Columbia Sportswear (COLM) Reshuffles Managerial Positions

 | Jun 14, 2017 09:12PM ET

Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) recently appointed Jim Swanson as the senior vice president and chief financial officer. He will be taking office on Jul 1. Swanson will succeed Tom Cusick who has been promoted to the position of to executive vice president and chief operating officer.

The company also appointed Peter Rauch as the senior vice president and chief transformation officer, effective Jul 1.

Vast experience and management skills of both the leaders are expected to help the company grow and forge ahead with its strategic business initiatives. Both Swanson and Rauch will report to Tom Cusick.

Of late, Columbia Sportswear has been facing challenges in the U.S. region, especially in its U.S. wholesale front, where several customers have announced store closures, bankruptcies, or plans to restructure or liquidate.Additionally, the company is facing tough geopolitical conditions in Korea which is hurting results. Currency headwinds also remain a major concern for the company.

Nevertheless, Columbia Sportswear has a stellar earnings history. The company’s earnings have outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 17 straight quarters. Further, the company has been undertaking several brand-enhancing initiatives regularly that have been strengthening its presence in the apparel industry. In fact, its recent launch of in-house European, Columbia and SOREL brand e-Commerce businesses in 10 countries seem to be encouraging. Going forward, the company is also set to expand its market share through strategic agreements.

Columbia Sportswear Company Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Columbia Sportswear Company Quote

Bottom Line

We believe that the afore-mentioned hurdles will be efficiently overcome by the company on the back of its strategic initiatives. Also, its VGM Score of “A” along with a long-term earnings growth rate of 9.3% looks promising.

Notably, shares of Columbia Sportswear declined 0.6% over the past one year compared with the Zacks categorized Textile–Apparel Manufacturing industry’s decline of 14.9%. The industry is currently placed at top 28% (74 out of 256) of the Zacks Classified industries.