Form 10-K
Table of Contents

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

 

 

 

FORM 10-K

 

x   ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

    For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010

 

OR

 

¨   TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

    For the transition period from                      to                     

 

Commission File Number 0-23939

 

 

 

COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR COMPANY

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

Oregon   93-0498284
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)
  (IRS Employer
Identification Number)
14375 NW Science Park Drive Portland, Oregon   97229
(Address of principal executive offices)   (Zip Code)

 

(503) 985-4000

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

Title of each class

 

Name of each exchange on which registered

Common Stock   The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes  ¨    No  x

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.    Yes  ¨    No  x

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  x    No  ¨

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such short period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).    Yes  ¨    No  ¨

 

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  x

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

 

Large accelerated filer  ¨     Accelerated filer  x
Non-accelerated filer  ¨ (Do not check if a smaller reporting company)   Smaller reporting company  ¨

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    Yes  ¨    No  x

 

The aggregate market value of the voting common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of June 30, 2010, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, was $540,147,000 based on the last reported sale price of the Company’s Common Stock as reported by the NASDAQ Global Select Market System on that day.

 

The number of shares of Common Stock outstanding on February 25, 2011 was 33,827,350.

 

Part III is incorporated by reference from the registrant’s proxy statement for its 2011 annual meeting of shareholders to be filed with the Commission within 120 days of December 31, 2010.

 

 

 


Table of Contents

COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR COMPANY

 

DECEMBER 31, 2010

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

Item

        Page  
PART I   

Item 1.

   Business      2   

Item 1A.

   Risk Factors      10   

Item 1B.

   Unresolved Staff Comments      20   

Item 2.

   Properties      20   

Item 3.

   Legal Proceedings      21   

Item 4.

   [RESERVED]      21   

Item 4A.

   Executive Officers and Key Employees of the Registrant      21   
PART II   

Item 5.

  

Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

     24   

Item 6.

   Selected Financial Data      26   

Item 7.

   Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations      27   

Item 7A.

   Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk      41   

Item 8.

   Financial Statements and Supplementary Data      41   

Item 9.

   Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure      73   

Item 9A.

   Controls and Procedures      73   

Item 9B.

   Other Information      75   
PART III   

Item 10.

   Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance      76   

Item 11.

   Executive Compensation      76   

Item 12.

  

Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters

     76   

Item 13.

   Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence      77   

Item 14.

   Principal Accountant Fees and Services      77   
PART IV   

Item 15.

   Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedule      78   

Signatures

     79   


Table of Contents

PART I

 

Item 1. BUSINESS

 

General

 

Founded in 1938 in Portland, Oregon, as a small, family-owned, regional hat distributor and incorporated in 1961, Columbia Sportswear Company has grown to become a global leader in the design, sourcing, marketing and distribution of active outdoor apparel, footwear, accessories and equipment. Unless the context indicates otherwise, the terms “we”, “us”, “our”, “the Company” and “Columbia” refer to Columbia Sportswear Company and its consolidated subsidiaries.

 

We design, develop, market and distribute active outdoor apparel, footwear, accessories and equipment under four primary brands: Columbia®, Mountain Hardwear®, Sorel® and Montrail®. As one of the largest outdoor apparel and footwear companies in the world, our products have earned an international reputation for innovation, quality and performance. Our products feature innovative technologies and designs that protect outdoor enthusiasts from the elements, increase comfort and make outdoor activities more enjoyable. Our brands complement each other to address the diverse outdoor performance needs of a wide variety of outdoor consumer segments.

 

Our brands are distributed through a mix of wholesale distribution channels, independent distributors, our own direct-to-consumer channels (retail stores and e-commerce) and licensees. In 2010, our products were sold in over 100 countries. We employ creative marketing strategies designed to increase demand and reinforce consumer awareness of our brands. All of our products are manufactured by independent factories located outside the United States.

 

The popularity of outdoor activities, changing design trends and consumer adoption of innovative performance technologies affect consumer demand for our products. Therefore, we seek to influence, anticipate and respond to trends and shifts in consumer preferences by adjusting the mix of available product offerings, developing new products with innovative performance features and designs, and by creating persuasive and memorable marketing communications to drive consumer awareness and demand. Failure to anticipate or respond to consumer needs and preferences in a timely and adequate manner could have a material adverse effect on our sales and profitability.

 

Our business is subject to many risks and uncertainties that may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. Some of these risks and uncertainties are described below under Item 1A, Risk Factors.

 

Seasonality and Variability of Business

 

Our business is affected by general seasonal trends common to the outdoor, apparel, footwear, accessories and equipment industries and is heavily dependent upon discretionary consumer spending patterns. Our products are designed to address performance needs of consumers who participate in diverse outdoor activities during the spring/summer and fall/winter seasons. Our annual net sales are weighted more heavily toward the fall/winter season, while our operating expenses are more equally distributed throughout the year. As a result, the majority of our operating profits are generated in the second half of the year. Sales and profits tend to be highest in the third calendar quarter. The expansion of our direct-to-consumer operations beginning in 2008 has increased the proportion of sales and profits that we generate in the fourth calendar quarter.

 

Results of operations in any period should not be considered indicative of the results to be expected for any future period, particularly in light of persistent volatility in general economic conditions. Sales of our products are subject to substantial cyclical fluctuation, the effects of unseasonable weather conditions, and the continued popularity of outdoor activities as part of an active lifestyle in key markets. The current economic environment in

 

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key markets, coupled with challenging supply chain capacity constraints, has reduced the predictability of our business. In addition, our fourth quarter results are more variable because they rely more heavily on fall weather patterns which can stimulate wholesale customer reorders or, conversely, result in cancellations.

 

For further discussion regarding the effects of the macro-economic environment on our business, see Part II, Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

 

Products

 

We provide high quality apparel, footwear, accessories and equipment for use in a wide range of outdoor activities by men, women and youth, designed to keep the consumer warm or cool, dry and protected. A large percentage of our products are also worn for casual or leisure purposes. The durability, functionality and affordability of our products make them ideal for a wide range of outdoor activities. Our products serve a broad range of consumers including elite mountain climbers, winter outdoor enthusiasts, hunting and fishing enthusiasts, top endurance trail runners, and outdoor-inspired consumers. We also market licensed collegiate apparel and accessories under our Columbia brand.

 

We develop and manage our merchandise in four principal categories: (1) outerwear, (2) sportswear, (3) footwear and (4) accessories and equipment. The following table presents the net sales and approximate percentages of net sales attributable to each of our principal product categories for each of the last three years ended December 31 (dollars in millions):

 

     2010     2009     2008  
   Net Sales      % of Sales     Net Sales      % of Sales     Net Sales      % of Sales  

Outerwear

   $ 560.8         37.8   $ 482.5         38.8   $ 491.7         37.3

Sportswear

     555.8         37.5        472.5         38.0        540.9         41.0   

Footwear

     270.2         18.2        214.6         17.2        217.2         16.5   

Accessories and equipment

     96.7         6.5        74.4         6.0        68.0         5.2   
                                                   

Total

   $ 1,483.5         100.0   $ 1,244.0         100.0   $ 1,317.8         100.0
                                                   

 

Outerwear

 

We design, develop, market and distribute outerwear products for men, women and youth under our Columbia and Mountain Hardwear brands. Outerwear is our most established and iconic product category, and incorporates the cumulative design, fabrication, fit and construction technologies that we have pioneered over several decades and that we continue to innovate. Our outerwear is designed to protect the wearer from the harsher inclement weather commonly encountered in fall and winter outdoor activities, such as skiing, snowboarding, hiking, hunting, fishing and adventure travel.

 

Sportswear

 

We design, develop, market and distribute sportswear products for men, women and youth under our Columbia and Mountain Hardwear brands. Our sportswear products incorporate various fabrication and construction technologies that protect consumers from the outdoor elements and enable consumers to enjoy the outdoors longer and in greater comfort year round. Our sportswear products are designed to be worn as a layering system with our outerwear and footwear products during fall and winter outdoor activities, or individually during milder weather commonly encountered during spring and summer outdoor activities such as hiking, fishing, trail running and water sports. Mountain Hardwear-branded sportswear consists primarily of performance apparel designed for mountaineering, backpacking, rock climbing and adventure sports. Our Columbia and Mountain Hardwear sportswear product assortments also include casual styles designed to appeal to a broader consumer base.

 

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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 footwear for men and women with an increasing focus on young, fashion-conscious female consumers.

 

Accessories and Equipment

 

We design, develop, market and distribute a line of Columbia-branded accessories and equipment, including bags, packs, headwear, scarves and gloves. These products incorporate many of our performance technologies and complement our apparel and footwear collections to protect consumers during a multitude of outdoor activities in virtually any climate. We also design, develop, market and distribute a line of Mountain Hardwear accessories and equipment that includes technically-advanced tents, sleeping systems, backpacks, headwear and gloves. These products are designed for mountaineering, ultralight backpacking and camping.

 

Product Design and Innovation

 

We believe our product innovation efforts are a key factor in our past and future success. We are committed to designing innovative and functional products for consumers who participate in a wide range of competitive and recreational 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 designs 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 develop 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.

 

In September 2010, we acquired OutDry Technologies S.r.l., which owns the intellectual property and other assets comprising the OutDry® brand and related business including patented and patent-pending construction methods that bond a waterproof, breathable membrane directly to the inside of the outermost layer of a shoe or glove.

 

Intellectual Property

 

We own many trademarks, including Columbia Sportswear Company®, Columbia®, Sorel®, Mountain Hard Wear®, 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 the 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. We believe our success primarily depends on our ability to continue offering innovative solutions to consumer needs through design, research,

 

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development and production advancements rather than our ability to secure patents. The technologies, processes and designs described in issued 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 our Columbia trademarks across a range of apparel, footwear, accessories and equipment.

 

Sales and Distribution

 

We sell our products through a mix of wholesale distribution channels, independent distributors, our own direct-to-consumer channels 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, and large regional, national and international department store chains. We sell our products to independent distributors in various countries where we generally do not have direct sales operations.

 

We sell our products directly to consumers through our own network of branded and outlet retail stores in each of our geographic segments, and online operations in the United States and LAAP segments, with additional e-commerce sites in other geographic markets planned for 2011. Our direct-to-consumer operations are designed to elevate consumer perception of our brands, 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 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 provide high visibility for our brands and products and help us to monitor the needs and preferences of consumers. In addition, we operate outlet stores, which serve an important role in our overall inventory management by allowing us to sell a significant portion of excess, discontinued and out-of-season products while maintaining the integrity of our brands. E-commerce sales are a small but growing portion of our total direct-to-consumer sales.

 

We operate in four geographic segments: (1) United States, (2) Latin America and Asia Pacific (“LAAP”), (3) Europe, Middle East and Africa (“EMEA”), and (4) Canada, which are reflective of our internal organization, management, and oversight structure. Each geographic segment operates predominantly in one industry: the design, development, marketing and distribution of active outdoor apparel, including outerwear, sportswear, footwear and accessories and equipment. The following table presents net sales to unrelated entities and approximate percentages of net sales by geographic segment for each of the last three years (dollars in millions):

 

    2010     2009     2008  
    Net Sales     % of Sales     Net Sales     % of Sales     Net Sales     % of Sales  

United States

  $ 881.0        59.4   $ 736.9        59.2   $ 727.7        55.2

LAAP

    263.4        17.7        203.2        16.3        198.2        15.0   

EMEA

    222.4        15.0        197.4        15.9        267.2        20.3   

Canada

    116.7        7.9        106.5        8.6        124.7        9.5   
                                               

Total

  $ 1,483.5        100.0   $ 1,244.0        100.0   $ 1,317.8        100.0
                                               

 

United States

 

The United States accounted for 59.4% of our net sales for 2010. We sell our products in the United States to approximately 3,500 wholesale customers and through our own direct-to-consumer channels. As of December 31, 2010, we operated 41 outlet retail stores and 8 branded retail stores in various locations in the United States as well as three e-commerce websites, www.columbia.com, www.mountainhardwear.com and www.sorel.com. We plan to begin selling our Montrail products online in the United States in early 2011. In addition, we earn licensing income in the United States based on our licensees’ sale of licensed products.

 

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We distribute the majority of our products sold to United States wholesale customers and our own retail stores from distribution centers that we own and operate in Portland, Oregon and Robards, Kentucky. In some instances, we arrange to have products shipped from the independent factories that manufacture our products through third party logistics vendors and/or directly to customer-designated facilities in the United States.

 

LAAP

 

The LAAP region accounted for 17.7% of our net sales for 2010. We sell our products in the LAAP region to approximately 270 wholesale customers in Japan and Korea and to approximately 14 independent distributors that sell to approximately 1,100 wholesale customers in locations throughout the LAAP region, including Australia, New Zealand, Latin America and Asia. In addition, as of December 31, 2010, we operated 40 branded retail stores and 13 outlet retail stores in Japan and Korea within our LAAP region. We also sell Columbia, Mountain Hardwear, Sorel and Montrail products through e-commerce websites in Japan and Korea. In addition, we earn licensing income in our LAAP region based on our distributors’ sale of licensed products.

 

We distribute our products to wholesale customers, our own retail stores and licensed stores in Japan through an independent logistics company that owns and operates a warehouse located near Tokyo, Japan. We distribute our products to wholesale customers, our own retail stores and licensed stores in Korea from a leased warehouse near Seoul, Korea. The majority of sales to our LAAP distributors are shipped directly from the independent factories that manufacture our products.

 

EMEA

 

Sales in our EMEA region accounted for 15.0% of our net sales for 2010. We sell our products in the EMEA region to approximately 4,700 wholesale customers and to approximately 13 independent distributors that sell to approximately 800 wholesale customers in locations throughout the EMEA region, including Russia, portions of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In addition, as of December 31, 2010, we operated 7 outlet retail stores and 3 branded retail stores in various locations in Western Europe.

 

We distribute the majority of our products sold to EMEA wholesale customers and our own retail stores from a distribution center that we own and operate in Cambrai, France. The majority of sales to our EMEA distributors are shipped directly from the independent factories that manufacture our products.

