Latest news with #SteveLawrence
Yahoo
05-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Academy Sports + Outdoors Announces Executive Appointment
Brandy Treadway joins as Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, and Corporate Secretary KATY, Texas, Aug. 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Academy Sports + Outdoors ("Academy") (Nasdaq: ASO), a leading full-line sporting goods and outdoor recreation retailer today announced the appointment of Brandy Treadway to the role of Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, and Corporate Secretary. In this position, Ms. Treadway will oversee all enterprise Legal, Compliance, and Risk Management functions supporting the company's corporate, distribution centers, and retail initiatives. Most recently, Ms. Treadway served as Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary for RumbleOn, Inc. based in Irving, and was previously a corporate partner at Martin Powers & Counsel, PLLC. Notably, she also served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary at JCPenney in addition to other executive and leadership positions throughout her tenure. Ms. Treadway will report directly to Steve Lawrence, Chief Executive Officer of the Company. About Academy Sports + OutdoorsAcademy is a leading full-line sporting goods and outdoor recreation retailer in the United States. Originally founded in 1938 as a family business in Texas, Academy has grown to more than 300 stores across 21 states and counting. Academy's mission is to provide "Fun for All" and Academy fulfills this mission with a localized merchandising strategy and value proposition that strongly connects with a broad range of consumers. Academy's product assortment focuses on key categories of outdoor, apparel, sports & recreation and footwear through both leading national brands and a portfolio of private label brands. For more information, visit Forward Looking StatementsThis press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are based on Academy's current expectations and are not guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements are usually identified by or are associated with such words as "intends," "will," "plan," "believe," "expect," "may," and/or the negatives or variations of these terms or similar terminology. Actual results may differ materially from these expectations due to changes in global, regional, or local economic, business, competitive, market, regulatory and other factors, many of which are beyond Academy's control. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are set forth in Academy's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including Academy's Annual Report on Form 10-K under the caption "Risk Factors," as may be updated from time to time in our periodic filings with the SEC. Any forward-looking statement in this press release speaks only as of the date released. Academy undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, except as may be required by any applicable securities laws. Media Contact: Allan Rojas, Director, Communications, View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Academy Sports + Outdoors Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Academy Sports + Outdoors is Helping Customers Get More Without Spending More this Back-to-School Season
Company holds prices on youth apparel and footwear, and continues to offer everyday value KATY, Texas, July 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Academy Sports + Outdoors remains committed to being a key destination for Back-to-School and Back-to-Sport shopping by offering a wide selection of apparel, footwear, backpacks and lunch boxes, sports and outdoor gear, and more at market-leading everyday value. We know that our customers have many shopping options, and we're providing multiple ways for them to stretch their budget and get everything on their list. "We want our customers to make the most of their budget this back-to-school season. They shouldn't have to choose between function or fashion; they should be able to shop a wide range of great brands and products at unbeatable prices. That's why we're leaning into value and offering promotions on all the must-have brands and items that kids will need in the classroom or on the field," said Steve Lawrence, Chief Executive Officer. Key ways we are offering value during back-to-school include: Holding prices on youth apparel and footwear products from last year. Offering market-leading everyday value pricing on essentials from top brands such as Nike, Adidas and Under Armour as well our private brands including BCG, Freely, R.O.W and Magellan Outdoors. Turning up the savings during Tax-Free events (in participating states) with standout promotions – like Hot Deals on the latest arrivals – available both in-store and on Rolling out the newest products from brands such as Jordan Brand, Birkenstock, Converse, Owala, HydroJug and Burlebo. For even more savings, customers can shop with their Academy Credit Card and receive an incremental 5% off on all purchases. New Academy Credit Card cardholders receive $15 off their first purchase after approval. Supporting teachers, administrators, and other school staff, with a 10% discount on their purchases from July 27 through August 31. myAcademy rewards members can take advantage of the lower free shipping minimum ($25), 10% off their first purchase, insider access to personalized offers, deals, and products, as well as faster online and in-app checkout, when shopping for school essentials. Offering multiple shop-now, pay-later options such as Klarna, Sezzle, Bread Pay, and PayPal. Guaranteeing the best price — every time and every day. Academy beats competitor prices by 5% so you can always know you're getting