DALLAS — June 20, 2018 — Stack Sports, the largest and fastest-growing global provider of sports technology, and BSN SPORTS, the nation’s largest direct marketer and distributor of sporting goods to the school and league markets, today announced a strategic alliance to revolutionize youth team sports sales in America. The two market leaders have forged an exclusive partnership to transform this fragmented marketplace with the development of a digital platform offering team sales integration across all facets of the youth sports experience from ordering customized team apparel and athletic equipment to on-field participation. The strategic alliance will create the nation’s first integrated digital solution delivered direct to teams, clubs and leagues combining best-in-class sports management software with an innovative distribution solution for customized team apparel and team sporting goods.

The multi-year exclusive alliance also includes cross-selling opportunities to improve customer engagement and retention along with branding activities leveraging each organization’s strengths such as BSN SPORTS’s more than 900 grass roots sales professionals and Stack’s ecosystem of millions of youth sports teams, tens of millions of athletes and coaches, robust digital assets and event offerings. Stack and BSN SPORTS share a commitment of increasing sports participation and optimizing the experience for all involved, especially for the thousands of volunteer coaches that are positively impacting the lives of millions of young athletes. The partnership will enhance the customer sales process by providing a seamless means of delivering team uniforms and other customized or personalized team products. BSN SPORTS’ omni-channel approach and digital expertise combined with Stack’s registration and payment capabilities will holistically serve the team sports marketplace in a way that has never before been possible and the newly formed platform will make it easier to register, coach and play youth sports.

Team, league and club managers will leverage the combined Stack and BSN SPORTS digital sales platform to customize their individual team sales orders, including uniforms and related products directly as part of the registration process. Customers will also be able to build customized shops for both uniforms and related gear featuring their team names, colors, mascots and logos, as well as provide team gear to fans and parents throughout the season. Together, Stack Sports and BSN SPORTS will offer the most comprehensive portfolio of team sales products empowering more than 3 million teams to take control of the increasingly complicated team-purchasing process.

“Our strategic alliance with BSN SPORTS represents a major opportunity to bring an entirely new level of engagement to our valued customers, representing a truly revolutionary technical integration all with the goal of enhancing the athlete, coach and parent experience,” Stack Sports CEO Alex Alt said. “We are focused on executing category-specific partnerships that can enrich our ecommerce ecosystem and create value for our community of nearly 50 million users globally. BSN is the perfect partner to invest alongside as they truly share our commitment to youth sports and digital innovation, while maintaining the industry’s most robust team sales capabilities.”

“At BSN SPORTS, we are continually focused on serving our customers, primarily coaches, and developing innovative products to make their lives easier.  By partnering with the largest technology platform in youth sports, we are able to create a market opportunity that can leverage our industry-leading sales network with new cutting-edge digital and ecommerce technologies,” said Adam Blumenfeld, CEO, Varsity Brands. “Given its local headquarters and global footprint, Stack Sports is an ideal partner as we look to expand our market presence through innovative new solutions that leverage our delivery capabilities and operating scale.”

Posted June 20, 2018

Source:  Stack Sports

NEW YORK CITY — June 20, 2018 — Eric M. Beder, award-winning veteran consumer equity analyst, today launched Small Cap Consumer Research LLC a company-sponsored independent equity research and consulting boutique firm focused on small to mid-cap publicly-traded companies with equity market capitalization under $4 billion in the consumer, specialty retail, apparel and brand licensing sectors.

Worldwide Shift in Equity Research Model

Beder said: “We are poised to lead company-sponsored equity research in the consumer space and deliver independent, compelling institutional grade analyses. MiFID II compliance and implementation became effective in Europe January 1, 2018 and we believe it will impact U.S. capital markets near-term as equity research continues to materially shift away from small to mid-cap companies – Small Cap Consumer Research, LLC is the emerging solution to provide higher visibility, insightful and impactful equity research coverage for companies and institutional investors.  We believe our model is the future of equity research.”

Incorporating Best of Traditional Wall Street Firms

The Small Cap Consumer Research model is aligned with leading aggregators, data and research infrastructure providers including FactSet, BlueMatrix and other key delivery systems to distribute consumer equity research with the same institutional reach and quality traditional Wall Street firms provide.  In addition to standard initiation, financial, and estimate updates — we deliver focused equity research coverage on overlooked drivers to institutional investors.

Veteran Wall Street Analyst

Beder has covered the consumer space for over 20 years, demonstrating a unique talent for understanding complex companies and leveraging deep industry relationships in communicating investment ideas. Beder is a three-time The Wall Street Journal Best on the Street Honors winner for the Specialty Retail and the Clothing and Accessories categories.  Beder also has extensive media exposure, including appearances on CNBC and Bloomberg TV and has also been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Businessweek, Investor’s Business Daily, Forbes and WWD. Beder received a Bachelor of Science from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and earned an MBA from the Walter A. Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley.

Posted June 20, 2018

Source:  Small Cap Consumer Research LLC

TOLLAND, Conn. — June 20, 2018 — Fast fashion can be slowed down by the physical sampling process. Additionally, the costs of samples are a continued concern in the fashion and apparel industry. “The implementation of Gerber’s AccuMark® 3D and YuniquePLM® will help us to address consumer trends immediately, making sure to have the right style with the correct fit as demand changes,” said Marta Bosch, chief operation officer at Happypunt.