 

Canada

 

Sales in Canada accounted for 7.9% of our net sales for 2010. We sell our products in Canada to approximately 1,300 wholesale customers. In addition, as of December 31, 2010, we operated two outlet retail stores in Canada.

 

We distribute the majority of our products sold to Canadian wholesale customers through two distribution centers in Strathroy, Ontario. We lease one of these facilities and own the other facility. In some instances, we arrange to have products shipped directly from the independent factories that manufacture our products to customer-designated facilities in Canada.

 

Marketing

 

We believe our brand names and trademarks provide a competitive advantage and help to differentiate our products in the marketplace. Marketing programs are an integral part of our global strategy to build brand equity, raise global brand relevance and awareness, infuse our brands with excitement and stimulate consumer demand for our products worldwide. During 2010, the cost of our marketing programs represented approximately 5.3% of net sales.

 

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Our integrated marketing efforts are designed to deliver consistent messages about the performance benefits, innovative technologies and styling of our products. We rely most heavily on advertising distributed through the Internet, including e-commerce and social media sites; television and print publications; consumer-focused and customer-focused events; branded retail stores in selected high-profile locations; enhanced branded displays and merchandising techniques executed in stores in partnership with various wholesale customers; and consumer and trade public relations efforts.

 

We work closely with our key wholesale customers to reinforce our brand message through cooperative online, television, radio and print advertising campaigns, as well as in stores using visual merchandising display tools dedicated exclusively to selling our merchandise on a year-round basis. We drive alignment through established seasonal initiatives and provide our wholesale customers, regional offices, and international distributors with creative direction and materials to convey consistent messages.

 

We employ a staff of in-store marketing and merchandising coordinators, who visit our customers’ retail locations in major cities around the world to ensure that our products are favorably presented. We also reinforce our marketing and product innovation messages through selected sponsorships of key outdoor influencers, organizations and teams who serve as inspirational models of excellence to consumers and also through sponsorship of selected outdoor events and competitions.

 

Our global internet marketing sites are used by consumers to research our products’ features and benefits, to interact with content created to inform and entertain about each brand and its technologies, to be directed to nearby retailers where they can purchase our products, and to directly purchase products for delivery in the United States. Other unaffiliated consumer websites provide information about our brands and products and may direct consumers to our wholesale customers where they can purchase our products.

 

Working Capital Utilization

 

We design, develop, market and distribute our products, but do not own or operate manufacturing facilities. As a result, most of our capital is invested in short-term working capital assets, including cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments, accounts receivable from customers, and finished goods inventory. At December 31, 2010, working capital assets accounted for approximately 77% of total assets. As a result, the degree to which we efficiently utilize our working capital assets can have a significant impact on our profitability, cash flows and return on invested capital. The overall goals of our working capital management efforts are to maintain the minimum level of inventory necessary to deliver goods on time to our customers to satisfy end consumer demand, and to minimize the cycle time from the purchase of inventory from our suppliers to the collection of accounts receivable balances from our customers.

 

Demand Planning and Inventory Management

 

As a branded consumer products company, inventory represents one of the largest and riskiest capital commitments in our business model. We design and develop our seasonal product lines 12 to 18 months in advance of their availability to consumers in retail stores. As a result, our ability to forecast and produce the individual product styles that match ultimate seasonal wholesale customer and end-consumer demand and to deliver products to our customers in a timely and cost-effective manner can significantly affect our sales, gross margins and profitability. For this reason, we maintain and continue to make substantial investments in information systems, processes and personnel that support our ongoing demand planning efforts. The goals of our demand planning efforts are to develop a collaborative forecast that drives the timely purchase of an adequate amount of inventory to satisfy demand, to minimize transportation and expediting costs necessary to deliver products to customers by their requested delivery dates, and to minimize excess inventory to avoid liquidating excess, end-of-season goods at discounted prices. Failure to achieve our demand planning goals could reduce our revenues and/or increase our costs, which would negatively impact our gross margins, profitability and brand strength.

 

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In order to manage inventory risk, we use incentive discounts to encourage our wholesale customers and distributors to place advance orders at least six months in advance of scheduled delivery. We use those advance orders, together with forecasted demand from our direct-to-consumer operations, market trends, historical data, customer and sales feedback and other important factors to estimate the volumes of each product to purchase from our suppliers around the world. From the time of initial order through production, receipt and delivery, we attempt to manage our inventory to reduce risk.

 

Our inventory management efforts cannot entirely eliminate inventory risk due to the inherently unpredictable nature of consumer demand, the ability of customers to cancel their orders prior to shipment, and other variables that affect our customers’ ability to take delivery of their advance orders when originally scheduled. To minimize our purchasing costs, the time necessary to fill customer orders and the risk of non-delivery, we place a significant amount of orders for our products with independent factories prior to receiving all of our customers’ orders and we maintain an inventory of select products that we anticipate will be in greater demand. In addition, we build calculated amounts of inventory to support estimated at-once orders from customers and auto-replenishment orders on certain long-lived styles.

 

Credit and Collection

 

We extend credit to our customers based on an assessment of each customer’s financial condition, generally without requiring collateral. To assist us in scheduling production with our suppliers and delivering seasonal products to our customers on time, we offer customers discounts for placing advance orders and extended payment terms for taking delivery before peak seasonal shipping periods. These extended payment terms increase our exposure to the risk of uncollectible receivables. In order to manage the inherent risks of customer receivables, we maintain and continue to invest in information systems, processes and personnel skilled in credit and collections. In some markets and with some customers we use credit insurance or standby letters of credit to minimize our risk of credit loss.

 

Sourcing and Manufacturing

 

We do not own or operate manufacturing facilities and virtually all of our products are manufactured to our specifications by independent factories located outside the United States. We generally do not maintain long-term manufacturing commitments. We believe that the use of independent factories enables us to substantially limit our capital expenditures and avoid the costs and risks associated with owning and operating large production facilities and managing large labor forces. We also believe that the use of independent factories greatly increases our production capacity, maximizes our flexibility and improves our product pricing. We manage our supply chain from a global perspective and adjust as needed to changes in the global production environment, including political risks, factory capacity, import limitations and costs, raw material costs, availability and cost of labor and transportation costs. However, without long-term or reserved commitments, there is no assurance that we will be able to secure adequate or timely production capacity or favorable pricing terms.

 

Our apparel is manufactured in more than 13 countries with Vietnam and China accounting for approximately 68% of our 2010 apparel production. Our footwear is manufactured in three countries, with China and Vietnam accounting for approximately 93% of our 2010 footwear production.

 

Our five largest apparel factory groups accounted for approximately 20% of 2010 global apparel production, with the largest factory group accounting for 7% of 2010 global apparel production. Our five largest footwear factory groups accounted for approximately 81% of 2010 global footwear production, with the largest factory group accounting for 34% of 2010 global footwear production. In addition, a single vendor supplies substantially all of the zippers used in our products. These apparel, footwear and zipper suppliers have multiple factory locations, thus reducing the risk that unfavorable conditions at a single factory or location will have a material adverse effect on our business.

 

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We maintain 13 manufacturing liaison offices in a total of seven Asian countries. We also maintain a manufacturing liaison office in Richmond, California. Personnel in these manufacturing liaison offices are direct employees of Columbia, and are responsible for overseeing production at our independent factories. We believe that having employees physically located in these regions enhances our ability to monitor factories for compliance with our policies, procedures and standards related to quality, delivery, pricing and labor practices. Our quality assurance process is designed to ensure that our products meet our quality standards. We believe that our quality assurance process is an important and effective means of maintaining the quality and reputation of our products. In addition, independent contractors that manufacture products for us are subject to our Standards of Manufacturing Practices (“SMP”). Columbia manufactures products around the world and values legal, ethical and fair treatment of people involved in manufacturing our products. Each factory producing products for us is monitored regularly against these standards. Additional information about SMP and corporate responsibility programs may be found at www.columbia.com.

 

Backlog

 

We typically receive the majority of our advance orders from our wholesale customers and independent distributors for the fall and spring seasons by March 31 and September 30, respectively, based upon customer ordering deadlines that we establish. As a result, our order backlog at each of March 31 and September 30 has historically been a meaningful indicator of anticipated sales to wholesale customers and independent distributors for the corresponding future period. Accordingly, we disclose our backlog at March 31 and at September 30 in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for those respective periods, rather than at December 31. Generally, orders are subject to cancellation prior to the date of shipment.

 

Advance orders for our owned retail stores and e-commerce websites are not included in backlog. Accordingly, to the extent that order cancellations from wholesale customers and independent distributors deviates from historical averages, and our retail and e-commerce sales grow to represent a larger proportion of our total sales, our advance order backlog may become less indicative of anticipated sales for corresponding future periods.

 

Competition

 

The markets for outerwear, sportswear, footwear, accessories and equipment are highly competitive. In each of our geographic markets, we face significant competition from numerous and varying competitors. Some of our large wholesale customers also market competitive apparel, footwear, accessories and equipment under their own private labels. Our licensees operate in very competitive markets, such as those for apparel, footwear, sunglasses and watches. In addition, our direct-to-consumer channels expose us to competitors who operate retail stores in outlet malls and key metropolitan markets, as well as competitors who sell product online. We believe that the primary competitive factors in the market for active outerwear, sportswear, footwear, accessories and equipment are brand strength, product innovation, product design, functionality, durability and price.

 

Government Regulation

 

Many of our international shipments are subject to existing or potential governmental tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade, such as import duties and potential safeguard measures that may limit the quantity of various types of goods that may be imported into the United States and other countries. These trade barriers often represent a material portion of the cost of the merchandise. Our products are also subject to domestic and foreign product safety and environmental standards, laws and other regulations, which are increasingly restrictive and complex. Although we diligently monitor these standards and restrictions, the United States or other countries may impose new or adjusted quotas, duties, safety requirements, material restrictions, or other restrictions or regulations, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

 

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Employees

 

At December 31, 2010, we had the following full-time equivalent employees, based in the following regions:

 

United States

     2,096   

Asia

     970   

Europe

     397   

Canada

     163   
        
     3,626   
        

 

Available Information

 

We file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and all amendments to those reports, proxy statements and registration statements. You may read and copy any material we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20549. You may also obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. In addition, the SEC maintains an internet site at http://www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers, including us, that file electronically. We make available free of charge on or through our website at www.columbia.com our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to these reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act as soon as reasonably practicable after we file these materials with the SEC.

 

Item 1A. RISK FACTORS

 

In addition to the other information contained in this Form 10-K, the following risk factors should be considered carefully in evaluating our business. Our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows may be materially adversely affected by any of these risks. Please note that additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business and operations.

 

Our Success Depends on Our Business Strategies

 

Our business strategies are to achieve sustainable, profitable growth by creating innovative products, elevating consumer perception of our brands, increasing consumer and retailer awareness and demand for our products, creating compelling retail environments, and building stronger emotional brand connections with consumers over time. We intend to pursue these strategies across our portfolio of brands, product categories and geographic markets. We face many challenges in implementing our business strategies. For example, our focus on innovation depends on our ongoing ability to identify, develop or secure rights to product improvements or developments through internal research, joint developments, acquisitions or licenses. However, these innovations and developments may not be profitable or have the desired effect of increasing demand for our products. The failure to implement our business strategies successfully could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

 

To implement our business strategies, we must continue to modify various aspects of our business, to maintain and enhance our information systems and operations to respond to increased demand and to attract, retain and manage qualified personnel. Changes in our business may place an increasing strain on management, financial, product design, marketing, distribution and other resources, and we may have operating difficulties as a result. For example, in support of our strategic initiatives, we are making significant investments in our business processes and information technology infrastructure that require significant management attention and corporate resources. In addition, we may need to adapt our information technology systems and business processes to

 

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integrate business acquisitions. These business initiatives involve many risks and uncertainties that, if not managed effectively, may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

 

Our business strategies and related increased expenditures could also cause our operating margin to decline if we are unable to offset our increased spending with increased sales or gross margins, or comparable reductions in other operating costs. If our sales or gross margins decline or fail to grow as planned and we fail to sufficiently leverage our operating expenses, our profitability will decline. This could result in a decision to delay, reduce, modify or terminate our strategic business initiatives, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

 

We Depend on Independent Factories

 

Our products are produced by independent factories worldwide. We do not own or operate any production facilities. Although we enter into purchase order commitments with these independent factories each season, we generally do not maintain long-term manufacturing commitments with them. Without long-term or reserve commitments, in a capacity-constrained environment, there is no assurance that we will be able to secure adequate or timely production capacity or favorable pricing if growth or product demand differs from our forecasts. Independent factories may fail to perform as expected or our competitors may obtain production capacities that effectively limit or eliminate the availability of these resources to us. If an independent manufacturer fails to ship orders in a timely manner or to meet our standards or if we are unable to obtain necessary capacities, we may miss delivery deadlines or incur additional costs, which may result in cancellation of orders, refusal to accept deliveries, a reduction in purchase prices or increased costs, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

 

Reliance on independent factories also creates quality control risks. In a capacity-constrained environment, we may need to use sub-contracted manufacturers to fulfill demand and these manufacturers may have less experience producing our products or lower overall capabilities, which could result in compromised quality of our products. A failure in our quality control program may result in diminished product quality, which in turn could result in increased order cancellations and returns, decreased consumer demand for our products, or product recalls (or other regulatory actions), any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

 

If an independent manufacturer violates labor or other laws, or engages in practices that are not generally accepted as ethical in our key markets, we may be subject to production disruptions or significant negative publicity that could result in long-term damage to our brand images, consumer demand for our products may decrease, and in some circumstances parties may attempt to assert that we are liable for the independent manufacturer’s practices, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

 

We May be Adversely Affected by Volatility in Global Production and Transportation Costs and Capacity

 

Our product costs are subject to substantial fluctuation based on:

 

   

Availability and quality of raw materials;

 

   

The prices of oil, cotton and other raw materials whose prices are determined by global commodity markets and can be very volatile;

 

   

Changes in labor markets and wage rates paid by our independent factory partners, which are often mandated by centralized governments in the countries where our products are manufactured, particularly in China and Vietnam;

 

   

Interest rates and currency exchange rates;

 

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Availability of skilled labor and production capacity at independent factories; and

 

   

General economic conditions.

