The Global Middleman--Melani Cullen

Columbia Sportswear Company (CSC) is an international outdoor apparel, footwear, accessory, and equipment company, whose headquarters is located in Portland, Oregon (PDX). It operates in the United States, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Canada. Additionally, Columbia distributes to more than 72 countries, and 13,000 retailers around the world, and it has a very strong online presence, and customers can access the products through the world of e-commerce. Due to the large audience base the company has successfully reached over the years, it uses the third party distributor, Swire, and the international sales team at the company to help sell the products in the Asian market.

Swire is a distributor that was established in Hong Kong, and it manages the Columbia stores in Asia, which are not owned by CSC. You wouldn't be able to tell that CSC does not run those retail stores because Swire upholds to CSC’s brand image. The consistency exhibited location to location is very critical because Columbia is a well-known brand, and consistency around the world eliminates alienation to the loyal customers.

Moreover, not every one is going to like the same cut, style, and color around the world, and not every country is going to need the same outdoor gear--this is where the international sales team at CSC comes in. Essentially, the team is the middleman that bridges the customers and the global market. At the Hong Kong office, this team focuses on the Asian markets. They coordinate with Swire, and they find out what the people need. They tailor those needs to the Asian market, and the people at headquarters allow flexibility, and adjustments made to the original designs as long as they aren’t straying too far away from Columbia’s image. Often, garment colors are changed from a conservative color from the American design, to a bright neon color for the Asian market. Additionally, the international sales team alters the “standardized” sizes since the Asian market generally needs smaller sizing adjustments. It is a back and forth process between PDX, the international sales team, and Swire until everyone is in agreement, and even though CSC doesn’t own the stores in Asia, Swire still needs to have PDX’s approval since it is its original designs.

Melani Cullen

Columbia Sportswear