L Catterton and Pathlight Capital wanted [[link removed]] CEO Scott Watterson to be replaced.

Watterson, who has three sons with executive roles at the company, also invested $5 million during the recent funding round. iFIT forgave $53.2 million in loans from Watterson’s family members who were employed by the company shortly before filing for an IPO.

iFIT once had a valuation north of $10 billion.With demand drying up the company’s value is now reportedly around $1.5 billion.A $300 million lawsuit by iFIT lender Pamplona Capital Management threatened to push the company into bankruptcy. No IPO

iFIT took on hefty expenses to compete with Peloton, including tapping Olympic swimming legend Michael Phelps for a marketing campaign.

The company had planned [[link removed]] to pay for these moves by raising $646 million in an IPO but postponed those plans in October, citing rocky market conditions.

Peloton filed lawsuits against iFIT and Echelon in November, claiming patent infringement related to its on-demand class technology.

SPONSORED BY LEARFIELD

The Face of Fandom is Changing

Imagine a typical sports fan. Did you picture someone enjoying a game with friends? Is it a person who proudly wears their team’s colors? What’s the gender of the fan you imagined?

Many people envision a man as the typical sports fan. But it may surprise you to know that the make-up of college sports fans [[link removed]] is changing.

The influence and presence of women within college athletics is strong and gaining momentum [[link removed]]. Schools and brand marketers who understand the female fan and know how to reach her can help build a new community of loyal supporters. Those who don’t could be missing an important opportunity to engage this increasingly powerful and influential segment of college sports fans.

Download [[link removed]] the full report now to learn more about how the make-up of college sports fans is changing.

Conversation Starters The NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars have committed [[link removed]] to play a home game at Wembley Stadium in London each season through 2024. Sony announced [[link removed]] new versions of its PlayStation Plus subscription — not a combination of PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now — in an effort to compete with Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass. A consortium of private equity firms led by Evergreen Coast Capital Corp. and Brookfield Business Partners has purchased [[link removed]] video and TV ratings company Nielsen for $16 billion. FIFA is reportedly [[link removed]] expected to discuss alternative proposals to its biennial World Cup plan during this week’s congress. Question Of The Day

Do you own any Lululemon products?

Yes [[link removed]] No [[link removed]]

Tuesday’s Answer

46% of respondents are fans of Fanatics’ expansive sports merchandising strategy.

Written by Justin Byers [[link removed]], Owen Poindexter [[link removed]], Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]

MORE FROM FRONT OFFICE SPORTS:

The Leadoff [[link removed]] - Daily business of sports podcast

Front Office Sports Insights [[link removed]] - The most promising opportunities where sports meets industry

Front Office Sports Scoreboard [[link removed]] - The biggest stories in sports and the numbers behind them

Copyright © 2022 Front Office Sports. All rights reserved.

80 Pine Street Suite 3202 New York, NY 10005

If this email was forwarded to you, you can subscribe here [[link removed]].

Advertise [[link removed]] / Update your preferences [link removed] / Unsubscribe [link removed]