 

Following a long period of generally stable-to-declining input costs, the apparel and footwear industry appears to be entering what may become a prolonged period of inflationary pressure on some or all of these input costs, resulting in increased costs to produce our products.

 

In addition, since the majority of our products are manufactured outside of our principal sales markets, our products must be transported by third parties over large geographical distances. Shortages in ocean freight capacity, airfreight capacity and volatile fuel costs can result in rapidly changing transportation costs. For example, during 2010, shortages of sourcing and transportation capacity, combined with later-than-optimal production of advance orders, caused us to rely more heavily on airfreight to achieve timely delivery to our customers, resulting in significantly higher freight costs. Because we price our products in advance and the external cost changes may be difficult to predict, we may not be able to pass all or a portion of such higher costs on to our customers or adjust our pricing structure in a timely manner in order to remain competitive, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

 

Our Sales and Profitability May be Adversely Affected by Increased Product Costs and

Reduced Selling Prices

 

The apparel industry is subject to significant pressures on pricing and input costs caused by many factors, including intense competition, constrained sourcing capacity and related inflationary pressures, consolidation in the retail industry, pressure from retailers to reduce the costs of products and changes in consumer demand. These factors may cause us to experience increased costs, reduce our sales prices to retailers and consumers or experience reduced sales in response to increased prices, any of which could cause our operating margin to decline if we are unable to offset these factors with reductions in operating costs and could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

 

Attracting superior retail channel partners and improving the sales productivity of our customers each depend on various factors, including the strength of our brand names, our ability to design and source innovative products, competitive conditions, the availability of desirable locations and the negotiation of terms with customers. Future terms with customers may be less favorable to us than those under which we now operate. Large wholesale customers in particular increasingly seek to transfer various costs of business to their vendors, such as the cost of lost profits from promotional activity and product price markdowns, which could cause our gross margins to decline if we are unable to offset price reductions with comparable reductions in operating costs.

 

We May be Adversely Affected by Volatile Economic Conditions

 

We are a consumer products company and are highly dependent on consumer discretionary spending patterns and the purchasing patterns of our wholesale customers as they attempt to match their seasonal purchase volumes to volatile consumer demand. In addition, as we have expanded our base of retail stores, we have increased our direct exposure to the risks associated with volatile and unpredictable consumer discretionary spending patterns. As global economic conditions continue to be volatile or economic uncertainty remains, trends in consumer discretionary spending also become unpredictable and subject to reductions due to uncertainties about the future and credit constraints. Consumer demand for our products may not reach our sales targets, or may decline, when there is an economic downturn or economic uncertainty in our key markets, particularly markets in North America and our EMEA region. Our sensitivity to economic cycles and any related fluctuation in consumer demand may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

 

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We Rely on Our Highly Customized Information Management Systems

 

Our business is increasingly reliant on information technology. Information systems are used across our supply chain and retail operations, from design to distribution and sales, and are used as a method of communication among employees, with our subsidiaries and liaison offices overseas and with our customers and retail stores. We also rely on our information systems to allocate resources, manage product data, develop demand and supply plans and forecast operating results. System failures, breaches of confidential information or service interruptions may occur as the result of a number of factors, including computer viruses, programming errors, hacking or other unlawful activities by third parties and disasters, or our failure to properly maintain systems redundancy or to protect, repair, maintain or upgrade our systems. Any breach or interruption of critical business information systems could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

 

Our primary enterprise resource planning system is highly customized to our business. As a result, the availability of internal and external resources with the expertise to maintain our enterprise resource planning system is limited. As we implement our direct-to-consumer initiatives and plan for future growth, our customized enterprise resource planning system may inhibit our ability to operate efficiently, which could have an adverse effect on our results of operations. For example, our enterprise resource planning system may not be compatible with other systems to support desired functionality for our operations.

 

Initiatives to Upgrade Our Information Technology Infrastructure Involve Many Risks Which Could Result In, Among Other Things, Business Interruptions and Higher Costs

 

We regularly implement business process improvement initiatives to optimize our performance. Our current business process initiatives include, but are not limited to, plans to improve business results through standardization of business processes and technology that support our supply chain and go-to-market strategies through implementation of an integrated enterprise resource planning software solution by SAP over the next few years. We may experience difficulties when we transition to new or upgraded systems and processes, including loss of data and decreases in productivity as our personnel become familiar with new systems. In addition, transitioning to new or upgraded systems will require significant capital investments and personnel resources. Difficulties in implementing new or upgraded information systems or significant system failures could disrupt our operations and have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

 

We expect implementation of this new information technology infrastructure to have a pervasive impact on our business processes and information systems across a significant portion of our operations, including our finance operations. As a result, we will experience significant changes in our internal controls over financial reporting as our implementation progresses. If we are unable to successfully implement this system, including harmonizing our systems, data and processes, our ability to process transactions accurately and efficiently may be affected, and any unsuccessful implementation could have an adverse effect on our capital resources, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.

 

Our Results of Operations Could be Materially Harmed If We Are Unable to Accurately Match Supply Forecast with Consumer Demand for Our Products

 

Many factors may significantly affect demand for our products, including, among other things, economic conditions, fashion trends, consumer preferences and weather, making it difficult to accurately forecast demand for our products and our future results of operations. To minimize our purchasing costs, the time necessary to fill customer orders and the risk of non-delivery, we place a significant amount of orders for our products with independent factories prior to receiving all of our customers’ orders, and we maintain an inventory of various products that we anticipate will be in greater demand. In addition, customers are generally allowed to cancel orders prior to shipment with sufficient notice.

 

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Factors that could affect our ability to accurately forecast demand for our products include:

 

   

An increase or decrease in consumer demand for our products or for products of our competitors;

 

   

For certain demand and supply planning functions, we rely on manual processes and judgment that are subject to human error;

 

   

Our failure to accurately forecast customer acceptance of new products;

 

   

New product introductions by competitors;

 

   

Unanticipated changes in general market conditions or other factors, which may result in cancellations of orders or a reduction or increase in the rate of reorders placed by retailers; and

 

   

Weak economic conditions or consumer confidence, which could reduce demand for discretionary items such as our products.

 

In some cases, our production orders may not match actual demand, which could result in our inability to deliver product in a timely manner, higher transportation costs to expedite delivery and higher inventory levels. During periods of weak economic conditions we may experience a significant increase in the volume of order cancellations by our customers, including cancellations resulting from the bankruptcy, liquidation or contraction of certain customers’ operations. We may not be able to sell all of the products we have ordered from independent factories or that we have in our inventory. Inventory levels in excess of customer demand may result in inventory write-downs and the sale of excess inventory at discounted prices through discount direct-to-consumer channels, which could have a material adverse effect on our brand image, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

 

Conversely, if we underestimate demand for our products or if our independent factories are unable to supply products when we need them, we may experience inventory shortages. Inventory shortages may prevent us from fulfilling customer orders, delay shipments to customers, negatively affect customer relationships, result in increased costs to expedite production and delivery, and diminish our ability to build brand loyalty. Shipments delayed due to limited factory capacity or other factors could result in order cancellations by our customers, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

 

We May be Adversely Affected by Weather Conditions

 

Our business is adversely affected by unseasonable weather conditions. A significant portion of the sales of our products is dependent in part on the weather and may decline in years in which weather conditions do not favor the use of these products. Periods of unseasonably warm weather in the fall or winter or unseasonably cold or wet weather in the spring and summer may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. Inventory accumulation by our wholesale customers resulting from unseasonable weather in one season may negatively affect orders in future seasons, which may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

 

Our International Operations Involve Many Risks

 

We are subject to the risks generally associated with doing business internationally. These risks include the effects of foreign laws and regulations, changes in consumer preferences, foreign currency fluctuations, political unrest, terrorist acts, military operations, disruptions or delays in shipments, disease outbreaks and changes in economic conditions in countries in which we manufacture or sell products. These factors, among others, may affect our ability to sell products in international markets, our ability to manufacture products or procure materials, and our cost of doing business. If any of these or other factors make the conduct of business in a particular country undesirable or impractical, our business may be materially and adversely affected. As we expand our operations in geographic scope and product categories, we anticipate intellectual property disputes

 

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will increase as well, making it more expensive and challenging to establish and protect our intellectual property rights and to defend against claims of infringement by others.

 

As a global company, we determine our income tax liability in various competing tax jurisdictions based on a careful analysis and interpretation of local tax laws and regulations. This analysis requires a significant amount of judgment and estimation and is often based on various assumptions about the future actions of the local tax authorities. These determinations are the subject of periodic domestic and foreign tax audits. Although we accrue for uncertain tax positions, our accrual may be insufficient to satisfy unfavorable findings, which by their nature cannot be predicted with certainty. Unfavorable audit findings and tax rulings may result in payment of taxes, fines and penalties for prior periods and higher tax rates in future periods, which may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. Changes in tax law or our interpretation of tax laws and the resolution of current and future tax audits could significantly affect the amounts provided for income taxes in our consolidated financial statements.

 

Moreover, if we encounter a significant need for liquidity domestically or at a particular location that we cannot fulfill through borrowings, equity offerings or other internal or external sources, we may experience unfavorable tax and earnings consequences as a result of cash transfers. These adverse consequences would occur, for example, if the transfer of cash into the United States is taxed and no offsetting foreign tax credit is available to offset the U.S. tax liability, resulting in lower earnings. Furthermore, we may be prohibited from transferring cash from a country such as China. Foreign exchange ceilings imposed by local governments and the sometimes lengthy approval processes that foreign governments require for international cash transfers may delay our internal cash transfers from time to time.

 

In addition, many of our imported products are subject to duties, tariffs or other import limitations that affect the cost and quantity of various types of goods imported into the United States or into our other sales markets. Any country in which our products are produced or sold may eliminate, adjust or impose new import limitations, duties, tariffs, anti-dumping penalties or other charges or restrictions, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

 

Our Business and Reputation May be Adversely Affected by Actions of Independent Contractors

 

We contract with many independent contractors outside of the United States to manufacture our products, and we also have license agreements that permit unaffiliated parties to manufacture or contract to manufacture products using our trademarks. We impose, and require our licensees to impose, on those contractors Standards of Manufacturing Practices and other environmental, health and safety standards for the benefit of workers and compliance with product safety and other laws. However, from time to time contractors may not comply with these standards or applicable local law, or our licensees may not require their contractors to comply with these standards or applicable local law. Significant or continuing noncompliance with these standards and laws by one or more contractors could harm our reputation and, as a result, could have an adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

 

We Operate in Very Competitive Markets

 

The markets for outerwear, sportswear, footwear, accessories and equipment are highly competitive, as are the markets for our licensed products. In each of our geographic markets, we face significant competition from global and regional branded apparel, footwear, accessories and equipment companies.

 

Retailers who are our customers often pose our most significant competitive threat by marketing apparel, footwear and equipment under their own private labels. For example, in the United States, several of our largest customers have developed significant private label brands during the past decade that compete directly with our products. These retailers have assumed an increasing degree of inventory risk in their private label products and, as a result, may first cancel advance orders with us in order to manage their own inventory levels downward during weak economic cycles.

 

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We also compete with other companies for the production capacity of independent factories that manufacture our products and for import capacity. Many of our competitors are significantly larger than us, have substantially greater financial, distribution, marketing and other resources than we have, and have achieved greater brand strength than we have.

 

Increased competition may result in reduced access to production capacity, reductions in display areas in retail locations, reductions in sales, or reductions in our profit margins, any of which may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

 

We May be Adversely Affected by the Financial Health of our Customers

 

Sluggish economies and consumer uncertainty regarding future economic prospects in our key markets have had an adverse effect on the financial health of our customers, some of whom have filed or may file for protection under bankruptcy laws, which may in turn have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. We extend credit to our customers based on an assessment of the customer’s financial condition, generally without requiring collateral. To assist in the scheduling of production and the shipping of seasonal products, we offer customers discounts for placing advance orders and extended payment terms for taking delivery before the peak shipping season. These extended payment terms increase our exposure to the risk of uncollectible receivables. In addition, we face increased risk of order reduction or cancellation or reduced availability of credit insurance coverage when dealing with financially ailing retailers or retailers struggling with economic uncertainty. Some of our significant wholesale customers have liquidated or reorganized, while others have had financial difficulties in the past and have recently experienced tightened credit markets and sales declines and reduced profitability, which in turn has an adverse effect on our business. We may reduce our level of business with customers experiencing financial difficulties and may not be able to replace that business with other customers, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

 

We May be Adversely Affected by Global Credit Market Conditions

 

Economic downturns and economic uncertainty generally affect global credit markets. Our vendors, customers and other participants in our supply chain may require access to credit markets in order to do business. Credit market conditions may slow our collection efforts as customers find it more difficult to obtain necessary financing, leading to higher than normal accounts receivable. This could result in greater expense associated with collection efforts and increased bad debt expense. Credit conditions may impair our vendors’ ability to finance the purchase of raw materials or general working capital needs to support our production requirements, resulting in a delay or non-receipt of inventory shipments during key seasons.

 

Historically we have limited our reliance on debt to finance our working capital, capital expenditures and investing activity requirements. We expect to fund our future capital expenditures with existing cash, expected operating cash flows and credit facilities, but if the need arises to finance additional expenditures, we may need to seek additional funding. Our ability to obtain additional financing will depend on many factors, including prevailing market conditions, our financial condition, and our ability to negotiate favorable terms and conditions. Financing may not be available on terms that are acceptable or favorable to us, if at all.

