Matt Powell

Celebrity endorsements aren't what they used to be. The reliance of athletic brands on signing the biggest stars in their respective sports in hopes that they will in turn help push product has become a broken marketing model. Just ask Nike Inc (NYSE: NKE), which has arguably the greatest...

The only thing more exciting than the NBA playoffs might just be the NBA offseason. LeBron James' decision to join the Los Angeles Lakers in an unprecedented four-year deal broke an NBA Twitter volume record of 56,000 tweets per minute. Amid the speculation surrounding a Lakers turnaround, the...

When Puma AG Rudolf Dassler Sport (OTC: PMMAF) announced a comeback attempt in basketball earlier this year, it turned heads in the industry. Why is the brand that has had a really strong run in sportswear over the past few years entering a struggling performance basketball footwear market? A...

The 2018 FIFA World Cup kickoff Thursday serves as another painful reminder that the United States failed to qualify for the world’s biggest sporting event. U.S. Soccer just received a huge boost, though, after being named a 2026 World Cup Host alongside Mexico and Canada. What Happened...

Coming off a stellar first-quarter report, Lululemon Athletica, inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) has emerged as a clear winner in the athleisure era. Shares of the apparel brand are up nearly 59 percent year-to-date and have more than doubled over the past year amid several PR missteps and the resignation of...

With states now free to pursue legal sports betting, the NCAA will likely face even more pressure to finally compensate its players with more than scholarships. The National College Athletic Association is perhaps the most vulnerable to potential corruption among players in the wake of the Supreme...

Under Armour Inc (NYSE: UAA) reported a first-quarter earnings and sales beat Tuesday, but it wasn't enough to prop up the struggling athletic apparel brand's stock. Sales for the Baltimore-based company came in at $1.2 billion, beating estimates by $100 million. Earnings came in flat and...

The shares of French luxury fashion houses LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (OTC: LVMHF) and KERING S A/ADR (OTC: PPRUY) hit all-time highs this week in a resurgence of luxury brands in the retail sector. LVMH noted in its first-quarter report this week that organic growth reached 13...

Tiger Woods may not have been in contention to win his fifth Green Jacket at Augusta National on Sunday at the Masters, but the Tiger halo effect on TV ratings is still very real. It had been 1,089 days since Tiger Woods had played Augusta National before the opening round Thursday and,...

After several months of speculation, Finish Line Inc (NASDAQ: FINL) announced it has been acquired by a U.K. retailer, but not the one that was previously named. JD Sports, known as one of the premier footwear retailers in the U.K., has purchased the Indianapolis-based footwear retailer for $588...

At a time when most companies are running away from the golf club business, Dicks Sporting Goods Inc (NYSE: DKS) is running toward it with the relaunch of the Tommy Armour brand. Tommy Armour, named after a three-time major champion golfer born in the 19th century in Scotland, is a golf...

Under Armour Inc (NYSE: UAA) has certainly suffered some hardships over since its peak in 2015, but its fourth-quarter report is breathing some life into the sportswear brand's future. Shares of the Baltimore-based brand soared over 15 percent Tuesday after Under Armour reported before the...

Puma AG Rudolf Dassler Sport (OTC: PMMAF) capped a successful 2017 after announcing it has delivered sales of over 4 billion euros in 2017, a record for the German sportswear company. Every geographic region contributed to more than double-digit sales growth in fiscal 2017, and footwear continued...

NPD Group has released their annual list of the top 10 best-selling shoes. Benzinga spoke with NPD’s sports industry analyst Matt Powell about 2017's top sellers. No. 1: Nike Tanjun Nike Inc (NYSE: NKE)'s mid-market favorite topped the list this year, replacing the Adidas...

Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE: FL) has notched yet another upgrade in what has been a dramatic sentiment shift from analysts over the past two months. The Analyst  Oppenheimer analyst Anna Andreeva upgrades Foot Locker to an Outperform rating with a $70 price target. The Thesis With Nike...