Columbia Sportswear and Swire to form joint venture in China
Columbia Sportswear has announced it is entering into a joint venture in China with Swire Resources to capitalise on increasing discretionary incomes in the country and a growing interest in outdoor leisure.
Swire has operated as Columbia’s exclusive independent distributor in China since 2004, and in Hong Kong and Macau since 2002.
In China, it sells to a network of wholesale dealers that operate about 530 Columbia retail locations and 45 Mountain Hardwear retail locations in 135 cities. Swire directly operates more than 70 Columbia-branded retail locations in seven cities.
The joint venture, which will be headquartered in Shanghai, is expected to begin operations in January 2014. The companies are planning to open stores in additional cities, and grow the Mountain Hardware brand.
Columbia’s president and chief executive, Tim Boyle, said: “During the past eight years, Swire has established Columbia Sportswear as an authentic outdoor brand in China, achieving a leading market position based on strong emotional connections with consumers and superb operational capabilities. Swire’s deep understanding of Chinese consumers is vital to driving continued growth of our brands in this important market.”
Last year, Swire’s Columbia sales reached $123 million. Columbia expects sales growth of up to 1% in fiscal 2012 and operating margin comparable to the 8.1% operating margin achieved in fiscal 2011.
