The chief executive of ASX-listed skateboards, apparel and workwear group Globe International says he feels ''melancholy'' about selling off skate brand Dwindle after 17 years, but it's not a signal that Globe is about to depart from its street-wise heritage.

Globe, which has retailing billionaire Solomon Lew as its fourth largest shareholder with 5.9 per cent, has bigger worries stemming from the United States-China trade war, which it warns is likely to be a drag on profitability in 2019-2020.