Tracy Anderson Heads to Palm Beach, Southern Tide Signs First Golf Ambassador – WWD

HOLIDAY WORKOUT: Fitness entrepreneur Tracy Anderson, known for training celebs like Gwyneth Paltrow and Tracee Ellis Ross, will bring her cult-followed Tracy Anderson Method workout classes to The Colony Palm Beach for the first time this holiday season. 

Early this summer, The Colony Palm Beach began working with Tracy Anderson Method president Steven Beltrani to develop this exclusive partnership — both said they felt the brand missions were synergistic. The Colony Palm Beach partnered with fitness instructor Isaac Boots earlier this year for an exclusive wellness residency as well. Anderson noted her brand has “had a really big demand in South Florida” over the years.

As the exclusive wellness partner, Anderson’s classes will be available at the resort starting Thursday and will run through the end of January. Each 90-minute, muscle-focused class will feature Anderson’s newest choreography and fitness research.

Anderson herself will teach classes at the resort on Dec. 16 and 17 and Jan. 20 to 24, as part of two Vitality Weeks, a special program she periodically offers at select locations. During these two Vitality Weeks, Anderson’s new wood-based, sustainable fitness box MyMode, which includes an array of equipment, and additional programming will be implemented into the classes. 

“One of the things that was so appealing to me about this opportunity with The Colony is that the room offers so much space,” Anderson explained. “There’s something next level about being able to have a connected fitness piece,” she said in reference to the MyMode.

Through January, the $75 Tracy Anderson Method classes will be held twice per day and can accommodate up to 30 people. Guests will be able to register for classes and the special Vitality Week events on TracyAnderson.com. While the residency at The Colony is temporary, Anderson is using this experience to inform if South Florida may be suitable for a permanent studio.

“I’ve always thought it was a great place for us to have a studio, and doing a partnership like this allows us to really see if it’s right for us,” Anderson explained. — EMILY BURNS

ROY SIGNS ON: Southern Tide has signed its first professional golf ambassador: PGA Tour rookie Kevin Roy.

Under the terms of the deal, Roy will be the company’s on- and off-course apparel partner and will wear Southern Tide’s signature Skipjack logo on all of his polos and pullovers while playing.

The rookie received his PGA Tour card in August after less than three seasons on the Korn Ferry Tour where he posted four top-10 finishes, including runner-up at the Wichita Open. This will be his first year on the PGA Tour.

“We love Kevin’s history and much like his trajectory, Southern Tide has seen tremendous growth in the golf community,” said Carey Ann Campbell, chief executive officer of Southern Tide. “Over the past 12 months, our golf business has really taken off with the average spend on Southern Tide apparel per club at an all-time high. With the brand’s commitment to excellence, we look forward to supporting his career as he embarks on this exciting PGA journey. From partnerships to products, we feel it is important for the brand to showcase an authentic point-of-view. Kevin aligns with our coastal lifestyle and quality performance. We look forward to a successful partnership.”

“I couldn’t be more excited to join the Southern Tide team as their first golf ambassador,” Roy said. “I feel closely aligned with Southern Tide, myself being an emerging PGA Tour golfer, and Southern Tide being an emerging golf brand. As a PGA Tour member, I require high-performance products that allow me to swing freely in all conditions. Southern Tide has delivered in all aspects, from on-course to off-course. It’s a bonus that the brand matches my coastal Tampa, Florida, lifestyle. I am looking forward to growing with the brand on golf’s biggest stage.”

Southern Tide was founded in Greenville, South Carolina, in 2006 and was acquired by Oxford Industries for $85 million in 2016. — JEAN E. PALMIERI

TIS THE SEASON, OR IS IT?: With the crucial holiday season in full swing, many retailers are scaling back on their seasonal hiring but staffing remains an issue just the same.

Knowing that it will take more than snacks and employee discount to get people to seek holiday employment, some companies are offering monetary incentives to woo employees. Adidas on Monday upped its plans to improve perks for part-time retail employees in the U.S.

As of New Year’s Day, store employees who work between 20 and 29 hours a week will be eligible to elect for coverage in the company-sponsored medical plan. Current part-time retail employees may elect coverage through Nov. 11. And new part-time retail employees in the U.S. will be eligible to elect coverage within their first 31 days.

With nearly 170 stores in the U.S., Adidas has more than 4,700 retail employees, including 3,700-plus part-time ones. A company spokesman declined to specify how this year’s seasonal hiring will compare to last year’s.  

As for whether part of the incentive for the medical coverage is to make the job more appealing, when so many companies are dealing with a shortage of workers, the Adidas spokesman said via email, “We are always evaluating our benefits programs to ensure they are competitive, inclusive and equitable. We aim to be competitive and provide our employees with a great place to work.”

Holiday hiring is competitive these days, as many part-time retail workers have opted out of what for many was an unpredictable work schedule. Self-serve checkout has increasingly become the norm with several big-box stores. In addition, some key major retailers have adjusted their holiday hiring. Walmart, for example, plans to hire 40,000 part-time workers, versus 150,000 last year.

Macy’s is reportedly trimming its seasonal hires to 41,000 from 76,000 a year ago. Macy’s noted that last year more than 10,300 seasonal employees earned full-time positions through the holiday season. Macy’s also made the point that nearly one-third of its leadership started their careers at the company during the holiday season.

In addition, Dick’s Sporting Goods is planning to take on 9,000 seasonal associates for its namesake stores, as well as its Public Lands, Field & Stream ones and Going, Going, Gone! stores across the U.S. That is reportedly 1,000 less part-time workers than last year.

Target, meanwhile, is planning to hire the same amount of seasonal workers, as the retailer did last year: 100,000. Amazon is also on the move to build its team, having announced plans to hire 150,000 people in the U.S. in various full-time, part-time and seasonal roles. New hires can earn on average more than $19 an hour, depending on the position and the location, according to the company. — ROSEMARY FEITELBERG