Raphael Stevens

The Picklr will add 20 locations in Japan over the next five years.
The pickleball company has sold 500 locations worldwide.
The professional pickleball leagues are also looking for international growth.

The Picklr facility in Salt Lake City, Utah

The world’s largest pickleball franchise is coming to Japan.
The Picklr, a network of indoor pickleball clubs, will open 20 new locations in the Japanese market over the next five years, the company said on Thursday. The expansion will take place through a strategic partnership with Nippon Pickleball Holdings, Japan’s leading pickleball company.

The Picklr CEO Jorge Barragan has taken on an aggressive growth strategy as the sport has seen exponential growth. Pickleball saw a 223% jump in participation over a three-year span, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association, making it among the “fastest-growing” sports for several years running.
There are more than 20 million pickleball players in the U.S., according to the SFIA.
The Picklr currently operates 40 locations in the United States and Canada. It expects that number to grow to 80 clubs by the end of the year. Barragan said in total, the company has sold more than 500 franchises in the U.S., Canada and Japan that are slated to open over the next 5 years.
The clubs offer court reservations and host clinics, leagues, tournaments and private events. The business is run as a membership model, with most clubs averaging between 500 and 700 members, The Picklr said.
Barragan told CNBC that he believes Japan will serve as a launching pad for the broader Asia market.

“For us, it was important to go to a country that was ready and primed to be ready to accept the growth of The Pickler, especially like a country like Japan that focuses primarily on health and community, but they have a love for racket sports,” Barragan told CNBC.
The first Japanese Picklr facility is slated to open in the Tokyo metro area, followed by additional locations throughout the country. The facilities will be located in retail, office and light-industrial buildings.
Barragan said he doesn’t see the pickleball trend letting up anytime soon. He said he’s still fielding more than 220 leads monthly, many of those international.
“We keep waiting for the day where the leads are going to taper off or go down,” he said. “We still haven’t seen that dip.”
The professional pickleball leagues are also looking for international growth. In July, the United Pickleball Association announced plans to expand its tour to include events in Australia, India, Canada, Asia and Europe.
“I think different parts of the world are starting to get the pickleball bug and they’re starting to experience what we experienced four years ago when we started the business,” Barragan said. More

Cigna’s Evernorth unit said a new coverage deal with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk will bring lower copays for insured patients
The company hopes the new discount, which caps monthly out-of-pocket costs at $200 for Wegovy and Zepbound, will convince more employers to offer coverage of the drugs.
Cigna’s announcement follows CVS Caremark designating Wegovy as its preferred weight loss drug last month.

Wegovy injection pens arranged in Waterbury, Vermont, US, on Monday, April 28, 2025.
Shelby Knowles | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Only half of health insurer Cigna’s clients currently cover the popular GLP-1 weight loss drugs Wegovy and Zepbound because of their high costs. But the company’s pharmacy benefits unit Evernorth has reached a deal with drug makers Ely Lilly and Novo Nordisk which it said will bring prices down for employers and their workers.
“This solution is really focused towards clients that aren’t covering it today, and what it allows us to do is one, to bring it on at a reduced price for the plan sponsor, but also capping out the members’ cost at $200,” per month said Harold Carter, Evernorth senior vice president of pharmacy relations.

Many of Evernorth’s clients currently offer the drugs to workers with co-pays as low as $25 per month. For those who have been hesitant to cover the medications because of cost, capping employee out-of-pocket costs at $200 would amount to less than half the price consumers pay in cash without insurance if they bought the drug through Ely Lilly or Novo Nordisk’s direct-to-consumer websites.   
The new deal will also include a simplified pre-authorization process for the drugs, and patients will be able to access the drugs for the same price across retail pharmacies, or through Evernorth home delivery service, the company said.
Those new services and discounts will also be provided for Evernorth clients already offering the weight loss drugs.
“Clients that cover weight loss today, we’re expecting that they can see, you know, up to almost 20% a reduction [in] their costs … with this updated arrangement that we’ve been able to get with Lily and Novo, ” said Carter, adding that Evernorth was able to get better pricing while maintaining coverage for both drugs.
Last month, CVS Caremark announced that it had struck a deal to make Novo’s Wegovy its primary weight loss drug starting in the second half of the year, which would mean coverage for Lilly’s Zepbound would no longer be preferred.