the best deal. To learn more, visit About Academy Sports + OutdoorsAcademy is a leading full-line sporting goods and outdoor recreation retailer in the United States. Originally founded in 1938 as a family business in Texas, Academy has grown to more than 300 stores across 21 states and counting. Academy's mission is to provide "Fun for All" and Academy fulfills this mission with a localized merchandising strategy and value proposition that strongly connects with a broad range of consumers. Academy's product assortment focuses on key categories of outdoor, apparel, sports & recreation and footwear through both leading national brands and a portfolio of private label brands. For more information, visit Media Contact: Allan Rojas, Director, Communications, View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Academy Sports + Outdoors Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How Academy Sports Is ‘Saving' Sales With New In-store Tech
Academy Sports + Outdoors has made notable tech investments that have enabled store associates to better help shoppers and drive sales at the same time. In Tuesday's conference call to Wall Street after posting first-quarter results, company CEO Steve Lawrence said, 'We, like most people in our business have been dealing with the fluid situation [regarding tariffs]. It's created a lot of complexity in how we forecast and manage our business on a day-to-day basis.' More from WWD Ja Morant's Swarovski-studded Nike Air Force 1s Are Expected to Be Released This Year L'Oréal and Nvidia Collaborate to Bring Next-gen AI to Beauty Shoe Palace Pays Tribute to California Firefighters With New Jordan Release, Campaign While there have been adjustments in sourcing and supply chain, such as moving the production of goods out of China and working with vendor partners on strategies, as well as a look at capital allocation, it's the company's technological investments that are improving the customer experience at both the store level and online. 'We would attribute the momentum we're starting to build in the business to the solid progress we're making against our long-term objectives and goals,' the CEO said, adding that one of those goals is the expansion of its store base. 'We've thoughtfully slowed the pace of signing deals for 2026 new stores. This will allow us to get a better handle on how the current tariff situation will impact construction costs moving forward,' he explained. 'At this point, we don't expect it to change the overall number of new stores, but it will shift the timing of openings that were originally targeted for Q1 into Q2 or Q3.' Lawrence said work in the first quarter was focused on streamlining and improving the internal search functionality of Academy's website. At the same time, it also has grown its aisle offering with an expanded assortment online that's being supported through drop-shipping. The big change has been the addition of handheld devices, which have kiosk functionality integrated into them. 'With this new capability, if a customer cannot buy something in a store and we own it somewhere in the chain, we can save the sale and get the customer what they need by shipping it to their home or to their closest store for both pickup, whichever is most convenient for them,' he said. 'As stores have started to use this new technology, we're seeing their save-to-sale revenue increased 900 percent on average per store.' Another technological enhancement that improves the shopping experience has been the rollout of RFID scanners to all stores. The project — including the addition of the handheld devices for store associates — began in the spring and was completed at the end of May. 'Simplistically, we're leveraging RFID chips already embedded in products with key brands such as Nike, Jordan and Adidas,' he said. Academy piloted the technology in 70 stores last year, finding that the use led to a 20 percent improvement in store level inventory accuracy. 'Rolling this technology to all stores will help improve our in-stocks, which ultimately will lead to increases in conversion. As we move through 2025, we expect to add more brands for regular RFID accounts, such as Levi's, Under Armour, Columbia, Brooks and Puma,' Lawrence said. 'Looking into next year, our goal is to embed RFID tags in most of our private label products, along with working with other national brand suppliers to follow suit where it makes sense.' He also said that when Academy launched the Jordan brand in 145 doors and online on April 23, the specialty chain for the first time cross-merchandised apparel, footwear and accessories together by gender into a 'branded shop concept.' So far, the initial reaction from customers has been strong and the brand is tracking ahead of initial sales plans. With the planned expansion of key items, such as cleats for football season and launching Jordan in all stores later this summer, 'We anticipate the Jordan brand will be a Top 20 brand for us by the end of the year,' Lawrence told analysts. Another plus for the retailer has been its new loyalty program, which the CEO said helps to drive value for the consumer. 