Giro parent Vista Outdoor announces plans to sell Bollé as outdoor financials dip

Within Vista Outdoor’s operating results for its second quarter, ended October 1st, the outdoor sports giant has announced its plans to sell the Bollé brand.

In a jam-packed financial statement it was announced that the board of directors has named Michael Callahan to serve as chairman.

CFO Stephen Nolan pointed “ongoing challenges facing the cycling industry”, stating that this had resulted in “reduced retail space for our products.”

New CEO Christopher Metz, who joined only in October, began his first statement with intent to hit the ground running on necessary changes to the business.

“I am excited to combine my passion for these brands and this industry with my professional experience and deep background in consumer products,” said Vista Outdoor Chief Executive Officer Chris Metz. “While I’ve only been here a short time, I realize we have much to do: we must make significant changes, act decisively, and move quickly to reposition and stabilize the company. We will take an aggressive position on profit improvement through both margin expansion and cost reductions across all areas of the core business.

“We’re in the process of completing a portfolio review of our brands, and we will divest assets where we see the potential to unlock shareholder value. As a first outcome of this process, we are announcing our intention to sell the Bollé, Serengeti and Cébé brands in the Sports Protection business. These brands were acquired as part of the Bushnell transaction in 2013 and focus primarily on fashion, prescription and safety eyewear, which are areas that we have determined are not core to our business. The sale of these brands is expected to take place over the next few quarters.

“To allow our business leaders to drive changes faster and have clear line of sight to the goals at hand, I have decided to eliminate the Shooting Sports segment president position,” said Metz.

Bollé has just completed a move of its headquarters.

Moving on to financial performance, the firm’s sales were $587 million, down 14 percent from the prior-year’s quarter, including $12 million of additional sales from the acquisition of Camp Chef. Sales were down 16 percent on an organic basis.

Gross profit was $139 million, down 25 percent from the prior-year quarter.

Looking forwards, the business has revised its financial guidance, expecting sales in the region of $2.24 billion to $2.26 billion. This is a decline on the formerly expected $2.36 billion to $2.42 billion figure. Earnings per share forecasts dipped from between $1.10 and $1.30 to $0.50 to $0.60.

Vista is the parent company to cycling brands Giro, Camelbak, Blackburn and Bell, among many others in the outdoor world.