Cycling brands Bell and Giro continue to make market share gains for parent Vista Outdoor Inc.

Eric Nyman, co-CEO of Vista and CEO of Vista’s Revelyst division, called out Bell, Giro, and Fox on an earnings call Thursday as seeing “positive momentum… on the market share front.”

Part of what’s driving that are the new product launches and ramped up marketing efforts across the Vista portfolio.

For Giro, that included becoming the official sponsor and supplier of racing team Visma-Lease a Bike.

“Giro continues to increase or maintain its market share across all categories and these leading partnerships differentiate us in the marketplace,” Nyman said.

Elsewhere in the business, hunting gear maker Stone Glacier launched a lifestyle apparel company during the recently ended March quarter that Nyman described as being “everyday wear for the passionate hunter” and saw “a strong initial response.”

The outdoor business, which also includes Simms and Bushnell among other brands, continues to gain ground with a focus on “innovative product and technology offerings, an enhanced direct-to-consumer strategy, and an expanded digital gaming ecosystem,” Nyman told analysts.

Revelyst, Vista Financials

Vista’s adventure and outdoor business was renamed Revelyst, with plans to spin off to become a standalone public company.

In the lead-up to those plans, the Revelyst brands have been in the process of consolidating their headquarters, some of which are now centralized in Fox Racing’s Irvine, California, office as part of a company-wide cost-cutting effort named Gear Up, which Nyman said remains on schedule.

“Financially and operationally, we are on track,” the CEO said. “While in the short term, we do not expect consumers to meaningfully change purchasing patterns due to ongoing macroeconomic uncertainties, we are confident that Revelyst’s operational and organizational improvements will continue to positively impact profitability in both the short- and the long-term.”

The cost-cutting measures, among other factors, helped Vista generate company-wide net income for the fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31 of $40.2 million. That was an improvement from a net loss of $294.3 million a year earlier.

Vista, which doesn’t break out the individual financial performance of its brands, said company-wide sales fell 6.4% in the quarter to $694 million. The decline was driven primarily by pressures on the company’s Kinetic Group of sporting goods and ammunition brands, which fell 12.5% to $362 million.

Revelyst sales, in contrast, rose 1.4% to $332 million in the quarter, which Vista said was driven by new products from Foresight Sports and Bushnell Golf.

Revelyst sales in the current fiscal year are projected to be $1.24 billion to $1.3 billion. That compares with sales of $1.3 billion in the recently ended fiscal year, which reflected a 2.2% decline.

Another Offer?

The estimates take into account macroeconomic uncertainties tamping down on consumer spending for the adventure and outdoor business, along with more caution in the wholesale channel.

“Across most retailers, inventory levels have come down, but the retailers are managing their inventory tightly as we see more just-in-time and smaller quantity orders,” Vista CFO Andy Keegan said during the quarterly call. “We expect this dynamic to continue as we head into fiscal year 2025 and have included it as a factor in our guidance.”

While plans remain for a Revelyst spinoff and the $1.91 billion sales of the Kinetic Group to the Czechoslovak Group (CSG), Vista’s board is also in talks with Dallas-based investment firm MNC Capital on a possible sale.

Although MNC’s initial offer of $2.9 billion was rejected by Vista, the board said last month a revised offer of $3 billion prompted the board to encourage the investment firm to boost its proposed price.

Vista’s board has said the current MNC proposal undervalues the Revelyst business and does not reflect a better deal over what’s currently in place with CSG.