'We're planning to add an additional 2 million customers to myAcademy Rewards in 2025, which should take us to over 13 million members by yearend. Growing our loyalty program membership will drive growth for us both now and in the long-term,' he said, noting that the more engaged customers tend to 'shop Academy two to three times more in a year than an average customer and spend four to five times more on an annual basis.' Academy has been working with suppliers on a case-by-case basis — its branded partners each have a different exposure to tariffs based off their unique supply chains — and believes it has mitigated the impact from tariffs. Lawrence did say that if reciprocal tariffs at the higher levels were to go back into place, such as the 145 percent for China, 'prices are going up virtually on everything.' And while the company's goal is to maintain its value positioning, he said a return to higher levels would likely result in some price increases to offset margin erosion. In a telephone interview, Matt McCabe, executive vice president and chief merchandising officer, said that customers have been 'very receptive' to the Jordan brand, which is 'exceeding our plan since the launch date, and we expect that to really take dividends as we head towards back-to-school.' He said it was too early to tell how much of the selling can be attributed to the growing traffic from the higher-income, trade-down customer. McCabe also said that what has been driving traffic over the past few quarters 'has been the upgrade to the retailer's assortment mix to include more better and best level product.' That includes the retailer selling brands such as Brooks, and the higher-end Nike footwear, as well as growing its presence in running, in both the sports and recreation options. And while retailers sometimes pull back on initiatives given the uncertainties in the retail landscape, McCabe said that's not the case with Academy. 'In terms of new initiatives to drive our business, we haven't pulled back on that at all,' he said, adding that in the case of the Jordan Brand, 'we are still full steam ahead.' McCabe said Academy has a 'really strong, softlines business, both in apparel and footwear. Footwear is actually the strongest.' He also said the expanded its Nike footprint on its sales floor by 20 percent, 'where we now have vignettes where you can shop things like running and training.' Best of WWD All the Retailers That Nike Left and Then Went Back Mikey Madison's Elegant Red Carpet Shoe Style [PHOTOS] Julia Fox's Sleekest and Boldest Shoe Looks Over the Years [Photos]
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Paramount layoffs, Academy Sports, J.M. Smucker: Trending Tickers
Paramount Global (PARA, PARAA) will be cutting 3.5% of its global workforce as part of its current cost-cutting strategy. This comes after Disney (DIS) announced it will be laying off hundreds of workers around the world. Academy Sports and Outdoor (ASO) is widening its full-year net sales forecast as it preps for a multitude of scenarios under President Trump's tariff policies. Snack brand J.M. Smucker Company's (SJM) full-year guidance for its fiscal 2026 fell short of Wall Street's expectations. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Morning Brief here. Now time for some of today's trending tickers. We're watching Paramount Academy Sports and JM Smucker. Let's first stop check in on Paramount, cutting three and a half percent of its US workforce as part of its continued cost cutting. The layoffs come as Paramount seeks regulatory approval for its proposed merger with Skydance media. You're taking a look at shares. They are flat, moving just barely to the downside here. Uh, according to some of the reporting and a memo, uh, observed by and seen by CNBC, uh, they say that they recognize how difficult this is and are thankful for everyone's hard work and contributions, but the change is necessary to address the environment they're operating in and best position Paramount for success. That coming from the executives according to this memo. Um, also, they had a staff reduction of 15% back in August 2024. Yeah, I I was thinking it's it's not too significant in comparison. Obviously significant for the folks impacted. It's a little over 500 if you take a look at the percentage compared to the recent regulatory filing from December where the company said they had about 18,500 full-time and part-time employees. What's interesting too is that in a memo that's been reviewed by other news outlets, it looks like the company is signaling that this is just US-based for now. Though that could potentially, of course, go a little bit more global over time. And this is just one of the many things that the company is dealing with as they continue to pursue that merger with Skydance media that's been held up in a legal battle, uh, that has ensued, especially following the result of some coverage from CBS during the presidential elections. So of course, we'll continue to monitor those developments for you. Next up here, Academy Sports widening its full-year net sales forecast accounting for multiple tariff scenarios. Sporting goods retailer topping expectations for the first quarter, despite sales declining from a year prior. You can see those shares up over four and a half percent. Another beneficiary this earnings cycle of being able to come out and say, hey, actually, not only are we going to be okay in the face of tariffs, but we're going to do better than we had previously anticipated. Yeah, the company's saying that Air Jordan gave it some wings here in the statement here from the CEO, Steve Lawrence, um, the opening of five new stores, plus the biggest brand launch in the company's history with the addition of Jordan Brand or what kind of continue to add to the progress over their strategic initiatives they've mentioned here. They're taking a look at the year-to-date move here though, still a lot of ground to make up for Academy sports, and this has been an interesting sector within the retail space or segment within the retail space to track, uh, especially knowing the tie-up between Foot Locker and Dick's Sporting Goods. Uh, very competitive measure there, and we'll see how Academy sports also continues to make its own play very well known to consumers and to its partners in business here. Uh, they did say that they continue to see strong