Roger Federer-backed On Running Posts $775M in Annual Sales
Supply chain issues? Those are no problem for Swiss sneaker company On Running. The Federer-backed brand reported annual sales worth more than $775 million, netting a 97% increase in North America year-over-year and 56% overall. Fed’s investment in the company boosted him to billionaire status in 2021.
Amazon’s MGM Acquisition Completed at $8.5 Billion
Jeff Bezos threw a Hail Mary before exiting Amazon last year. In one of his final moves, Bezos began the process of Amazon’s acquisition of MGM. The deal will add about 20,000 titles to Amazon’s Prime library, including blockbusters such as the James Bond and Rocky franchises. EU antitrust regulators ratified the move earlier this week, and it ws confirmed on Thursday, as it is not expected to receive any intervention from the FTC.
A$AP Rocky Officially Debuts AWGE and Mercedes Collab
Always strive and prosper. A$AP Rocky’s efforts at living up to his name have landed him yet another major deal. After weeks of speculation, the rapper’s creative agency AWGE dropped a collection with Mercedes Benz. The line will be made available exclusively through PacSun, where A$AP serves as the Guest Artistic Director. He has previously dropped exclusive collabs with brands such as Vans and Eddie Bauer as part of the creative partnership.
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Serena Williams Fronts Nike Athlete Think Tank
Serena Williams’ leap into supporting the next generation of innovators is aces. This time, the 23-time grand slam champ is teaming with the Swoosh to launch the Nike Athlete Think Tank on Thursday. Williams will serve as one of the founding member athletes and will serve as a key advisor to the Beaverton based brand as the initiative starts up. The athletes and Nike are working together on “identifying community organizations around the world that Nike, in partnership with Charities Aid Foundation America, will fund for $1.3 million across 20 grants on their behalf.”
Naomi Osaka Taps Colin Kaepernick for KINLÒ Board
Naomi Osaka is on an extraordinary personal journey. In addition to being one of the top-ranked players in tennis, Osaka has built out a number of business and creative ventures over the last few years. One of those is her skincare company, KINLÒ, which makes suncare products for people of color and the brand netted a new investor this week. Colin Kaepernick will join the company’s board of directors after he made a seed investment in the company with his business partners, Jim Nikopoulos and Akim Aliu.
Davante Adams Heads to Raiders in Blockbuster $141M Deal
Last season, the Packers brought back Davante Adams in an effort to keep Aaron Rodgers at Lambeau. While it worked in the short-term, the dream is done. Rodgers inked a historic deal with the Pack, and just days later Adams refused the franchise tag and an ensuing deal from the Pack On Thursday, Adams headed west, signing a five-year, $141.25 million deal with the Las Vegas Raiders. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport confirmed that the Packers offered Adams more money than the final figure he settled on with the Raiders, but the move sealed a life longtime dream to wear black and silver.
Corona Celebrates March Madness with Basketball Royalty
This is March. In the run up to the Final Four, avid basketball fans can expect to see the same commercials in heavy rotation as they consume all of the on-court action. One of those will feature an all-star group of hoopers including Devin Booker, Christian Laettner, Sue Bird, and Vince Carter. In the spot, the Kentucky, Duke, UConn, and UNC standouts debate the perfect color of blue, while Snoop Dogg is just happy to be invited to the party.
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