Columbia Sportswear expanding its footprint in India by opening 25 new stores by April 2015

Columbia Sportswear, the second largest outdoor and adventure retailer in the world is aggressively expanding its store footprint in India by opening 25 new stores by April 2015. The leading global active outdoor apparel and footwear brand entered India in December 2013 and currently has three stores in India located in New Delhi and Bangalore. This expansion will increase the brand's store footage in India by over 1050%- from 3000 square feet to over 35,000 square feet of retail space.

Columbia Sportswear will now have a strategic presence in the top 20 retail destinations across the length and breadth of the country in cities including Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Kochi, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Dehradun and Guwahati to name a few. The brand has already seen triple digit growth in its' existing stores and has also launched its' proprietary website to be able to cater to their pan-India consumer.

Founded in 1938, Columbia Sportswear signed an exclusive licence with Chogori India Retail Ltd (CIRL) for retailing, wholesale, and e-commerce. CIRL was formed in the year 2000 by Hemant Sachdev, an avid hiker, climber and outdoorsman himself. In addition to Columbia, CIRL holds exclusive rights for a coalition of other outdoor brands like Black Diamond, Goal Zero, Mountain Hardwear and Sorel - each leaders in their category.

Hemant Sachdev, Founder CIRL said, "Our passion for adventure and experience in retail, positions us as the preferred Indian brand in the unexplored segments of outdoor and adventure lifestyle."

Khyati Bhinde, Vice President CIRL said, "With the growing interest of people towards outdoor activities in India, we see a huge potential in the outdoor industry. The market is growing rapidly and there is demand for products that feature cutting edge technology. Columbia has chalked out an extensive plan to reach our customers and we aim to be the leaders in the outdoor apparel and accessories space in the country."

The NASDAQ-listed Columbia Sportswear uses cutting edge technology to develop innovative products that are comfortable, protective, functional and stylish. Some of Columbia's ground-breaking technologies include TurboDown, Omni Heat Thermal Reflective, Omni Freeze Zero, Omni Dry and Omni Tech, amongst a host of others. The extensive product line up from the brand includes a wide variety of competitively priced apparels, including tops & bottoms ranging from Rs 1,099 to Rs 4,999 and jackets from Rs 2,999 to Rs 13,999.

Source : Equity Bulls

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