Columbia Sportswear 2014 Annual Report Download - page 8

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Footwear
We design, develop, market and distribute footwear products for men and women under our Columbia, Sorel and
Montrail brands and for youth under our Columbia and Sorel brands. Our footwear products seek to address the needs of
outdoor consumers who participate in activities that typically involve challenging or unusual terrain in a variety of weather
and trail conditions. Our footwear products include durable, lightweight hiking boots, trail running shoes, rugged cold
weather boots for activities on snow and ice, sandals for use in amphibious activities, and casual shoes for everyday use.
Our Sorel brand primarily offers premium cold weather and casual footwear for men, women and youth, with a focus on
young, fashion-conscious female consumers.
Product Design and Innovation
We are committed to designing innovative and functional products for consumers who participate in a wide range of
outdoor activities, enabling them to enjoy those activities longer and in greater comfort by keeping them warm or cool, dry
and protected. We also place significant value on product design and fit (the overall appearance and image of our products)
that, along with technical performance features, distinguish our products in the marketplace.
Our research and development efforts are led by an internal team of specialists who work closely with independent
suppliers to conceive, develop and commercialize innovative technologies and products that provide the unique performance
benefits needed by consumers during outdoor activities. We have established working relationships with specialists in the
fields of chemistry, biochemistry, engineering, industrial design, materials research, graphic design, electronics and related
fields. We utilize these relationships, along with consumer feedback, to develop and test innovative performance products,
processes, packaging and displays. We believe that these efforts, coupled with our technical innovation efforts, represent
key factors in the past and future success of our products.
Intellectual Property
We own many trademarks, including Columbia Sportswear Company®, Columbia®, Sorel®, Mountain Hard Wear®,
prAna®, Montrail®, OutDry®, Pacific Trail®, the Columbia diamond shaped logo, the Mountain Hardwear nut logo and the
Sorel polar bear logo, as well as many other trademarks relating to our brands, products, styles and technologies. We believe
that our trademarks are an important factor in creating a market for our products, in identifying our Company, and in
differentiating our products from competitors’ products. We have design, process and utility patents as well as pending
patent applications in the United States and other nations. We file applications for United States and foreign patents for
inventions, designs and improvements that we believe have commercial value; however, these patents may or may not
ultimately be issued, enforceable or used in our business. We believe our success primarily depends on our ability to continue
offering innovative solutions to consumer needs through design, research, development and production advancements rather
than our ability to secure patents. The technologies, processes and designs described in our patents are incorporated into
many of our most important products and expire at various times. We vigorously protect these proprietary rights against
counterfeit reproductions and other infringing activities. Additionally, we license some of our trademarks across a range
of apparel, footwear, accessories and equipment.
Sales and Distribution
We sell our products through a mix of wholesale distribution channels, our own direct-to-consumer channels,
independent distributors and licensees. The majority of our sales are generated through wholesale channels, which include
small, independently operated specialty outdoor and sporting goods stores, regional, national and international sporting
goods chains, large regional, national and international department store chains and internet retailers. We sell our products
to independent distributors in various countries where we generally do not have direct sales and marketing operations.
We also sell our products directly to consumers through our own network of branded and outlet retail stores and online
in each of our geographic segments. Our direct-to-consumer operations are designed to elevate consumer perception of
our brands, manage inventory, increase consumer and retailer awareness of and demand for our products, model compelling
retail environments for our products and build stronger emotional brand connections with consumers over time. Our branded
retail stores and e-commerce sites allow us to showcase a broad selection of products and to support the brand’s positioning
with fixtures and imagery that may then be replicated and offered for use by our wholesale customers. These stores and
sites provide high visibility for our brands and products and help us to monitor the needs and preferences of consumers. In