Academy Sports + Outdoors is diversifying its product mix to stand out.
In a telephone interview Tuesday after the outdoor sports retailer posted fourth quarter earnings results, Matt McCabe, executive vice president and chief merchandising officer, revealed that company is now the exclusive brick-and-mortar retailer for Hyrox in the U.S. as the fitness competition heats up.
Hyrox combines running and functional exercise to challenge athletes’ endurance, strength and mental toughness. Academy’s merchandising mix now includes all Hyrox branded fitness equipment, plus a licensed shoe by Puma that will be in over 70 doors this spring.
The retailer also plans to expand its Adidas Ultra soccer cleats offerings later in the year, just in time for the 2026 FIFA World Cup’s kickoff this summer in North America. And this summer, Academy will be bringing in the Havaianas brand of flip-flops to all its doors. Alpargatas has repositioned the Brazilian brand in North America in partnership with The Eastman Group.
In addition, the Jordan Brand, which was in 145 doors last spring, will roll out to an additional 55 stores this spring. At the same time, stores that didn’t get updated Nike apparel and footwear layouts last year will get them this year. The updates include revamped graphics and specific vignettes around training, running and sportswear. In addition, Academy is expanding its offerings in Western wear from brands that include Carhartt, Wrangler and Ariat.
“Our best brands in Q4 were Brooks, Asics and Nike on the athletic side, and then on the casual side, we had great sales from Birkenstock, where we continue to expand. And then also Ariat and Timberland, so there’s a lot going on with that work-Western-casual side of the business,” McCabe said.
During the company’s earnings call, CEO Steven Lawrence said the retailer improved its in-stock position at stores through a combination of assortment rationalization efforts and the roll out of RFID scanners to all stores in the second quarter.
Lawrence also said the company has over 13 million customers enrolled in its myAcademy Rewards program. Two tiers are being added the basic rewards level, one for Academy’s private label credit card holders and a higher tier for those who hold an Academy-branded MasterCard. He said the retailer’s efforts to drive new customers in its stores was evidenced by the 10 percent growth in consumers whose household incomes is over $100,00 a year.
“The increased traffic from this cohort is in effect helping us diversify and somewhat de-risk our customer base with these higher-income consumers now representing our largest and fastest-growing customer cohort,” the CEO said.
Lawrence emphasized that Academy remains committed to maintaining its position as a value retailer in the sports and outdoor space. Value consumers comprise 50 percent of Academy’s customer base.
The retailer is layering on new trending brands and adding items to its better and best assortment categories to “both expand our share of wallet with existing customers while also attracting new customers to shop with us,” he said.