Novo Nordisk would not comment on the new pharmacy benefits arrangements. But a spokesperson for Eli Lilly told CNBC, “Lilly will continue to work with those in health care, government and the industry to find creative solutions that help people with obesity access Zepbound.”

Net prices coming down

While Cigna would not discuss the actual discounts reached under the new Evernorth arrangement, analysts say large employers and other insurers have gotten between 30% to 50% below the drugs’ list price.
While Novo’s Wegovy lists for $1,350 per month, in March the average net price for the drug was $616 according to an analysis by the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review. For Lilly’s Zepbound, the list price is roughly $1,100 per month, while the net price is $725.
These new arrangements by Evernorth and CVS Caremark could bring those net prices even lower for employers, just as the government is negotiating Medicare discounts for Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy under the Inflation Reduction Act.
Those Medicare negotiated rates will take effect in 2027 — effectively making Novo Nordisk’s products the preferred drugs in the program. That could see prices come down even further, said Ben Ippolito, senior fellow in health economics at the American Enterprise Institute.
“Once the drug is negotiated, it must be featured on formulary in Medicare. And so that means that if you’re Eli Lilly, you have to try and compete in the Medicare market with a product that’s going to be on formulary and have an artificially lower price. And so it’s going to filter through to what Eli Lilly does,” Ippolito said.
Evernorth’s new weight loss pricing program will begin in the second half of the year, as employers begin to make decisions about coverage for next year’s plans.
— CNBC’s Angelica Peebles contributed to this report.
Correction: The pricing program will begin in the second half of the year. A previous version of this story misstated the timeline. More

Nike will raise prices on a range of items as soon as this week, as retailers brace for tariffs to hit their profits.
The footwear giant said it regularly evaluates pricing, and did not say the changes were related to tariffs.
The hikes will hit a range of adult merchandise, but not Air Force 1 shoes or children’s products.

Nike shoes are seen in the King of Prussia Mall, as global markets brace for a hit to trade and growth caused by U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to impose import tariffs on dozens of countries, in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, U.S., April 3, 2025. 
Rachel Wisniewski | Reuters

Nike will raise prices on a wide range of footwear, apparel and equipment as soon as this week as the retail industry braces for tariffs to hit its profits, CNBC has learned.
Prices for Nike apparel and equipment for adults will increase between $2 and $10, a person familiar with the matter said. Footwear priced between $100 and $150 will see a hike of $5, while sneakers priced above $150 will see a $10 increase, the person said.

The price hikes will be in effect by June 1, but could be seen on shelves as soon as this week, the person said. The increases cover a large portion of Nike’s assortment, but many products will remain the same price.
The prices of children’s products will not increase, nor will items priced under $100, according to the person. The company is trying to be cognizant of the financial challenges families are facing and doesn’t want parents to see higher prices when shopping for their children during the back to school season.
Further, Nike’s Air Force 1 shoe will remain $115, the person said.
“It’s a shoe that people in the workplace wear,” the person said. “It’s comfortable, accessible.”
Jordan brand apparel and accessories also won’t see increases, but Jordan sneakers will.

Nike said in a statement that “we regularly evaluate our business and make pricing adjustments as part of our seasonal planning.” The company did not say the decision was related to tariffs.
While it is common for retailers to regularly adjust their pricing structure, the footwear industry has been particularly hard hit by President Donald Trump’s new tariffs.
Currently, Nike manufacturers about half of its footwear in China and Vietnam, which Trump has hit with his new levies. Chinese goods face a new 30% tariff, while imports from Vietnam are currently subject to a 10% duty. Trump cut the tariff rate on Vietnamese goods from 46% for 90 days in early April.
Tariffs are expected to hit Nike’s profit margin and it can offset the effect through price increases, especially as the sneaker giant works through a turnaround that’s taking longer than expected. Nike’s profits were already under pressure before tariffs took effect because it has needed to rely on discounting to move product.
The price hikes will be the MSRP rate that consumers see at Nike stores and on its website. It has sent a note out to wholesale partners about the price increases, but how they’ll show up at places like Dick’s Sporting Goods and Foot Locker isn’t immediately clear. More