Columbia Sportswear, the outdoor apparel maker from Portland, Ore., known for its ad campaign featuring chairman Gertrude Boyle and her son, CEO Timothy Boyle, has opened its fifth branded, full-priced retail store, on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile,
the
Chicago Tribune
reported
. The company also operates outlet stores and in the past two years has tripled the number of outlets, from 14 to 39, the
Tribune
article said.
Columbia, founded in 1938 as a hat distributor, has had trouble creating a clear-cut identity, in part because its wide range of products are old in thousands of diverse stores, from Kohl’s to Nordstrom to Bass Pro shops…. While retail was a small portion of the company’s $1.24 billion in 2009 sales, it is taking on a critical role.
The report said Columbia’s wholesale customers are consolidating, going out of business or concentrating on their own in-house brands.
The
Tribune
noted that Columbia’s competitors, including Patagonia, North Face, Nike and Adidas, “have been quicker to roll out their own shops.” (Source:
Chicago Tribune,
March 12, 2010.)
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