growth though in traffic from higher income consumers. That's noteworthy. They believe their focus on remaining the value player in their space though will allow them to continue to take market share moving throughout the rest of 2025 here. Finally, let's go where the Uncrustables go, JM Smucker, issuing a disappointing outlook for fiscal 2026. The packaged food company reporting mixed results for the fourth quarter with net sales declining 3% from a year earlier. You're taking a look at shares down by about six and a half percent. Uh, I sent a few questions into the company and their leadership. We've had Mark Smucker on quarter after quarter and have had the opportunity to even go out to Orville, Ohio and see exactly what this full operation is about. Uncrustables continues to put this team on its back here. Uh, continues to outperform and perform across consumer segments. Uh, they had mentioned in response to one of my questions to them, proud of the growth that they've demonstrated on that. Uh, also though, on the tariff side, they had to acknowledge there. They said they're monitoring and assessing changes to trade policy and tariffs and working with some of the industry associations and policymakers to achieve the best outcome for their consumers. And then just lastly here, they did acknowledge where they're looking across within the portfolio of sweet baked snacks. Um, and so narrowing some of their priorities around their new leadership and evaluating the product assortment there. It'll be interesting to see what decisions come as a result of that evaluation. Yeah, that reduced profitability in the sweet baked goods that you mentioned, Brad, a key sticking point in the analyst commentary here. Jeffrey's calling it out. We also had a note from TD Cowen saying that they provide the company provided a big blow to the bull case, surprising Wall Street with guidance coming in here, and that some of the tariff headwinds on coffee elasticity were also a potential surprise. Having said that, they also mentioned that this is a company that tends to guide more conservatively. So I think that's important for investors to monitor, and that TD Cowen describes this as a potential clearing event, uh, where you could see investors kind of fleeing the stock pricing in the impact of tariffs, and then potentially coming back in if you do start to see any retail trends leading to more strength for some of those individual sectors within the company. You can scan the QR code below to track the best and worst performing stocks with Yahoo Finance's trending tickers page.
IOL News
10-06-2025
- IOL News
South Africa's prison population surges to 166,924 amid budget constraints
The total population of inmates increased to 166,924 as of December 31, 2024, throughout South Africa. Image: Steve Lawrence / Independent Newspapers Within three months, 6,571 more inmates occupied prisons throughout South Africa, bringing the total population of inmates to 166,924 as of December 31, 2024. The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) presented the 3rd Quarter Performance Report for the 2024/25 financial year to the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services on Tuesday, noting that the prison population increased from 160,353 on 30 September 2024. In the DCS report, reference was made to the capital budget being underfunded by R222 million, constraining infrastructure upgrades and maintenance. The DCS stated that food costs have surged, driven not only by inflation and a growing inmate population, but also by the rising number of foreign nationals housed in correctional facilities, which are experiencing the highest concentration of this challenge. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Approximately 27% of offenders in Gauteng are foreign nationals. Polokwane and Thohoyandou in Limpopo, Barberton in Mpumalanga, and Klerksdorp, North West, correctional centres admitted more remand detainees, mostly foreign nationals, due to SAPS operations Vala Umgodi and Shanela, where they were charged for illegal mining and illegal immigration. The DCS stated that due to municipal tariffs for electricity, water, and sanitation escalating above the Consumer Price Index, it is creating further strain on the already stretched goods and services budget. The department stated that the branch budget is also severely constrained, hampering efforts to modernise digital infrastructure and cybersecurity. The DCS did not meet its target in Information Technology (IT) because of a number of sites where a mesh network and an integrated security system (ISS) are installed. The reason provided was attributed to a delay in the testing of the Audio Visual Remand (AVR) due to the unavailability of the confirmed court dates by the Department of Justice. The DCS also stated that funds allocated for the Local Area Network (LAN) infrastructure project were insufficient due to a budget shortfall for the Microsoft licenses. It highlighted that overcrowding in correctional facilities is in excess of approved bed space capacity. 'The admission of remand detainees and sentenced offenders exceeds the outflow of cases from the system,' the DCS stated. The unsentenced inmate population increased by 5,934, while the sentenced offender population increased by 637. With regard to overcrowding in Gauteng, the DCS stated that the Leeuwkop Medium B is unable to utilise four cells with a capacity of 160 because of two burnt cells and two that are adjacent to the burnt cells. At the same facility, the DCS cannot use the Delta units with a bed space of 340 due to a lack of resources; further details are not provided. The DCS was allocated a budget of R27.8 billion, with 60% going towards incarceration, amounting to R16.7bn.
