Dick’s Sporting Goods will close its stores and distribution centers, including all Golf Galaxy and Field & Stream locations, for the day on Thanksgiving (Nov. 26). Additionally, the company announced it will continue to pay store and distribution center teammates a 15 percent pay premium through the end of 2020. Target Stores and Walmart have also announced plans to keep stores shuttered on Thanksgiving.

‍Sports & Fitness Industry Association is launching a virtual conference focused on the industry’s recovery and relaunch (Sep. 23-24). The event will include three to four daily sessions to allow for maximum flexibility for virtual attendees. A “Back on Track” interactive component will encourage attendees to participate in conversation tables around specific topics, Diversity & Inclusion, Trade/Tariffs and Youth Sports Return to Play among them.

‍Mizuno is the new apparel sponsor for the Honolulu Marathon, set to be held Dec. 13, 2020. The Japanese running brand will provide official marathon merchandise as well as finisher, commemorative and volunteer shirts for the race, which is the fourth-largest in the U.S. The race weekend also includes the Start to Park 10K and Kalakaua Merrie Mile races.

‍Teva and Cotopaxi have collaborated to produce a capsule collection that draws on the brands’ shared commitment to improving their environmental footprint. The Teva x Cotopaxi collection includes the $70 Teva x Cotopaxi Original Universal sandal for men and women, as well as the $90 unisex Teva x Cotopaxi Taca Half-Zip Windbreaker. Both pieces incorporate recycled and remnant fabric, and are available on teva.com and cotopaxi.com. In addition, the brands are donating $40,000 to the Cotopaxi Foundation that will support a grant to the Boys & Girls Club of Hollywood.

‍Rocky Brands is forecasting “roughly flat” overall sales for the second half of 2020 and a “volatile” 2021. In the second quarter, the Durango parent company experienced a 9 percent drop in total revenues despite a 16 percent gain in retail sales and 144 percent increase in e-commerce revenues. Work, led by Georgia Boot, was in demand during the period, and the Durango brand was “under the most pressure” at wholesale during early second quarter as key accounts adjusted assortments, the company said. Meanwhile, Rocky senior management confirmed the company’s Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic manufacturing facilities are currently operating at 100 percent following government-mandated shutdowns early in the pandemic.

‍Big 5 Sporting Goods reports a 31.9 percent increase in fiscal July same-store sales and projects a 14 percent to 20 percent comp gain in the third quarter despite expected softness in team sports and back-to-school sales. In the chain’s second quarter,  apparel and footwear comps each fell more than 20 percent, but hard goods sales increased in the “low teens” for the period ended June 30.