Crocs Goes Global with $2.5B HEYDUDE Purchase
Crocs is positioning itself to continue its period of unprecedented growth. The shoe company, favored by chefs and athletes everywhere, announced on Thursday that it is purchasing Italian footwear brand HEYDUDE for $2.5 billion – a combination of cash and Crocs stock. The acquisition will help Crocs expand its portfolio, while also solidifying its place in the global market.
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Post Malone Turns Childhood Obsession Into Dream Collaboration with Magic: The Gathering
Post Malone says that he’s been obsessed with Magic: The Gathering since he was a little kid. And this week, the entertainer announced a new collaboration with the interactive card game, which will kick off with its signature Friday Night Magic tournament series. While the total details of the partnership are not presently available, Post Malone promised fans: “We’ll be doing some cool stuff so keep an eye out.”
TikTok Replaces Google as Most Trafficked Domain
TikTok continues its meteoric rise, and in 2021 people around the globe found themselves caught in its neverending stream of viral content. According to Cloudflare’s Year in Review, the video site clocked the most visits in 2021, eclipsing Google as the top domain. The leap to first was a big one for Tik Tok, which was listed in the list’s seventh spot in 2020.
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Shareef O’Neal Highlights Linktree’s First-ever Collegiate Class
Linktree, a market-leading linking platform, announced its inaugural class of collegiate athlete partners Wednesday. Linktree’s NIL athletes are Shareef O’Neal (LSU men’s basketball), Alana Walker (University of Virginia volleyball), Grant Horvat ( Palm Beach Atlantic golf), Margzetta Frazier (UCLA gymnastics), and Masai Russell (University of Kentucky track & field). The organization is continuing to build out its sports offerings and resources to aid college athletes in fully utilizing their name, image, and likeness rights.
Gucci and Adidas Collab on the Horizon
Gucci has had a huge year in collaborations. So far, 2021 has seen the Italian fashion house connect with The North Face for an outdoor line, Xbox for a special edition case, and many others. And as the clock ticks on the calendar year, the internet has revealed that Gucci is set to launch yet another collaboration with Adidas. The leaked image features a combined pattern of Gucci’s signature interlocking Gs and the Adidas trefoil. No other details are available at this time.
Athletes United Adds Star Power to Board
Athletes Unlimited operates women’s professional softball, volleyball, and lacrosse leagues, and is set to debut its basketball competition in 2022. In order to support its robust programming, the organization announced two major appointments to its Board of Directors on Wednesday. Former USA Volleyball outside hitter Cassidy Lichtman and former United States Tennis Association CEO and President Katrina Adams have each been selected to serve one-year terms. With her appointment, Lichtman becomes the first active athlete to join the board of directors for a professional sports league.
Tiffany Haddish to Bring Fitness Into VR with Supernatural
Tiffany Haddish has been on a personal fitness journey for the last few years, and she is teaming up with Supernatural to serve as a celebrity coach for its second annual This Year, Be You campaign. The industry leader in virtual reality fitness uses the Meta Quest 2 to provide members with a wide range of workouts that target mind and body. In a statement, Haddish said she’s become obsessed with the platform over the last year as she trains to play Florence Griffith Joyner in an upcoming biopic, so the collaboration was a no-brainer when the opportunity arose.
Triller to Execute Reverse Merger, Newly Formed TrillerVerz Will Go Public at $5B Valuation
Triller was popularized in large part by its exclusive boxing streams and the massively popular Verzuz series has announced that it will go public, following a reverse merger with SeaChange. The newly formed entity, which will be called TrillerVerz, will be listed on the Nasdaq and has generated a valuation of $5 billion. The approach allows a faster path to going public than a traditional IPO and is expected to be completed in the next few weeks.
Women’s Hockey Gets First Official Card Series with PHF and Upper Deck Deal
The NWHL rebranded as the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) earlier this year, and the league is ready to kick off its next season with the help of a new multi-year partnership with Upper Deck. Upper Deck previously produced women’s hockey trading cards, dating back to the 1997-1998 NHL® Collector’s Choice Series, but the announcement marks the first-ever professional women’s hockey trading cards, which will launch in the 2022-2023 season.
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