Columbia Sportswear 2013 Annual Report Download - page 3

As we strive to get each brand’s product right for each season,
our next priority is to make the right assortments readily available
to consumers around the world through brand-enhancing
wholesale customers, independent distributors, and our own
direct-to-consumer channels including branded retail stores,
outlet stores and ecommerce sites.
Sales through our global direct-to-consumer platform grew 20
percent in 2013 and represented approximately 34 percent of
consolidated net sales for the year. These results demonstrate that
consumers embrace the innovation and enhanced design of our
product, especially when supported by compelling in-store, on-line
and traditional marketing that drives consumer desire.
We are very pleased with the growth in our direct-to-consumer
business, however, the ultimate objective of our direct-to-consumer
strategy is to strengthen our brands in key markets to enable
wholesale customers to grow their business with our brands.
Our initial full year 2014 outlook anticipates a mid- to high-teen
percentage increase in global net sales over 2013, and we expect
each of our four geographic regions to contribute to that growth.
Slightly more than half of the net sales increase is expected to come
from our new China joint venture which commenced January 1, 2014.
Although economic growth has slowed in China over the past 12
months, we view this market as a tremendous long-term opportunity.
The remaining anticipated 2014 organic net sales growth is expected
to come primarily from the U.S. region, with smaller contributions
from EMEA, Canada and the rest of the LAAP region outside of
China.
In every region, we plan to increase the level of demand-creation
spending in 2014, emphasizing in-store presentation, along with
on-line, print and television advertising.
In addition to signicant product and marketing initiatives planned
for 2014, we are transforming key business processes and investing in
critical system infrastructure. In early 2014, we began implementing
a new global enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform in the
U.S. as the second phase of a multi-year global systems migration.
When the U.S. implementation is completed, our entire North
American wholesale business and the majority of our global supply
chain operations will be operating on the new platform. Over the
next few years, we intend to migrate our remaining international
operations onto the platform to enable and support continued global
multi-brand omni-channel sales growth, while improving protability
through supply chain and inventory management efciencies.
Our management team and our employees around the world are
energized by the strength we are seeing in our brands and by the
prospect of renewed double-digit sales growth in 2014. We believe
we are aligned and focused around strategic initiatives that will drive
sustainable, protable growth in the years ahead.
Our best is yet to come.
Sincerely,
Timothy P. Boyle
President and Chief Executive Ofcer
This letter contains forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements as a result of a number of risks and uncertainties, including those described in the
Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, under the heading “Risk Factors.”
Our best is yet to come.
The Mountain Hardwear brand’s premium-priced technical products
enjoy a strong following among elite alpine athletes, climbing
enthusiasts and consumers who are inspired by them.
Following a 6 percent sales decline in 2013, we expect 2014 to be
another challenging year for Mountain Hardwear as our product
team works to develop a range of high-performance styles at price
points that will make it easier for more consumers to step up to
the Mountain Hardwear brand. We are also working to enhance
the brand’s relationships with leading wholesale customers to fuel
sustainable global growth.