 

We May be Adversely Affected by Retailer Consolidation

 

When our wholesale customers combine their operations through mergers, acquisitions, or other transactions, their consolidated order volume may decrease while their bargaining power and the competitive threat they pose by marketing products under their own private labels may increase. Some of our significant customers have consolidated their operations in the past, which in turn has had a negative effect on our business. Future retailer consolidations could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

 

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We Rely on Technical Innovation and Functional Design to Compete in the Market for our Products

 

Technical innovation and functional design of footwear, apparel, and equipment is essential to distinguish our products in the marketplace and achieve commercial success. Research and development plays a key role in technical innovation. We rely upon specialists in the fields of chemistry, biochemistry, engineering, industrial design, electronics and related fields, guided by consumer feedback, to develop and test innovative performance products. Although we are committed to designing innovative and functional products that deliver relevant performance benefits to consumers who participate in a wide range of competitive and recreational outdoor activities, if we fail to introduce technical innovation in our products that address consumers’ performance expectations, demand for our products could decline.

 

As we strive to achieve technical innovations, we face a greater risk of inadvertent infringements of third party rights or compliance issues. In addition, technical innovations often involve more complex manufacturing processes. More complex manufacturing processes may lead to higher instances of quality issues, and if we experience problems with the quality of our products, we may incur substantial expense to remedy the problems. Failure to successfully bring to market technical innovations in our product lines could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

 

We Face Risks Associated with Consumer Preferences and Fashion Trends

 

Changes in consumer preferences or consumer interest in outdoor activities may have a material adverse effect on our business. In addition, changes in fashion trends may have a greater impact than in the past as we expand our offerings to include more product categories in more geographic areas. We also face risks because our business requires us and our customers to anticipate consumer preferences. Our decisions about product designs often are made far in advance of consumer acceptance. Although we try to manage our inventory risk through early order commitments by retailers, we must generally place a significant portion of our seasonal production orders with our independent factories before we have received all of a season’s orders, and orders may be cancelled by customers before shipment. If we or our customers fail to anticipate and respond to consumer preferences, we may have lower sales, excess inventories and lower profit margins, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

 

Our Success Depends on Our Use and Protection of Intellectual Property Rights

 

Our registered and common law trademarks and our patented or patent-pending designs and technologies have significant value and are important to our ability to differentiate our products from our competitors’ and to create and sustain demand for our products. We also place significant value on our trade dress, the overall appearance and image of our products. From time to time, we discover products that are counterfeit reproductions of our products or that otherwise infringe on our proprietary rights. Counterfeiting activities typically increase as brand recognition increases, especially in markets outside the United States. Increased instances of counterfeit manufacture and sales may adversely affect our sales and our brand and result in a shift of consumer preference away from our products. The actions we take to establish and protect trademarks and other proprietary rights may not be adequate to prevent imitation of our products by others or to prevent others from seeking to block sales of our products as violations of proprietary rights. In markets outside of the United States, it may be more difficult for us to establish our proprietary rights and to successfully challenge use of those rights by other parties. We also license our proprietary rights to third parties. Failure to choose appropriate licensees and licensed product categories may dilute or harm our brand image. In addition to our own intellectual property rights, many of the intellectual property rights in the technology, fabrics and processes used to manufacture our products are generally owned or controlled by our suppliers and are generally not unique to us. In those cases, we may not be able to adequately protect our products or differentiate the performance characteristics and fabrications from those of our competitors. Actions or decisions in the management of our intellectual property portfolio may affect the strength of our brands, which may in turn have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

 

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Although we have not been materially inhibited from selling products in connection with patent, trademark and trade dress disputes, as we focus on innovation in our product lines, extend our brands into new product categories and expand the geographic scope of our marketing, we may become subject to litigation based on allegations of the infringement of intellectual property rights of third parties, including third party trademark, copyright and patent rights. An increasing number of our products include technologies and/or designs for which we have obtained or applied for patent protection. Failure to successfully obtain and maintain patents on these innovations could negatively affect our ability to market and sell our products. Future litigation also may be necessary to defend against such claims or to enforce and protect our intellectual property rights. Any intellectual property litigation may be costly and may divert management’s attention from the operation of our business. Adverse determinations in any litigation may result in the loss of our proprietary rights, subject us to significant liabilities or require us to seek licenses from third parties, which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. This may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

 

Our Success Depends on Our Distribution Facilities

 

Our ability to meet customer expectations, manage inventory, complete sales and achieve objectives for operating efficiencies depends on the proper operation of our existing distribution facilities, the development or expansion of additional distribution capabilities and the timely performance of services by third parties, including those involved in shipping product to and from our distribution facilities. In the United States, we rely primarily on our distribution centers in Portland, Oregon and Robards, Kentucky; in Canada, we rely primarily on our distribution facilities in Strathroy, Ontario; and in Europe, we rely primarily on our distribution center in Cambrai, France.

 

Our distribution facilities in the United States and France are highly automated, which means that their operations are complicated and may be subject to a number of risks related to computer viruses, the proper operation of software and hardware, electronic or power interruptions, and other system failures. Risks associated with upgrading or expanding these facilities may significantly disrupt or increase the cost of our operations. For example, in addition to supporting our traditional wholesale business, our existing distribution facilities have been modified to enable them to also support our new e-commerce sales in the United States. Failure to successfully maintain and update these modifications could disrupt our wholesale and e-commerce shipments and may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

 

Our current distribution facilities are designed to handle significantly greater volumes of product shipments than our business is currently generating, especially our European distribution center in Cambrai, France. The fixed costs associated with owning, operating and maintaining these large, highly-automated distribution centers during a period of economic weakness or declining sales could result in lower operating efficiencies and financial deleverage. This fixed cost structure may make it difficult for us to maintain profitability if sales volumes decline for an extended period of time and could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

 

Our distribution facilities may also be interrupted by disasters, such as earthquakes (which are known to occur in the Northwestern United States), tornadoes or fires. We maintain business interruption insurance, but it may not adequately protect us from the adverse effect that may be caused by significant disruptions in our distribution facilities.

 

We May be Adversely Affected by Currency Exchange Rate Fluctuations

 

Although the majority of our product purchases are denominated in U.S. dollars, the cost of these products may be affected by the relative changes in the value of the local currency of the manufacturer. Price increases caused by currency exchange rate fluctuations may make our products less competitive or have an adverse effect on our margins. Our international revenues and expenses generally are derived from sales and operations in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. Because the functional currency of many of our subsidiaries is not the U.S.

 

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dollar, we are exposed to potentially material gains or losses from the remeasurement of U.S. dollar monetary transactions into the respective functional currencies. Currency exchange rate fluctuations may also disrupt the business of the independent factories that produce our products by making their purchases of raw materials more expensive and more difficult to finance. As a result, currency fluctuations may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

 

Our Investments May be Adversely Affected by Market Conditions

 

Our investment portfolio is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Changes in market conditions, such as those that accompany an economic downturn or economic uncertainty, may negatively affect the value and liquidity of our investment portfolio, perhaps significantly. Our ability to find diversified investments that are both safe and liquid and that provide a reasonable return may be impaired, resulting in lower interest income, less diversification, longer investment maturities and/or higher other-than-temporary impairments.

 

We May be Adversely Affected by Labor Disruptions

 

Our business depends on our ability to source and distribute products in a timely manner. Labor disputes at independent factories where our goods are produced, shipping ports, transportation carriers, retail stores or distribution centers create significant risks for our business, particularly if these disputes result in work slowdowns, lockouts, strikes, or other disruptions during our peak manufacturing and importing seasons, and may have a material adverse effect on our business, potentially resulting in cancelled orders by customers, unanticipated inventory accumulation, and reduced revenues and earnings.

 

We Depend on Key Suppliers

 

Some of the materials that we use may be available from only one source or a very limited number of sources. For example, some specialty fabrics are manufactured to our specification by one source or a few sources, and a single vendor supplies substantially all of the zippers used in our products. From time to time, we have difficulty satisfying our raw material and finished goods requirements. Although we believe that we can identify and qualify additional independent factories to produce these materials as necessary, there are no guarantees that additional independent factories will be available. In addition, depending on the timing, any changes may result in increased costs or production delays, which may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

 

We Depend on Key Personnel

 

Our future success will depend in part on the continued service of key personnel and our ability to attract, retain and develop key managers, designers, sales people and others. We face intense competition for these individuals worldwide, and there is a significant concentration of well-funded apparel and footwear competitors in and around our headquarters in Portland, Oregon. We may not be able to attract qualified new employees or retain existing employees, which may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

 

Our Business Is Affected by Seasonality

 

Our business is affected by the general seasonal trends common to the outdoor apparel industry. Our products are marketed on a seasonal basis and our product mix is weighted substantially toward the fall season. Our annual net sales are weighted more heavily toward the fall/winter season, while our operating expenses are more equally distributed throughout the year. As a result, the majority of our operating profits are generated in the second half of the year. The expansion of our direct-to-consumer operations has had a modest effect on the seasonality of our business, increasing the proportion of sales and profits that we generate in the fourth calendar quarter. This seasonality, along with other factors that are beyond our control and that are discussed elsewhere in this section, may adversely affect our business and cause our results of operations to fluctuate. Results of operations in any period should not be considered indicative of the results to be expected for any future period.

 

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Our Products Are Subject to Increasing Product Regulations and We Face Risks of Product Liability and Warranty Claims

 

Our products are subject to increasingly stringent and complex domestic and foreign product labeling and performance and safety standards, laws and other regulations. These requirements could result in greater expense associated with compliance efforts, and failure to comply with these regulations could result in a delay, non-delivery or mandated recall or destruction of inventory shipments during key seasons or in other financial penalties. Significant or continuing noncompliance with these standards and laws could harm our reputation and, as a result, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

 

Our products are used in outdoor activities, sometimes in severe conditions. Product recalls or product liability claims in the future, resulting from the alleged failure of our products, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. Some of our products carry warranties for defects in quality and workmanship. We maintain a warranty reserve for future warranty claims, but the actual costs of servicing future warranty claims may exceed the reserve, which may also have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

 

Our Common Stock Price May Be Volatile

 

The price of our common stock has fluctuated substantially since our initial public offering. Our common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market. Factors such as general market conditions, fluctuations in financial results, variances from financial market expectations, changes in earnings estimates by analysts, or announcements by us or our competitors may cause the market price of our common stock to fluctuate, perhaps substantially.

 

Insiders Control a Majority of Our Common Stock and May Sell Shares

 

Three related shareholders, Timothy Boyle, Gertrude Boyle and Sarah Bany, beneficially own a majority of our common stock. As a result, if acting together, they can effectively control matters requiring shareholder approval without the cooperation of other shareholders. Shares held by these three insiders are available for resale, subject to the requirements of, and the rules under, the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The sale or the prospect of the sale of a substantial number of these shares may have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock.

 

Item 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

 

None.

 

Item 2. PROPERTIES

 

Following is a summary of principal properties owned or leased by us.

 

Corporate Headquarters:

 

Europe Headquarters (2):

Portland, Oregon (1 location)—owned

 

Geneva, Switzerland (1 location)—leased

U.S. Distribution Facilities:

 

Europe Administrative Operation:

Portland, Oregon (1 location)—owned

 

Strasbourg, France (1 location)—owned

Robards, Kentucky (1 location)—owned

 

Europe Distribution Facility:

Canadian Operation and Distribution Facilities (1):

 

Cambrai, France (1 location)—owned

Strathroy, Ontario (2 locations)—1 owned, 1 leased

 

 

(1)   Lease expires in June 2012.
(2)   Lease expires in June 2015.

 

 

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In addition, as of December 31, 2010, we leased over 100 locations globally for the operation of our branded and outlet retail stores. We also have several leases globally for office space, warehouse facilities, storage space, vehicles and equipment, among other things. See Note 13 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for further lease-related disclosures.

 

Item 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

 

None.

 

Item 4. [RESERVED]

 

Item 4A. EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND KEY EMPLOYEES OF THE REGISTRANT

 

The following table sets forth our executive officers and certain key employees. All information is as of the date of the filing of this report.

 

Name

   Age     

Position

Gertrude Boyle

     87       Chairman of the Board (1)

Timothy P. Boyle

     61       President, Chief Executive Officer, Director (1)

Michael W. Blackford

     42       Vice President of Global Innovation

Kerry W. Barnes

     59       Vice President of Retail

Timothy C. Bartels

     46       Vice President of Global Footwear Sales

Peter J. Bragdon

     48       Senior Vice President of Legal and Corporate Affairs, General Counsel and Secretary (1)

Thomas B. Cusick

     43       Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer (1)

Daniel A. Dougherty

     58       Vice President Global Distribution

Mitchell C. Fields

     63       Vice President of Global Apparel Sales

James T. Gorman

     63       Vice President Footwear Manufacturing

Daniel G. Hanson

     52       Vice President of Marketing

Lisa A. Kulok

     45       Vice President Global Marketplace Planning and Customer Operations

Michael W. McCormick

     48       Executive Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing (1)

Mark J. Nenow

     53       Vice President of Global Footwear Merchandising

Susan S. Parham

     52       Vice President Global Apparel, Accessories and Equipment

Susan G. Popp

     55       Vice President of Global Human Resources (1)

Bryan L. Timm

     47       Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (1)

William Tung

     46       Vice President of Latin America and Asia Pacific

Patrick J. Werner

     55       Vice President of Global Apparel Manufacturing

Paul E. Zaengle

     39       Vice President of E-Commerce

 

(1)   These individuals are considered Executive Officers of Columbia.

 

Gertrude Boyle has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors since 1983. Columbia was founded by her parents in 1938 and managed by her husband, Neal Boyle, from 1964 until his death in 1970. Mrs. Boyle also served as our President from 1970 to 1988. Mrs. Boyle is Timothy P. Boyle’s mother.

 

Timothy P. Boyle joined Columbia in 1971 as General Manager and has served as President and Chief Executive Officer since 1988. He has been a member of the Board of Directors since 1978. Mr. Boyle is also a member of the Board of Directors of Northwest Natural Gas Company and Craft Brewers Alliance, Inc. Mr. Boyle is Gertrude Boyle’s son.