Located in Mataró (Barcelona) and founded in 1996, Happypunt is a full-service design, development and manufacturer of womenswear.

Happypunt is utilizing Gerber’s software Digital Solutions to help them reduce costs and time to market and integrate with their ERP system to provide efficiency in design and prototyping of their products. “We expect a relevant reduction in samples that would directly affect our manufacturing costs,” continued Bosch.

Happypunt has been using AccuMark pattern design, grading, marker making and production software since 2013. By adding AccuMark 3D and YuniquePLM, they achieve the additional benefits of seamless data transfer from one program to another, decreasing design time of products.

“We are excited to help Happypunt connect their workflow to address the fast fashion needs and cycle,” said Bill Brewster, vice president and general manager, enterprise software solutions for Gerber Technology. “Connectivity is a key tenet of our Digital Solutions to help companies achieve their Industry 4.0 goals.”

Posted June 20, 2018

Source:  Gerber Technology

MIAMI — June 19, 2018 — Shutts & Bowen LLP announced today it has expanded its Business Litigation Practice Group with the addition of two new partners, Angela C. de Cespedes and Miranda Lundeen Soto, in its Miami office.

“We are building an even stronger team of attorneys at Shutts with these two experienced courtroom litigators,” said Aliette DelPozo Rodz, a Partner in the firm’s Business Litigation practice group and a commercial litigator. Rodz is Chair of the firm’s Cuba Task Force, Diversity Committee, and Focus on Women Group. She was named the firm’s first Hispanic female Partner in 2007 and has been with Shutts since January 2002.

Francis E. Rodriguez, Managing Partner of the Miami office, said: “De Cespedes and Lundeen Soto are great additions to the firm. Shutts continues to acquire highly qualified legal talent who embody the culture of our firm.”

Both de Cespedes and Lundeen Soto join Shutts after several years at two different national firms. The almost identical timing of their moves is no coincidence, as both women acknowledge that the opportunity to work alongside each other and Rodz was an enormous draw. Further, the Shutts lawyers who participated in their recruitment exemplified the team mindset of the firm.

Angela de Cespedes is an experienced trial attorney, who has multi-state and international experience in complex tort and commercial litigation. Businesses and institutions enlist de Cespedes to manage crisis situations to circumvent litigation and defend allegations involving business disputes, premises liability, products liability, trade secret, and employment issues. De Cespedes acts as a liaison with government agencies and other third parties to minimize risk and avoid unjustified public perception.

Her practice includes the representation of diverse clients including hotel owners, developers and operators; food services providers; professional sports leagues, teams, and their stadiums; social media companies; software companies; educational institutions; and apparel brands.

De Cespedes is a leader in the field of the use of social media and online content in the defense of litigation, and frequently lectures and is a noted author on the subjects. She also provides training to clients on the subjects of crisis/incident management and data/evidence retention, including a new e-learning course covering various areas of data/evidence collection and preservation – the only Professional Certificate in this area bestowed by an accredited law school in the United States.

“In an industry fraught with challenges for female partners who have moved up the ranks at large firms, it was critical to find a firm that valued my contributions, talents, and would support my continued growth professionally while providing the platform necessary to take my practice to the next level,” said de Cespedes.

Miranda Lundeen Soto is a Board Certified Civil Trial lawyer and has tried more than 50 cases including bench and jury trials to verdict. She has litigation experience in many areas including commercial and business disputes, professional and legal malpractice claims, product liability, complex fraud matters, public policy matters, cases of first impression, high-stakes personal injury cases, premises liability, and franchisee/franchisor litigation at the state and federal levels.

Lundeen Soto is an active member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), Co-Chair of the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel’s Trial Tactics Program and is a member of the Florida Bar Grievance Committee. She is also on the Board of Directors for the Dade County Bar Association and was the 2018 recipient of the Dade County Bar Association’s Women of Distinction Legal Maverick Award.

Lundeen Soto began her career as an Assistant State Attorney in the Miami-Dade County State Attorney’s office, where she fine-tuned her skills as a trial attorney. She later went on to act as Lead Counsel for Allstate Insurance Company’s Miami and Ft. Myers legal offices, gaining experience in the role of in-house counsel. Prior to coming to Shutts, Lundeen Soto was a litigation partner and served as trial counsel for several high profile litigation matters at a large national firm.

“I have admired the fine work product and professionalism of Shutts for many years, and when the opportunity arose to join the firm and expand its dynamic group of litigators, the decision was easy,” Lundeen Soto said. “The opportunity to work with incredibly strong and talented attorneys, building each other up and showcasing each other’s strengths – all with the support of Shutts – makes us unstoppable.”

Bowman Brown, Chairman of the firm’s Executive Committee, added: “We are so pleased that both Angela and Miranda have joined Shutts. Although we highly value diversity, we value excellent attorneys even more. A good litigator is someone who listens to their client and who can put together the best strategy to get the client to the goal. We know we have a top-notch team who can accomplish just that.”

Posted June 19, 2018

Source:  Shutts & Bowen LLP