Shelly Banjo, Columnist

Finish Line's Stumble Is a Warning for Athleisure

In a crowded activewear market, bland isn't selling.

December 21, 2016 at 6:56 PM UTC

Shelly Banjo leads the global business team for Bloomberg News in New York. A former New York bureau chief and senior tech writer, she’s covered business, finance and economics for two decades.

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For athletes these days, it's not enough any more just to cross the finish line. They've got to look good doing it.

And that's a problem for sneaker and sportswear retailer The Finish Line Inc. Its shares dropped 15 percent Wednesday after it reported third-quarter sales and earnings that were lower than Wall Street expected and substantially cut its full-year forecasts. One big reason for the miss: Apparel sales fell a whopping 50 percent in the quarter from the year before.