 

Michael W. Blackford joined Columbia in September 2005 as a Senior Apparel Designer and was promoted to Design Director of Men’s Apparel & Equipment in May 2006. In February 2008 he was promoted to Director

 

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of Global Innovation and named Vice President of Global Innovation in August 2010. Prior to joining Columbia, Mr. Blackford held various positions in design, brand management and sourcing at Sierra Designs.

 

Kerry W. Barnes joined Columbia in January 2007 as Vice President of Retail. From 2001 to 2006, Mr. Barnes served as the Director of Retail Stores for adidas AG. From 1981 to 2001, Mr. Barnes held various retail positions at Foot Locker, Inc. including Director of Outlet Stores and Regional Vice President of the West Coast.

 

Timothy C. Bartels joined Columbia in July 2008 as Vice President of Global Footwear Sales. Mr. Bartels served as Vice President of Global Sales for Keen Footwear from 2006 to 2008 and Vice President of Sales for DC Shoes, Inc. (a division of Quiksilver, Inc.) from 2002 to 2006. From 1987 to 2002, Mr. Bartels held a variety of sales management and sales leadership roles at NIKE, Inc.

 

Peter J. Bragdon became Vice President and General Counsel, Secretary of Columbia in July 2004 and was named Senior Vice President of Legal and Corporate Affairs, General Counsel and Secretary in January 2010. From 1999 to January 2003, Mr. Bragdon served as Senior Counsel and Director of Intellectual Property for Columbia. Mr. Bragdon served as Chief of Staff in the Oregon Governor’s office from January 2003 through June 2004. From 1993 to 1999, Mr. Bragdon was an attorney in the corporate securities and finance group at Stoel Rives LLP. Mr. Bragdon served as Special Assistant Attorney General for the Oregon Department of Justice for seven months in 1996.

 

Thomas B. Cusick joined Columbia in September 2002 as Corporate Controller, was named Vice President and Corporate Controller in March 2006, was named Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer in May 2008, was named Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer in January 2009, and was named Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer in January 2010. From 1995 to 2002, Mr. Cusick worked for Cadence Design Systems (and OrCAD, a company acquired by Cadence in 1999), which operates in the electronic design automation industry, in various financial management positions. From 1990 to 1995, Mr. Cusick was an accountant with KPMG LLP.

 

Daniel A. Dougherty joined Columbia in December 1997 and was named Vice President of Global Distribution in October 2009. From 1989 to 1996, Mr. Dougherty worked for Glen Oaks Industries, Inc., where he served as Vice President of Distribution. Prior to that, Mr. Dougherty served as Vice President at both Fussell & Associates, Inc. and Burton & Associates, Inc.

 

Mitchell C. Fields joined Columbia in October 2006 as National Sales Manager of Men’s Apparel and was named Vice President of Global Apparel Sales in June 2008. From 2002 to 2006, Mr. Fields served as Director of Sales for Callaway Golf Footwear. From 1984 to 2001, Mr. Fields held various sales management positions at NIKE, Inc. including Director of Sales for Nike Golf and Director of Replenishment.

 

James T. Gorman joined Columbia in October 2009 as Vice President Footwear Manufacturing. From 2001 to 2009, Mr. Gorman was President and Founder of Momentum Brand Group, LLC. From 1997 to 2000, Mr. Gorman served as President of PUMA North America, Inc., and from 1994 to 1997, Mr. Gorman served as CEO of Diadora America, Inc. From 1990 to 1993, Mr. Gorman was Senior Vice President Logistics for adidas A.G., and from 1972 to 1990, Mr. Gorman held several key positions at NIKE, Inc., including Divisional Vice President.

 

Daniel G. Hanson joined Columbia in September 1989 and held various management positions in sales and marketing until 1996, when he became Director of Marketing Communications. In March 2006 Mr. Hanson was named Vice President of Marketing. From 1982 to 1989, Mr. Hanson worked for Helly Hansen AS, where he served as United States Marketing Manager from 1986 to 1989.

 

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Lisa A. Kulok joined Columbia in February 2008 as Senior Director of Global Planning and was named Vice President of Global Marketplace Planning and Customer Operations in October 2009. From 1987 to 2007, Ms. Kulok held various leadership positions at NIKE, Inc., including USA Apparel Marketplace Planning Director and Director of Regional Planning.

 

Michael W. McCormick joined Columbia in August 2006 as Vice President of Sales and was named Executive Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing in October 2008. From 2003 to 2006, Mr. McCormick served as Chief Marketing Officer for Golf Galaxy, Inc. From 2000 to 2002, Mr. McCormick served as Executive Vice President—Global Sales for Callaway Golf Company, and from 1992 to 2000, Mr. McCormick worked for NIKE, Inc. in various sales management positions, including Director of National Sales.

 

Mark J. Nenow joined Columbia in May 2007 as Vice President of Global Footwear Merchandising. From 2006 to 2007, Mr. Nenow served as Vice President of Global Footwear Merchandising at Brooks Sports. From 1995 to 2006, Mr. Nenow worked for NIKE, Inc., where he held various product line management positions in the running and outdoor categories. Prior to his footwear career, Mr. Nenow was a professional track and field athlete and held the American track record for the 10,000 meters from 1986 to 2003.

 

Susan S. Parham joined Columbia in January 2010 as Vice President Global Apparel, Accessories and Equipment. From 1998 to 2010, Ms. Parham served as President and Founder of the consulting firm Lessons Learned. From 1990 to 1998, Ms. Parham held several leadership positions at NIKE, Inc., including Director of U.S. Apparel Merchandising and General Merchandising Manager of Nike Retail.

 

Susan G. Popp joined Columbia in April 1997 as Human Resources Manager and was named Human Resources Director in May 2004. In March 2006, Ms. Popp was named Vice President of Global Human Resources. Prior to joining Columbia, Ms. Popp held various Human Resource positions, including at NIKE, Inc. from 1996 to 1997.

 

Bryan L. Timm joined Columbia in June 1997 as Corporate Controller and was named Chief Financial Officer in July 2002. In 2003 Mr. Timm was named Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer and in October 2008 he was named Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer and continued to serve in the role of Chief Financial Officer until January 2009. From 1991 to 1997, Mr. Timm held various financial management positions for Oregon Steel Mills, Inc. From 1986 to 1991, Mr. Timm was an accountant with KPMG LLP. Mr. Timm is a member of the Board of Directors of Umpqua Holdings Corporation.

 

William Tung joined Columbia in September 2003 and was named Vice President of International Sales and Operations in December 2004. In October 2008, he was named Vice President of Latin America and Asia Pacific. From 2002 to 2003, Mr. Tung worked for The Body Shop International PLC as Regional Director of North Asia. He was employed by The Rockport Company from 1994 to 2002 where he served in a variety of capacities, most recently as Vice President of Europe. From 1991 to 1994, Mr. Tung worked for Prince Racquet Sports (a division of Benetton Sportsystems) as Sales and Marketing Manager of Asia-Pacific.

 

Patrick J. Werner joined Columbia in April 2004 as the Director of Apparel Sportswear Sourcing and was named Vice President of Global Apparel Manufacturing in November 2006. Prior to Columbia, Mr. Werner held several key apparel sourcing manufacturing compliance roles at NIKE, Inc., where he worked from 1981 until 2004.

 

Paul E. Zaengle joined Columbia in June 2008 as Senior Director, E-commerce and was named Vice President E-commerce in August 2010. Prior to joining Columbia, Mr. Zaengle served as Vice President, Interactive Technology at Polo Ralph Lauren where he led the strategy, technology, production and design efforts behind the award-winning Polo.com e-commerce and interactive marketing platforms. Prior to joining Polo in 2001, Mr. Zaengle held leadership positions in the technology services department at the City of Santa Clarita, California.

 

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PART II

 

Item 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

 

Our common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market and trades under the symbol “COLM.” At February 25, 2011, we had approximately 440 shareholders of record.

 

Following are the quarterly high and low closing prices for our Common Stock for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009:

 

     HIGH      LOW      DIVIDENDS
DECLARED
 

2010

        

First Quarter

   $ 53.68       $ 39.22       $ 0.18   

Second Quarter

   $ 60.09       $ 46.67       $ 0.18   

Third Quarter

   $ 58.86       $ 44.43       $ 0.18   

Fourth Quarter

   $ 61.89       $ 51.61       $ 1.70   

2009

        

First Quarter

   $ 35.93       $ 25.22       $ 0.16   

Second Quarter

   $ 37.53       $ 29.90       $ 0.16   

Third Quarter

   $ 42.87       $ 30.05       $ 0.16   

Fourth Quarter

   $ 45.00       $ 37.60       $ 0.18   

 

Our current dividend policy is dependent on our earnings, capital requirements, financial condition, restrictions imposed by our credit agreements, and other factors considered relevant by our Board of Directors. For various restrictions on our ability to pay dividends, see Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, and Note 8 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

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Performance Graph

 

The line graph below compares the cumulative total shareholder return of our Common Stock with the cumulative total return of the Standard & Poor’s (“S&P”) 400 Mid-Cap Index and the Russell 3000 Textiles Apparel Manufacturers for the period beginning December 31, 2005 and ending December 31, 2010. The graph assumes that $100 was invested on December 31, 2005, and that any dividends were reinvested.

 

Historical stock price performance should not be relied on as indicative of future stock price performance.

 

Columbia Sportswear Company

Stock Price Performance

December 31, 2005—December 31, 2010

 

LOGO

 

Total Return Analysis

 

     12/31/2005      12/31/2006      12/31/2007      12/31/2008      12/31/2009      12/31/2010  

Columbia Sportswear Co.

   $ 100.00       $ 116.98       $ 93.52       $ 76.25       $ 85.83       $ 138.27   

S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index

   $ 100.00       $ 110.32       $ 119.12       $ 75.96       $ 104.36       $ 132.16   

Russell 3000 Textiles Apparel Mfrs.

   $ 100.00       $ 128.72       $ 98.77       $ 58.12       $ 82.38       $ 108.53   

 

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

 

Since the inception of the Company’s stock repurchase plan in 2004 through December 31, 2010, the Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to $500,000,000 of the Company’s common stock. As of December 31, 2010, the Company had repurchased 9,190,890 shares under this program for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $421,237,000. Shares of the Company’s common stock may be purchased in the open market or through privately negotiated transactions, subject to market conditions. The repurchase program does not obligate the Company to acquire any specific number of shares or to acquire shares over any specified period of time.

 

The Company did not repurchase any equity securities during the three months ended December 31, 2010.

 

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Item 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

 

Selected Consolidated Financial Data

 

The selected consolidated financial data presented below for, and as of the end of, each of the years in the five-year period ended December 31, 2010 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements. The consolidated financial data should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and Accompanying Notes that appear elsewhere in this annual report and Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations set forth in Item 7.

 

     Year Ended December 31,  
     2010      2009      2008      2007      2006  
     (In thousands, except per share amounts)  

Statement of Operations Data:

              

Net sales

   $ 1,483,524       $ 1,244,023       $ 1,317,835       $ 1,356,039       $ 1,287,672   

Net income

     77,037         67,021         95,047         144,452         123,018   

Per Share of Common Stock Data:

              

Earnings per share:

              

Basic

   $ 2.28       $ 1.98       $ 2.75       $ 4.00       $ 3.39   

Diluted

     2.26         1.97         2.74         3.96         3.36   

Cash dividends per share

     2.24         0.66         0.64         0.58         0.14   

Weighted average shares outstanding:

              

Basic

     33,725         33,846         34,610         36,106         36,245   

Diluted

     34,092         33,981         34,711         36,434         36,644   
     December 31,  
     2010      2009      2008      2007      2006  

Balance Sheet Data:

              

Total assets

   $ 1,294,754       $ 1,212,883       $ 1,148,236       $ 1,166,481       $ 1,027,289   

Long-term obligations, net of current maturities

     —           —           15         61         136   

 

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Item 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

 

This Annual Report, including Item 1 of Part I and Item 6 of Part II, contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include any statements related to our expectations regarding future performance or market position, including any statements regarding anticipated sales across markets, distribution channels and product categories, access to raw materials and factory capacity, financing and working capital requirements and resources and our exposure to market risk associated with interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates.

 

These forward-looking statements, and others we make from time to time, are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Many factors may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements, including the risks described above in Item 1A, Risk Factors. We do not undertake any duty either to update forward-looking statements after the date they are made or to conform them to actual results or to changes in circumstances or expectations.

 

Our Business

 

As one of the largest outdoor apparel and footwear companies in the world, we design, source, market and distribute active outdoor apparel, footwear, accessories and equipment under the Columbia, Mountain Hardwear, Sorel and Montrail brands. Our products are sold through a mix of wholesale distribution channels, independent distributors, our own direct-to-consumer channels and licensees.

 

The popularity of outdoor activities, changing design trends and consumer adoption of innovative performance technologies affect consumer desire for our products. Therefore, we seek to anticipate and respond to trends and shifts in consumer preferences by adjusting the mix of available product offerings, developing new products with innovative performance features and designs, and creating persuasive and memorable marketing communications to drive consumer awareness and demand. Failure to anticipate or respond to consumer needs and preferences in a timely and adequate manner could have a material adverse effect on our sales and profitability.

 

Seasonality and Variability of Business

 

Our business is affected by the general seasonal trends common to the outdoor industry and is heavily dependent upon discretionary consumer spending patterns. Our products are marketed on a seasonal basis and our product mix is weighted substantially toward the fall season, resulting in sales and profits being highest in the third calendar quarter. The expansion of our own direct-to-consumer operations beginning in 2008 has increased the proportion of sales and profits that we generate in the fourth calendar quarter. In 2009 and 2010, our profits were earned entirely in the second half of the year, reflecting the dependence upon our sales results in the latter part of the year as well as a higher fixed cost structure of our business.

 

Results of operations in any period should not be considered indicative of the results to be expected for any future period, particularly in light of persistent volatility in economic conditions. Sales of our products are subject to substantial cyclical fluctuation, the effects of unseasonable weather conditions, and the continued popularity of outdoor activities as part of an active lifestyle in key markets. The current economic environment in key markets, coupled with challenging capacity constraints across the independent manufacturing and transportation segments of our supply chain, reduced the predictability of our business throughout 2010 and into 2011.

