Well, the economic downturn didn't go away while I slept last night, and it seems to be getting a lot worse. As I type this, with Radio 4 on in the background, the news is telling me that in the next 24 hours, there could be an EU-wide agreement to help bail out hardest-hit banks and ensure liquidity remains in all western currency markets.

Since June 2007 PUMA has opened over 60 new Puma Retail System (PRS) spaces in the UK & Ireland ranging from 8m/2 teaser islands up to a 30m/2 space within Elverys in Ireland .

BTC activewear is set to move into a stunning new state-of-the-art Distribution Centre by the end of the year, the company says.

BASES, the British Association of Sports and Exercise Science, has announced that Gatorade, the world's best selling sports drink, will become its official sports nutrition partner.

September 25th saw celebrations for Dr Ron Hill, MBE's 70th birthday. Celebrations for the occasion were held at a special 5K birthday road race, in Littleborough, with over 600 runners as well as family, friends and Hilly staff all taking part.

Ispo winter 2009 has launched its communications campaign with the UK and Ireland in style.  Firstly, with members of Allied Partners and ISRA attending the world renowned Oktoberfest in Munich to exchange ideas and information with Performance ispo and Running Order Show teams as well as other European retail groups.   More recently, the official launch party for ispo winter 2009 took place in London at the Metro Ski & Snowboard show, where brand and retail industry guests, from sport, outdoor and wintersport all enjoyed the opening day of this superb event, followed by a networking party at Olympia jointly hosted by ispo and Metro Ski & Snowboard Show

New Balance has announced its appointment as the official footwear partner for Carlisle United Football Club.

It's been a busy time for Molten of late, with the South East Women's Combination Football League appointing the new Molten International Match Ball as the league's official match ball for the next four seasons commencing September 2008.

Canterbury of New Zealand and the Irish Hockey Association have announced a four-year extension to their current deal which will see the leading sportswear manufacturer provide a full range of kit and training apparel until after the 2012 Olympic Games.

Buying group STAG has had another busy time of late, with three new members signed up - one in the midlands, one in the south east and one in Wales.

The Great Outdoor Gym Company, market leader in outdoor gym equipment and design of fitness installations, recently celebrated the launch of five innovative fitness spaces in London.  The spaces called ‘adizones' have been sponsored by adidas in a partnership deal orchestrated by The Great Outdoor Gym Company as part of their commitment to raising private sector financing for public leisure sites.

Top British triathlete Tim Don recently raced against a London Circle Line train - and won, by an incredible 4 minutes 13 seconds.

Gola has recently appointed Katrina Fowler as operations manager and Simon Turner as apparel account manager.  Both appointments to the company transpire due to ongoing business growth.

Portsmouth FC Captain and England defender Glen Johnson has signed a three-year contract with Italian sportswear company Lotto.

Paul Hopfensperger recently became only the 84th person in history to swim the English Channel more than once, becoming a two-time Channel swimmer on 12th September 2008 after swimming from England to France in 13 hours and 3 minutes.

Slide 2009 returns to Manchester Central from 15-17 February 09 and with around 5 months to go till the doors open, almost 90 per cent of the available space has already been snapped up by over 80 exhibitors.

Surf Shop 2008 maintained the event's reputation as a serious buying show at Westpoint September 2-4, with good orders being written right across the show in spite of a particularly difficult summer season for the trade. Quality not quantity is something of an exhibition cliché but this proved to be the case at Surf Shop with serious buyers coming to put down orders and seek out new product and fresh ideas for their stores.

Prince UK and PeterNicolSquash.com will jointly sponsor the 2009 British Squash Professionals Association circuit, the established UK Tour in its fifteenth year.

Paul may now have lost his Head, but his journey to finding it in the first place,certainly proved the way to his heart,writes Jack Lynes, whose meeting with him allowed some timeto mull overdays gone by but lots more for looking at trends today and reasons for optimism to all who are prepared to remove blinkers, face up to the real world, and keep focussed. From time to time it is good to have an objective look at how one operates, what one is selling, and how to keep one's head above the water. It is even possible to grow when one is slimming down. This month's ‘Jack meets.....' may give you the incentive.

More miles per pound is what David Hinde, Managing Director and owner, UK Gear, says runners get from their shoes. They're harder wearing, designed for multiple terrains and are good enough for the British Army, one of the most demanding, exacting organisations in the world.

Kookaburra have enjoyed fantastic success over recent years ˆ The combination of innovative product design, striking graphics and the endorsement of many of the Worlds Top Players have made us a must have Brand‚ for all serious Cricket retailers. In terms of International Profile within the 2009 Season ˆ There will be plenty of Kookaburra Players performing with distinction throughout the summer.

