Columbia Sportswear Case Study

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RUNNING HEAD: COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR

Columbia Sportswear Case Study

I. Introduction

Columbia Sportswear Company is a United States organization that produces and conveys outerwear and sportswear. One family ready to escape Nazi-controlled Germany before the begin of World War II was the Lanfrom family, who fled their local nation in 1937 and resettled in Portland, Oregon. (Keeping a Stiff Upper lip with COLM, 2002) Paul founded Rosenfield Hat Company, which was later renamed Columbia Hat Company. (About Us, n.d) The primary reason of the numerous progressions that formed Columbia Hat Company into Columbia Sportswear happened when Paul Lanfrom experienced issues with his merchants. 10 years after Paul Lanfrom gained Columbia Hat Company, his daughter, Gertrude, wedded Neal Boyle, and joined the family business.. Neal Boyle's authority to control over the family business happened in 1963 when Paul Lanfrom passed on. (Keeping a Stiff Upper lip with COLM, 2002) When Boyle assumed responsibility, Columbia had started to grow a niche market for itself in the chasing and angling attire business sector thanks in expansive part to his wife's commitments. Boyle’s period as organization president, in any case, was very brief. In 1970, at age 47, Neal Boyle passed on of a heart attack, leaving Columbia in the hands of his wife, Gertrude Boyle. At the season of Neal Boyle's demise, Columbia was incurring $650,000 a year in deals yet was wavering on the very edge of bankruptcy. (Hitt, Ireland, & Hokisson, 2015)

II. Strategic Profile and Case Analysis Purpose

Gert Boyle, along with the help of Tim Boyle, possessed the effective skills needed to keep Columbia Sportswear afloat and transform the organization into a thriving success. Over the past years, Columbia Sportswear has made critical ventures to become a leader in the outdoor apparel segment through the...