 

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Business Outlook

 

The business climate continues to present us with a great deal of uncertainty, with a number of variables that we rely on for planning purposes moving in opposing directions making it more difficult to predict future results. Factors that could significantly affect our 2011 outlook include:

 

   

Unseasonable weather conditions affecting consumer demand and the resulting effect on order cancellations and reorders;

 

   

Changes in mix and volume of full price sales in contrast with closeout product sales;

 

   

Manufacturing and/or transportation capacity constraints;

 

   

The variability of input costs across our supply chain;

 

   

Costs of expedited transportation;

 

   

Incremental sales through our expanding direct-to-consumer operations, which are not included in backlog;

 

   

Changes in consumer spending activity and sales fluctuations in our own retail stores; and

 

   

Fluctuating currency exchange rates.

 

Like other branded consumer product companies, our business is heavily dependent upon discretionary consumer spending patterns. Continuing high levels of unemployment in our key markets and restricted credit markets for consumers and retailers continue to pose significant challenges and risks. As a result, a more cautious approach by our wholesale customers may persist, resulting in risk of reduction, delay or cancellation of advance orders prior to shipment.

 

Over the past two years we have made significant investments in our go-to-market process to position us for growth. Among other things we have:

 

   

Sharpened our focus on product innovation;

 

   

Built a multi-channel direct-to-consumer platform, including expanded retail store and e-commerce operations;

 

   

Refocused our marketing efforts behind new brand campaigns and media strategies for each of our major brands; and

 

   

Restructured our sales organizations to build relationships with new partners and strengthen those with existing accounts.

 

As a result of these continuing efforts, we expect our operating expense levels to increase compared to 2010. In addition, we have begun to make improvements to our operational processes, involving significant investments in initiatives to improve our information technology infrastructure and our enterprise data and information management across our organization, which is designed to improve operational flexibility and performance across our supply chain. These investments are the foundation for a multi-year implementation of a new global enterprise resource planning, or ERP, system which began in late 2010 and will accelerate in 2011 and beyond.

 

Wholesale Backlog

 

We generally solicit orders from wholesale customers and independent distributors for the fall and spring seasons by March 31 and September 30, respectively, based on ordering deadlines that we establish to aid our efforts to plan manufacturing volumes to meet demand for each of our selling seasons. Twice each year we report our backlog of advance orders, representing the results of these seasonal order-taking processes.

 

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We typically ship the majority of our advance fall season orders to wholesale customers and independent distributors beginning in late June and continuing through October. Similarly, the majority of our advance spring season orders ship to wholesale customers and independent distributors beginning in late December and continuing through late April. Generally, orders are subject to cancellation prior to the date of shipment.

 

Our spring wholesale backlog at September 30, 2010 (our most recent seasonal ordering deadline) increased $43.4 million, or 12%, to $394.2 million from $350.8 million at September 30, 2009. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates compared with 2009 affected the spring wholesale backlog comparison by less than 1%. Our spring wholesale backlog reflects growth across each major brand, product category and region. The increase in our spring wholesale backlog was led by the United States, followed by the LAAP region, the EMEA region and Canada. By product category, the spring wholesale backlog increase was led by sportswear, followed by footwear, outerwear and accessories and equipment. By brand, the spring wholesale backlog increase was led by the Columbia brand, followed by the Sorel brand and the Mountain Hardwear brand. Wholesale backlog does not include anticipated sales to consumers through our own direct-to-consumer channels. Although we cannot predict with certainty any future results, our reported spring wholesale backlog is one indicator of our anticipated net sales for the spring 2011 selling season. Many factors, however, could cause actual wholesale sales to differ materially from the reported spring wholesale backlog, including the potential cancellation of orders by customers, capacity constraints at our independent manufacturing partners’ facilities resulting in delivery delays, changes in foreign currency exchange rates and changes in macro-economic conditions. Moreover, our spring wholesale backlog should not be used in forecasting sales beyond the spring 2011 selling season.

 

Results of Operations

 

The following discussion of our results of operations and liquidity and capital resources should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying Notes that appear elsewhere in this annual report. All references to years relate to the calendar year ended December 31.

 

Highlights of the Year Ended December 31, 2010

 

   

Net sales increased $239.5 million, or 19%, to $1,483.5 million in 2010 from $1,244.0 million in 2009. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates compared with 2009 contributed approximately one percentage point of benefit to the consolidated net sales comparison.

 

   

Net income increased 15% to $77.0 million in 2010 from $67.0 million in 2009, and diluted earnings per share increased to $2.26 in 2010 compared to $1.97 in 2009.

 

   

We paid quarterly cash dividends totaling $0.74 per share, or $24.9 million in aggregate, for the year ended December 31, 2010, which included an 11% increase in the quarterly dividend to $0.20 per share from $0.18 per share in October 2010. In addition, we paid a special dividend of $1.50 per share, or $50.5 million in aggregate, in December 2010.

 

   

Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments as of December 31, 2010 totaled approximately $303.1 million.

 

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The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, the percentage relationship to net sales of specified items in our Consolidated Statements of Operations:

 

     2010     2009     2008  

Net sales

     100.0     100.0     100.0

Cost of sales

     57.6        57.9        56.9   
                        

Gross profit

     42.4        42.1        43.1   

Selling, general and administrative expense

     36.0        35.7        32.7   

Impairment of acquired intangible assets

     —          —          1.9   

Net licensing income

     0.6        0.7        0.5   
                        

Income from operations

     7.0        7.1        9.0   

Interest income, net

     0.1        0.1        0.6   
                        

Income before income tax

     7.1        7.2        9.6   

Income tax expense

     (1.9     (1.8     (2.4
                        

Net income

     5.2     5.4     7.2
                        

 

Year Ended December 31, 2010 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2009

 

Net Sales:    Consolidated net sales increased $239.5 million, or 19%, to $1,483.5 million in 2010 from $1,244.0 million in 2009. Net sales increased across all geographic regions, in each product category and across all major brands. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates compared with 2009 contributed approximately one percentage point of benefit to the consolidated net sales comparison.

 

Sales by Geographic Region

 

Net sales by geographic region are summarized in the following table:

 

     Year Ended December 31,  
          2010                2009                % Change       
     (In millions, except for percentage changes)  

United States

   $ 881.0       $ 736.9         20

LAAP

     263.4         203.2         30

EMEA

     222.4         197.4         13

Canada

     116.7         106.5         10
                    
   $ 1,483.5       $ 1,244.0         19
                    

 

Net sales in the United States increased $144.1 million, or 20%, to $881.0 million in 2010 from $736.9 million in 2009. The increase in net sales in the United States by product category was led by outerwear, followed by sportswear, footwear and accessories and equipment. The net sales increase by channel was led by our wholesale business, followed by our direct-to-consumer business. The increase in net sales in our wholesale business was primarily concentrated in the Columbia brand resulting from improved economic conditions compared to the same period in 2009 and stronger advance orders. The net sales increase in our direct-to-consumer business was primarily concentrated in the Columbia brand and was driven by increased sales within existing stores, increased sales through our Columbia and Sorel brand e-commerce sites, which were launched in the third and fourth quarter of 2009, respectively, incremental sales from our Mountain Hardwear brand e-commerce site which was launched in the third quarter of 2010, and an increase in the number of retail stores, with 4 more retail stores operating at December 31, 2010 than at December 31, 2009.

 

Net sales in the LAAP region increased $60.2 million, or 30%, to $263.4 million in 2010 from $203.2 million in 2009. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates contributed seven percentage points of

 

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benefit to the LAAP net sales comparison. The net sales increase in the LAAP region by product category was led by sportswear, followed by outerwear, footwear and accessories and equipment. The LAAP net sales increase was primarily concentrated in the Columbia brand and was led by Korea, followed by Japan and our LAAP distributor business. The increase in Korea net sales was primarily due to increased sales from existing stores, the favorable effect of foreign currency exchange rates and a greater number of retail stores operating during 2010. The increase in Japan net sales was primarily the result of the favorable effect of foreign currency exchange rates, increased wholesale net sales to the sporting goods channel and continued growth in our direct-to-consumer business. Net sales to our LAAP distributors increased due to improved macro-economic conditions in certain distributor markets, increased advance orders for both the Spring and Fall seasons, as well as a shift in the timing of shipments as a higher percentage of spring 2011 shipments occurred in the fourth quarter of 2010, while a higher percentage of spring 2010 shipments occurred in the first quarter of 2010.

 

Net sales in the EMEA region increased $25.0 million, or 13%, to $222.4 million in 2010 from $197.4 million in 2009. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates compared to 2009 negatively affected the net sales comparison by four percentage points. The increase in net sales in the EMEA region by product category was led by footwear, followed by sportswear, outerwear and accessories and equipment. The net sales increase by channel was led by EMEA distributors, followed by our EMEA direct business. The increase in net sales to EMEA distributors was partially the result of improved macro-economic conditions in Russia, coupled with a shift in the timing of shipments as a higher percentage of spring 2011 shipments occurred in the fourth quarter of 2010, while a higher percentage of spring 2010 shipments occurred in the first quarter of 2010. The increase in EMEA direct net sales was primarily the result of increased net sales of Sorel-branded footwear.

 

Net sales in Canada increased $10.2 million, or 10%, to $116.7 million in 2010 from $106.5 million in 2009. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates compared to 2009 contributed eight percentage points of benefit to the Canada net sales comparison.

 

Sales by Product Category

 

Net sales by product category are summarized in the following table:

 

     Year Ended December 31,  
          2010                2009                % Change       
     (In millions, except for percentage changes)  

Outerwear

   $ 560.8       $ 482.5         16

Sportswear

     555.8         472.5         18

Footwear

     270.2         214.6         26

Accessories and Equipment

     96.7         74.4         30
                    
   $ 1,483.5       $ 1,244.0         19
                    

 

Net sales of outerwear increased $78.3 million, or 16%, to $560.8 million in 2010 from $482.5 million in 2009. The increase in outerwear net sales was primarily concentrated in the Columbia brand and was led by the United States, followed by the LAAP region, Canada and the EMEA region. The net sales increase in outerwear in the United States was led by our direct-to-consumer business, followed by our wholesale business. The outerwear net sales increase in the LAAP region was led by Korea, followed by Japan and our LAAP distributor business.

 

Net sales of sportswear increased $83.3 million, or 18%, to $555.8 million in 2010 from $472.5 million in 2009. The increase in sportswear net sales was primarily concentrated in the Columbia brand and was led by the United States, followed by the LAAP region, EMEA region and Canada. The sportswear net sales increase in the United States was led by our wholesale business, followed by our direct-to-consumer business. The sportswear net sales increase in the LAAP region was led by Korea, followed by our LAAP distributor business and Japan.

 

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The sportswear net sales increase in the EMEA region was led by our EMEA distributor business, partially offset by decreased net sales in our EMEA direct business.

 

Net sales of footwear increased $55.6 million, or 26%, to $270.2 million in 2010 from $214.6 million in 2009. The increase in footwear net sales by brand was led by the Sorel brand, followed by the Columbia brand. The footwear net sales increase by region was led by the United States, followed by the EMEA region, the LAAP region and Canada. The net sales increase in footwear in the United States was led by our wholesale business, followed by our direct-to-consumer business. The footwear net sales increase in the EMEA region was led by our EMEA direct business, followed by our EMEA distributor business. The LAAP footwear net sales increase was led by our LAAP distributor business, followed by Korea and Japan.

 

Net sales of accessories and equipment increased $22.3 million, or 30%, to $96.7 million in 2010 from $74.4 million in 2009. The accessories and equipment net sales increase was primarily concentrated in the Columbia brand, followed by the Mountain Hardwear brand. Accessories and equipment net sales growth by region was led by the United States, followed by the LAAP region, the EMEA region and Canada.

 

Sales by Brand

 

Net sales by brand are summarized in the following table:

 

     Year Ended December 31,  
          2010                2009                % Change       
     (In millions, except for percentage changes)  

Columbia

   $ 1,262.4       $ 1,072.5         18

Mountain Hardwear

     121.9         100.5         21

Sorel

     89.7         60.6         48

Other

     9.5         10.4         (9 )% 
                    
   $ 1,483.5       $ 1,244.0         19
                    

 

The net sales increase by brand in 2010 compared to 2009 was primarily concentrated in the Columbia brand, followed by the Sorel and Mountain Hardwear brands. The Columbia brand net sales increased across all product categories, led by sportswear, followed by outerwear, footwear and accessories and equipment. The Columbia brand net sales increased across all regions led by the United States, followed by the LAAP region, the EMEA region and Canada.

 

Gross Profit:    Gross profit as a percentage of net sales increased to 42.4% in 2010 from 42.1% in 2009. Gross profit margins expanded primarily due to a higher volume of direct-to-consumer sales at higher gross margins, improved gross margins on close-out product sales and favorable foreign currency hedge rates, largely offset by increased costs to expedite production and delivery of fall 2010 orders to wholesale customers.

 

Our gross profit may not be comparable to those of other companies in our industry because some include all of the costs related to their distribution network in cost of sales. We, like others, have chosen to include these expenses as a component of selling, general and administrative expense.

 

Selling, General and Administrative Expense:    Selling, general and administrative expense (“SG&A”) includes all costs associated with our design, merchandising, marketing, selling, distribution and corporate functions, including related depreciation and amortization.

 

SG&A expense increased $89.4 million, or 20%, to $534.1 million in 2010 from $444.7 million in 2009. The SG&A expense increase was primarily due to:

 

   

Increased global personnel costs resulting from the continued internalization of our sales organization in the United States, the EMEA region and Canada, additional personnel to support our growth

 

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initiatives, reinstatement of personnel and benefit programs that were curtailed or postponed in 2009, and higher incentive compensation;

 

   

Incremental expenses to support our expanded direct-to-consumer businesses in the United States, the EMEA region and Canada;

 

   

Expenses associated with various initiatives to improve our information technology infrastructure, including increased costs associated with our multi-year global ERP implementation; and

 

   

Increased advertising expense.