I run, swim, enjoy mountain biking, play tennis and a lot more; yet until recently I didn't own a sports bra. I have always bought support tops as I didn't consider that a bra could give me as much support - my assumption was wrong, now I'm most certainly a convert.

This series seeks to apply lessons from web traders to traditional ‘real' shops.  We've looked at breaking the delusion that our customer relationships are stronger just because they've met us; how to use loyalty schemes; active communications and using mailing to build on the advantage of actual contact.

Once again William Shakespeare and my Mum are right! He wrote the words and she repeated them like a mantra to me: "Neither a borrower nor a lender be" and thankfully I heeded the indoctrination. Until recently I didn't realise there was more to the saying but having looked it up I see it reads on:

Hello!

Shortly before writing this, I attended the Outdoor Trade Show at Stoneleigh, and it's left me feeling really rather positive for our industry. It's a well-organised show, with a raft of excellent product, all put together to create a feeling not unlike a bustling market.

Top outdoor brand Coleman has joined STAG, the country's premier Buying Group."We believe that our new arrangement with STAG heralds an important step forward in underpinning our sales and distribution strategy towards the independent outdoor retailer" said Colin Curtis, the brand's Sales and Marketing Director, commenting on the tie up. He continued, "It is no wonder, therefore, that we have turned to STAG because of their foremost position in the independent retail market."

Edinburgh-based Anatom, distributor of specialist brands TEKO socks, Superfeet Advanced Insole Systems, The Brannock Device patented foot measuring system, Backcountry Access snow-safety equipment and Life is good clothing and accessories has joined STAG, the buying group. Anatom is the UK's leading provider of performance footwear fitting workshops for retail staff, helping to keep specialist independent retail, specialist.

Whitby & Co have become sole distributors in the UK of Marttiini knives. This change has come about through a global rationalisation of world distribution for the Marttiini brand.

Educational charity The Outward Bound Trust has become the first outdoor learning organisation in the country, to make a commitment that all of its instructors will have recognised, external accreditation of their learning skills.

The Breast Cancer Campaign (BCC) charity has received a boost from Burton McCall, which has been distributingfour products from three brands and has raised, at the time of going to press, over £129,000 for the cause.

Reusch and W.L. Gore & Associates have agreed a strategic partnership for the development of innovative, highly functional gloves to satisfy the special requirements of the ski-racing category.

Retailers can expect more resources dedicated to improving sell-through for brands that use eVent fabrics. Proprietary Direct Venting Technology is exclusive to eVent fabrics. It uses a patented treatment on an expanded PTFE membrane to produce an exceptionally breathable, highly functional waterproof laminate manufactured in more than 70 brands worldwide.

Mick Fowler has joined the Berghaus team of sponsored climbers; he was once described by the Observer as the "mountaineers' mountaineer" and has been a leading climbing adventurer for over 30 years.He is currently testing some of the latest Berghaus kit on an expedition to the unclimbed west face of Vasuki Parbat in the Himalaya.

The new Ossagon eVent (SRP £85) from Teva, fits perfectly with any outdoor adventurer's lifestyle. For those who prefer the design of a traditional boot, the range also includes the Ossagon Mid eVent (SRP £95)

Primus is launching Family Outdoor, a range of high quality stoves and energy-saving pots for family outdoor use. The new range offers fresh ideas to age old problems. 

Chocola - made by Swiss Advance - is a new herbal premium milk chocolate tablet handmade in the Swiss Alps.  Made to a traditional family-owned Swiss herbology recipe which dates back to 1625, it's a little giant packing a great big energy boosting punch to flagging adventurers and explorers.

Montane's new Balance Shirt is a base and a mid-layer depending on which way around you wear it because it's reversible thanks to Polartec's two-faced fabric and flat locked seams.

Introducing the perfectly simple and compact Backtrack by Bushnell. This innovative and totally new unit uses GPS technology in an easy-to-use, hand-held format, displaying both direction and distance. 

UK Country Manager Richard Mazzega-Ward explained to SGB the plans for the brand's growth in the UK, and why they've opened a shop in London's prestigious Carnaby Street. The shop covers almost 2,000 square feet and boasts all Eastpak lines including Authentic, Core Series and a lot more...

I got my first real outdoor experience at the tender age of 10 when my dad took me kayaking. I don't know why but I quickly became pretty good at it, and by the time I was 15 I had ditched poor old dad in the shallows and replaced him with a whole bunch of kayaking and outdoor friends that had money and cars and great ideas and were happy enough taking me with them when they went away to Wales or Dartmoor for the weekend.

It's a beautifully organised show, OTS; the simple things are done really, really well, and it's compact enough to get around in a day but big enough for you to feel you need a bit more time. Everyone knows where the restaurant is (mainly because you pass it on the way into the hall), there's generally enough car parking within a short walking distance and Stoneleigh itself is a great venue in a central England location.