 

As a percentage of net sales, SG&A expense increased to 36.0% of net sales in 2010 from 35.7% of net sales in 2009. Depreciation and amortization included in SG&A expense totaled $37.8 million in 2010 compared to $35.5 million in 2009.

 

Net Licensing Income:    Net licensing income decreased $0.4 million, or 5%, to $8.0 million in 2010 from $8.4 million in 2009.

 

Interest Income, Net:    Net interest income was $1.6 million in 2010 compared to $2.1 million in 2009. The decrease in interest income was primarily driven by lower interest rates in 2010 compared to 2009. Interest expense was nominal in both 2010 and 2009.

 

Income Tax Expense:    Income tax expense increased to $27.9 million in 2010 from $22.8 million in 2009. This increase resulted from higher income before tax as well as an increase in our effective income tax rate to 26.6% in 2010 compared to 25.4% in 2009. Our effective tax rates in 2010 and 2009 were reduced by the recognition of tax benefits associated with the favorable resolution of uncertain tax positions, foreign tax credits and non-U.S. income generally taxed at lower tax rates.

 

Net Income:    Net income increased $10.0 million, or 15%, to $77.0 million in 2010 from $67.0 in 2009. Diluted earnings per share was $2.26 in 2010 compared to $1.97 in 2009.

 

Year Ended December 31, 2009 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2008

 

Net Sales:    Consolidated net sales decreased $73.8 million, or 6%, to $1,244.0 million in 2009 from $1,317.8 million in 2008. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates compared with 2008 negatively affected the consolidated net sales comparison by approximately one percentage point. The decrease in net sales was led by the EMEA region and Canada, partially offset by increased net sales in the United States and the LAAP region. By product category, the reduction in net sales was led by sportswear, followed by outerwear and footwear, partially offset by increased net sales of accessories and equipment.

 

Sales by Geographic Region

 

     Year Ended December 31,  
          2009                2008                % Change       
     (In millions, except for percentage changes)  

United States

   $ 736.9       $ 727.7         1

LAAP

     203.2         198.2         3

EMEA

     197.4         267.2         (26 )% 

Canada

     106.5         124.7         (15 )% 
                    
   $ 1,244.0       $ 1,317.8         (6 )% 
                    

 

Net sales in the United States increased $9.2 million, or 1%, to $736.9 million in 2009 from $727.7 million in 2008. The increase in net sales in the United States was led by outerwear, followed by footwear and

 

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accessories and equipment, partially offset by decreased net sales of sportswear. A net sales increase through our retail channels was partially offset by a net sales decrease in our wholesale business. During 2009, we opened 11 new outlet retail stores in the United States, ending the year with 39 outlet retail stores and 6 branded retail stores. In addition, we launched e-commerce websites for the Columbia brand in the third quarter of 2009 and for the Sorel brand in the fourth quarter of 2009.

 

Net sales in the LAAP region increased $5.0 million, or 3%, to $203.2 million in 2009 from $198.2 million in 2008. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates contributed two percentage points of benefit to LAAP net sales compared to 2008. The net sales increase in the LAAP region was led by outerwear, followed by accessories and equipment and footwear, partially offset by a net sales decrease in sportswear. Net sales growth in the LAAP region was led by our Japan business, which benefited from foreign currency exchange rates, followed by our Korea business, partially offset by a net sales decrease in our LAAP distributor business.

 

Net sales in the EMEA region decreased $69.8 million, or 26%, to $197.4 million in 2009 from $267.2 million in 2008. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates compared to 2008 negatively affected the net sales comparison by three percentage points. The decrease in net sales in the EMEA region was led by sportswear and outerwear, followed by footwear and accessories and equipment. Net sales decreased for both the EMEA distributor and EMEA direct businesses. The decrease in net sales to EMEA distributors primarily reflects lower Columbia-branded product net sales to our largest distributor in the region and a shift in the timing of shipments as a smaller percentage of spring 2010 shipments occurred in the fourth quarter of 2009, while a higher percentage of spring 2009 shipments occurred in the fourth quarter of 2008. The decrease in EMEA direct net sales was consistent with lower advance order volumes due in part to continued product assortment and marketing challenges.

 

Net sales in Canada decreased $18.2 million, or 15%, to $106.5 million in 2009 from $124.7 million in 2008. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates compared to 2008 negatively affected the net sales comparison by seven percentage points. The decrease in net sales in Canada was led by sportswear and outerwear, partially offset by increased net sales of footwear and accessories and equipment. The decrease in net sales was consistent with lower advance order volumes of Columbia-branded products due in part to planned reductions in certain channels of distribution.

 

Sales by Product Category

 

     Year Ended December 31,  
          2009                2008                % Change       
     (In millions, except for percentage changes)  

Outerwear

   $ 482.5       $ 491.7         (2 )% 

Sportswear

     472.5         540.9         (13 )% 

Footwear

     214.6         217.2         (1 )% 

Accessories and Equipment

     74.4         68.0         9
                    
   $ 1,244.0       $ 1,317.8         (6 )% 
                    

 

Net sales of outerwear decreased $9.2 million, or 2%, to $482.5 million in 2009 from $491.7 million in 2008. The decrease in outerwear net sales consisted of decreased net sales in the EMEA direct and distributor businesses, the LAAP distributor business, Canada and the United States wholesale business, partially offset by increased net sales in our United States retail business, Japan and Korea. By brand, the decrease in net sales of Columbia-branded outerwear was partially offset by increased net sales of Mountain Hardwear-branded outerwear. We primarily attribute the decrease in wholesale net sales of Columbia-branded outerwear to lower initial order volumes.

 

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Net sales of sportswear decreased $68.4 million, or 13%, to $472.5 million in 2009 from $540.9 million in 2008. The decrease in sportswear net sales consisted of decreased net sales in the United States wholesale business, the EMEA direct and distributor businesses, Canada and the LAAP distributor business, partially offset by increased net sales in our United States retail business, Japan and Korea. By brand, the decrease in net sales of Columbia-branded sportswear was partially offset by increased net sales of Mountain Hardwear-branded sportswear. We primarily attribute the decrease in wholesale net sales of Columbia-branded sportswear to lower initial order volumes.

 

Net sales of footwear decreased $2.6 million, or 1%, to $214.6 million in 2009 from $217.2 million in 2008. The decrease in footwear net sales was concentrated in the EMEA distributor business, followed by the United States wholesale and LAAP distributor businesses, partially offset by increased net sales of footwear in our United States retail business, Japan and Canada. Footwear net sales were essentially flat in the EMEA direct business and Korea. By brand, the decrease in net sales of Columbia-branded footwear was partially offset by increased net sales of Sorel-branded footwear. Net sales of Sorel-branded footwear increased in all regions and businesses except the EMEA distributor business. The decrease in footwear net sales to EMEA distributors primarily reflects lower Columbia-branded product net sales to our largest customer in that region and a shift in the timing of shipments as a smaller percentage of spring 2010 shipments occurred in the fourth quarter of 2009, while a higher percentage of spring 2009 shipments occurred in the fourth quarter of 2008.

 

Net sales of accessories and equipment increased $6.4 million, or 9%, to $74.4 million in 2009 from $68.0 million in 2008. Accessories and equipment sales growth was concentrated in Columbia-branded accessories and equipment and led by the United States and the LAAP region, followed by Canada, partially offset by a decrease in net sales in the EMEA region.

 

Sales by Brand

 

     Year Ended December 31,  
          2009                2008                % Change       
     (In millions, except for percentage changes)  

Columbia

   $ 1,072.5       $ 1,162.0         (8 )% 

Mountain Hardwear

     100.5         95.0         6

Sorel

     60.6         48.1         26

Other

     10.4         12.7         (18 )% 
                    
   $ 1,244.0       $ 1,317.8         (6 )% 
                    

 

Gross Profit:    Gross profit as a percentage of net sales decreased to 42.1% in 2009 from 43.1% in 2008. Gross profit margins contracted primarily as a result of a higher volume of close-out product sales at lower gross margins and unfavorable hedge rates.

 

Selling, General and Administrative Expense:    SG&A expense increased $14.3 million, or 3%, to $444.7 million in 2009 from $430.4 million in 2008. As a percentage of net sales, SG&A expense increased to 35.7% of net sales in 2009 from 32.7% of net sales in 2008. The increase in SG&A expense as a percentage of net sales was largely the result of reduced net sales in our wholesale business coupled with an increased fixed cost base related to our expanding direct-to-consumer operations and increased incentive compensation and professional fees, partially offset by reduced advertising and bad debt expense.

 

Selling expenses, including commissions and advertising, decreased $17.0 million, or 14%, to 8.4% of net sales in 2009 from 9.2% of net sales in 2008. We attribute the decrease in selling expenses as a percentage of net sales to lower commission expense as relationships with certain independent sales agencies in the United States and the EMEA region have been discontinued and replaced by in-house sales operations. Operating expenses for the in-house sales organization are included in general and administrative expenses.

 

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General and administrative expenses increased $31.3 million, or 10%, to 27.4% of net sales in 2009 from 23.4% of net sales for the comparable period in 2008. The increase in general and administrative expenses as a percentage of net sales was primarily due to incremental operating costs in support our direct-to-consumer initiatives and the expansion of our in-house sales organization, partially offset by lower bad debt expense. Depreciation and amortization included in SG&A expense totaled $35.5 million for 2009, compared to $30.1 million for the same period in 2008.

 

Impairment of Acquired Intangible Assets:    We did not incur any impairment of acquired intangible assets in 2009. During the fourth quarter of 2008, we incurred a $24.7 million non-cash pre-tax charge, or approximately $0.46 per diluted share after tax, for the write-down of acquired intangible assets related to our acquisitions of the Pacific Trail and Montrail brands in 2006. The impairment charge related primarily to goodwill and trademarks and resulted from our annual evaluation of intangible asset values. These brands had not achieved our sales and profitability objectives and the deterioration in the macro-economic environment and resulting effect on consumer demand have decreased the probability of realizing these objectives in the near future. We remain committed to marketing and distributing Montrail-branded footwear through the outdoor specialty, running specialty and sporting goods channels. Beginning in 2009, Pacific Trail products are sold primarily through licensing arrangements.

 

Net Licensing Income:    Net licensing income increased $2.4 million, or 40%, to $8.4 million in 2009 from $6.0 million in 2008. The increase in net licensing income was primarily due to increased apparel and footwear licensing in the LAAP region. Products distributed by our licensees in 2009 included apparel, footwear, leather accessories, eyewear, socks, insulated products including soft-sided coolers, camping gear, bicycles, home products, luggage, watches and other accessories.

 

Interest Income, Net:    Interest income was $2.1 million in 2009 compared to $7.6 million in 2008. The decrease in interest income was almost entirely due to significantly lower interest rates in 2009 compared to 2008. Interest expense was nominal in 2009 and 2008.

 

Income Tax Expense:    Our provision for income taxes decreased to $22.8 million in 2009 from $31.2 million in 2008. This decrease resulted from lower income before tax, partially offset by an increase in our effective income tax rate to 25.4% in 2009 compared to 24.7% in 2008. Our 2009 effective tax rate varied from the U.S. statutory rate due to foreign tax credits and the favorable settlement of uncertain tax positions.

 

Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

Our primary ongoing funding requirements are for working capital, investing activities associated with the expansion of our global operations and general corporate needs. At December 31, 2010, we had total cash and cash equivalents of $234.3 million compared to $386.7 million at December 31, 2009. In addition, we had short-term investments of $68.8 million at December 31, 2010 compared to $22.8 million at December 31, 2009.

 

Net cash provided by operating activities was $23.5 million in 2010 compared to $214.4 million in 2009. The decrease in cash provided by operating activities was primarily the result of increases in inventory and accounts receivable in 2010 compared to decreases in accounts receivable and inventory in 2009, partially offset by increases in accounts payable and accrued liabilities in 2010 compared to a net decrease in accounts payable and accrued liabilities in 2009. The increase in inventory was due to a larger volume of excess fall 2010 inventory designated for sale primarily through our own outlet retail stores compared to fall 2009 inventory, earlier receipt of spring 2011 inventory compared to spring 2010 inventory, increased 2010 replenishment inventory compared to 2009 and incremental inventory to support increased direct-to-consumer sales. The increase in accounts receivable was in line with the 19% increase in net sales and was also due to an increase in close-out product sales and shipment of spring 2011 advance orders close to the end of the 2010 period.

 

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Net cash used in investing activities was $91.2 million in 2010 compared to net cash used in investing activities of $33.2 million in 2009. For the 2010 period, net cash used in investing activities primarily consisted of $46.1 million for the net purchases of short-term investments, $28.8 million for capital expenditures and $16.3 million for acquisitions. For the 2009 period, net cash used in investing activities primarily consisted of capital expenditures of $33.1 million.

 

Net cash used in financing activities was $82.3 million in 2010 compared to $29.6 million in 2009. For the 2010 period, net cash used in financing activities primarily consisted of dividend payments of $75.4 million, including a $50.5 million special dividend paid in December 2010, and the repurchase of common stock at an aggregate price of $13.8 million, partially offset by proceeds from issuance of common stock of $6.5 million. For the 2009 period, net cash used in financing activities included dividend payments of $22.3 million and the repurchase of common stock at an aggregate price of $7.4 million.

 

To fund our domestic working capital requirements, we have an unsecured, committed $125.0 million revolving line of credit available. We entered into this credit agreement effective June 15, 2010. At December 31, 2010, no balance was outstanding under this line of credit and we were in compliance with all associated covenants. Internationally, our subsidiaries have local currency operating lines of credit in place guaranteed by the parent company with a combined limit of approximately $81.9 million at December 31, 2010, of which $3.4 million is designated as a European customs guarantee. At December 31, 2010, no balance was outstanding under these lines of credit.

 

We expect to fund our future capital expenditures with existing cash, operating cash flows and credit facilities. If the need arises, we may need to seek additional funding. Our ability to obtain additional financing will depend on many factors, including prevailing market conditions, our financial condition, and our ability to negotiate favorable terms and conditions. Financing may not be available on terms that are acceptable or favorable to us, if at all.

 

Our operations are affected by seasonal trends typical in the outdoor apparel industry, and have historically resulted in higher sales and profits in the third and fourth calendar quarters. This pattern has resulted primarily from the timing of shipments of fall season products to wholesale customers and proportionally higher sales from our direct-to-consumer operations in the fourth quarter. We believe that our liquidity requirements for at least the next 12 months will be adequately covered by existing cash, cash provided by operations and existing short-term borrowing arrangements.

 

The following table presents our estimated contractual commitments (in thousands):

 

    Year ended December 31,  
    2011     2012     2013     2014     2015     Thereafter     Total  

Inventory purchase obligations (1)

  $ 323,327      $ —        $ —        $ —        $ —        $ —        $ 323,327   

Operating leases (2):

    34,115        31,244        29,031        25,332        23,649        110,415        253,786   

 

(1)   See Inventory Purchase Obligations in Note 13 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
(2)   See Operating Leases in Note 13 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

We have recorded liabilities for net unrecognized tax benefits related to income tax uncertainties in our Consolidated Balance Sheet at December 31, 2010 of approximately $19.7 million; however, they have not been included in the table above because we are uncertain about whether or when these amounts may be settled. See Note 10 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

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Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

 

In the normal course of business, our financial position and results of operations are routinely subject to a variety of risks. These risks include risks associated with global financial and capital markets, primarily exchange rate risk and, to a lesser extent, interest rate risk and equity market risk. We regularly assess these risks and have established policies and business practices designed to result in an appropriate level of protection against an adverse effect of these risks. We do not engage in speculative trading in any financial or capital market.

 

Our primary exchange rate risk management objective is to mitigate the uncertainty of anticipated cash flows attributable to changes in exchange rates. We focus on mitigating changes in functional currency equivalent cash flows resulting from anticipated U.S. dollar denominated inventory purchases by subsidiaries that use European euros, Canadian dollars, Japanese yen or Korean won as their functional currency. We manage this risk primarily by using currency forward and option contracts. Additionally, we use foreign currency forward and option contracts to hedge net balance sheet exposures related primarily to intercompany loan agreements and payables.

 

The fair value of our hedging contracts was unfavorable by approximately $2.2 million and $0.4 million at December 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively. A 10% change in the euro, Canadian dollar, yen and won exchange rates would have resulted in the fair value fluctuating approximately $10.9 million at December 31, 2010 and $9.7 million at December 31, 2009. Changes in fair value resulting from foreign exchange rate fluctuations would be substantially offset by the change in value of the underlying hedged transactions.

 

Our investments in fixed-rate bonds create an interest-rate risk exposure for us. Fluctuations in short-term interest rates cause the fair values of these bonds to increase or decrease which in turn creates unrealized gain/losses in other comprehensive income. We do not currently mitigate this risk through the use of interest rate derivatives such as fixed-to-floating swaps. Despite classifying these as available-for-sale, we have the general intent and ability to hold these investments to maturity. At December 31, 2010 we had $58.8 million carrying value of fixed-rate bonds. Unrealized gain/losses were not material.

 

Our negotiated credit facilities generally charge interest based on a benchmark rate such as the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”). Fluctuations in short-term interest rates cause interest payments on drawn amounts to increase or decrease. At December 31, 2010, our credit facilities did not have an outstanding balance.

 

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

 

Management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based on our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make various estimates and assumptions that affect reported amounts of assets and liabilities and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. We believe that the estimates and assumptions involved in the accounting policies described below have the greatest potential impact on our financial statements, so we consider these to be our critical accounting policies and estimates. Because of the uncertainty inherent in these matters, actual results may differ from the estimates we use in applying the critical accounting policies. We base our ongoing estimates on historical experience and other various assumptions that we believe to be reasonable in the circumstances. Many of these critical accounting policies affect working capital account balances, including the policy for revenue recognition, the allowance for doubtful accounts, the provision for potential excess, closeout and slow moving inventory, product warranty, income taxes and stock-based compensation.

 

Management regularly discusses with our Audit Committee each of our critical accounting estimates, the development and selection of these accounting estimates, and the disclosure about each estimate in Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. These discussions typically occur at our quarterly Audit Committee meetings and include the basis and methodology used in

 

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developing and selecting these estimates, the trends in and amounts of these estimates, specific matters affecting the amount of and changes in these estimates, and any other relevant matters related to these estimates, including significant issues concerning accounting principles and financial statement presentation.

 

Revenue Recognition

 

We record wholesale, e-commerce and licensed product revenues when title passes and the risks and rewards of ownership have passed to the customer. Title generally passes upon shipment to or upon receipt by the customer depending on the terms of sale with the customer. Retail store revenues are recorded at the time of sale.

 

Where title passes upon receipt by the customer, predominantly in our Western European wholesale business, precise information regarding the date of receipt by the customer is not readily available. In these cases, we estimate the date of receipt by the customer based on historical and expected delivery times by geographic location. We periodically test the accuracy of these estimates based on actual transactions. Delivery times vary by geographic location, generally from one to six days. To date, we have found these estimates to be materially accurate.

 

At the time of revenue recognition, we also provide for estimated sales returns and miscellaneous claims from customers as reductions to revenues. The estimates are based on historical rates of product returns and claims. However, actual returns and claims in any future period are inherently uncertain and thus may differ from the estimates. If actual or expected future returns and claims are significantly greater or lower than the reserves that we have established, we will record a reduction or increase to net revenues in the period in which we make such a determination.

 

Allowance for Uncollectible Accounts Receivable

 

We make ongoing estimates of the uncollectibility of our accounts receivable and maintain an allowance for estimated losses resulting from the inability of our customers to make required payments. In determining the amount of the allowance, we consider our historical level of credit losses and we make judgments about the creditworthiness of customers based on ongoing credit evaluations. We analyze specific customer accounts, customer concentrations, credit insurance coverage, standby letters of credit, current economic trends, and changes in customer payment terms. Continued uncertainty in credit and market conditions may slow our collection efforts if customers experience difficulty accessing credit and paying their obligations, leading to higher than normal accounts receivable and increased bad debt expense. Because we cannot predict future changes in the financial stability of our customers, actual future losses from uncollectible accounts may differ from our estimates and may have a material effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows. If the financial condition of our customers deteriorates and results in their inability to make payments, a larger allowance may be required. If we determine that a smaller or larger allowance is appropriate, we will record a credit or a charge to SG&A expense in the period in which we make such a determination.

 

Inventory Obsolescence

 

We make ongoing estimates of potential future excess, close-out or slow moving inventory. We evaluate our inventory on hand considering our purchase commitments, sales forecasts, and historical experience to identify excess, close-out or slow moving inventory and make provisions as necessary to properly reflect inventory value at the lower of cost or estimated market value. If we determine that a smaller or larger reserve is appropriate, we will record a credit or a charge to cost of sales in the period in which we make such a determination.

 

Product Warranty

 

We make ongoing estimates of potential future product warranty costs. When we evaluate our reserve for warranty costs, we consider our historical claim rates by season, product mix, current economic trends, and the

 

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historical cost to repair, replace, or refund the original sale. If we determine that a smaller or larger reserve is appropriate, we will record a credit or a charge to cost of sales in the period in which we make such a determination.

 

Income Taxes

 

We use the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes. Under this method, we recognize income tax expense for the amount of taxes payable or refundable for the current year and for the amount of deferred tax liabilities and assets for the future tax consequences of events that have been recognized in our financial statements or tax returns. We make assumptions, judgments and estimates to determine our current provision for income taxes, our deferred tax assets and liabilities, and our uncertain tax positions. Our judgments, assumptions and estimates relative to the current provision for income tax take into account current tax laws, our interpretation of current tax laws and possible outcomes of current and future audits conducted by foreign and domestic tax authorities. Changes in tax law or our interpretation of tax laws and the resolution of current and future tax audits could significantly affect the amounts provided for income taxes in our consolidated financial statements. Our assumptions, judgments and estimates relative to the value of a deferred tax asset take into account predictions of the amount and category of future taxable income. Actual operating results and the underlying amount and category of income in future years could cause our current assumptions, judgments and estimates of recoverable net deferred taxes to be inaccurate. Changes in any of the assumptions, judgments and estimates mentioned above could cause our actual income tax obligations to differ from our estimates, which could materially affect our financial position and results of operations.

 

Our tax provision for interim periods is determined using an estimate of our annual effective tax rate, adjusted for discrete items, if any, that are taken into account in the relevant period. As the calendar year progresses, we periodically refine our estimate based on actual events and earnings by jurisdiction. This ongoing estimation process can result in changes to our expected effective tax rate for the full calendar year. When this occurs, we adjust the income tax provision during the quarter in which the change in estimate occurs so that our year-to-date provision equals our expected annual effective tax rate.

 

Stock-Based Compensation

 

Stock-based compensation cost is estimated at the grant date based on the award’s fair value and is recognized as expense over the requisite service period using the straight-line attribution method. We estimate stock-based compensation for stock awards granted using the Black-Scholes option pricing model, which requires various highly subjective assumptions, including volatility and expected option life. Further, we estimate forfeitures for stock-based awards granted, which are not expected to vest. If any of these inputs or assumptions changes significantly, stock-based compensation expense may differ materially in the future from that recorded in the current period.

 

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

 

See “Recent Accounting Pronouncements” in Note 2 to the notes to the consolidated financial statements.

 

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Item 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

 

The information required by this item is included in Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and is incorporated herein by this reference.

 

Item 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

 

Our management is responsible for the information and representations contained in this report. The financial statements have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, which we consider appropriate in the circumstances and include some amounts based on our best estimates and judgments. Other financial information in this report is consistent with these financial statements.

 

Our accounting systems include controls designed to reasonably assure that assets are safeguarded from unauthorized use or disposition and which provide for the preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. These systems are supplemented by the selection and training of qualified financial personnel and an organizational structure providing for appropriate segregation of duties.

 

The Audit Committee is responsible for recommending to the Board of Directors the appointment of the independent registered public accounting firm and reviews with the independent registered public accounting firm and management the scope and the results of the annual examination, the effectiveness of the accounting control system and other matters relating to our financial affairs as they deem appropriate.

 

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REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

 

To the Board of Directors and Shareholders

Columbia Sportswear Company

Portland, Oregon

 

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Columbia Sportswear Company and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2010 and 2009, and the related consolidated statements of operations, shareholders’ equity and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2010. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits.

 

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

 

In our opinion, such consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Columbia Sportswear Company and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2010 and 2009, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2010, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

 

We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2010, based on the criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission, and our report dated March 11, 2011, expressed an unqualified opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP

Portland, Oregon

March 11, 2011

 

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COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR COMPANY

 

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In thousands)

 

     December 31,  
     2010      2009  
ASSETS      

Current Assets:

     

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 234,257       $ 386,664   

Short-term investments

     68,812         22,759   

Accounts receivable, net (Note 4)

     300,181         226,548   

Inventories, net (Note 5)

     314,298         222,161   

Deferred income taxes (Note 10)

     45,091         31,550   

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

     28,241         32,030   
                 

Total current assets

     990,880         921,712   

Property, plant, and equipment, net (Note 6)

     221,813         235,440   

Intangible assets, net (Note 7)

     40,423         27,127   

Goodwill (Note 7)

     14,470         12,659   

Other non-current assets

     27,168         15,945   
                 

Total assets

   $ 1,294,754       $ 1,212,883   
                 
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY      

Current Liabilities:

     

Accounts payable

   $ 130,626       $ 102,494   

Accrued liabilities (Note 9)

     102,810         67,312   

Income taxes payable (Note 10)

     16,037         6,884   

Deferred income taxes (Note 10)

     2,153         2,597   
                 

Total current liabilities

     251,626         179,287   

Income taxes payable (Note 10)

     19,698         19,830   

Deferred income taxes (Note 10)

     —           1,494   

Other long-term liabilities (Note 11)

     21,456         15,044   
                 

Total liabilities

     292,780         215,655   

Commitments and contingencies (Note 13)

     

Shareholders’ Equity:

     

Preferred stock; 10,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding

     —           —     

Common stock (no par value); 125,000 shares authorized; 33,683 and 33,736 issued and outstanding (Note 14)

     5,052         836   

Retained earnings (Note 14)

     950,207         952,948   

Accumulated other comprehensive income (Note 17)

     46,715         43,444   
                 

Total shareholders’ equity

     1,001,974         997,228   
                 

Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity

   $ 1,294,754       $ 1,212,883   
                 

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

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COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR COMPANY

 

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

 

     Year Ended December 31,  
     2010     2009     2008  

Net sales

   $ 1,483,524      $ 1,244,023      $ 1,317,835   

Cost of sales

     854,120        719,945        750,024   
                        

Gross profit

     629,404        524,078        567,811   

Selling, general, and administrative expenses

     534,068        444,715        430,350   

Impairment of acquired intangible assets (Note 7)

     —          —          24,742   

Net licensing income

     7,991        8,399        5,987   
                        

Income from operations

     103,327        87,762        118,706   

Interest income, net

     1,564        2,088        7,537   
                        

Income before income tax

     104,891        89,850        126,243   

Income tax expense (Note 10)

     (27,854     (22,829     (31,196
                        

Net income

   $ 77,037      $ 67,021      $ 95,047   
                        

Earnings per share (Note 16):

      

Basic

   $ 2.28      $ 1.98      $ 2.75   

Diluted

     2.26        1.97        2.74   

Cash dividends per share:

   $ 2.24      $ 0.66      $ 0.64   

Weighted average shares outstanding (Note 16):

      

Basic

     33,725        33,846        34,610   

Diluted

     34,092        33,981        34,711   

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

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COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR COMPANY

 

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(In thousands)

 

     Year Ended December 31,  
     2010     2009     2008  

Cash flows from operating activities:

      

Net income

   $ 77,037      $ 67,021      $ 95,047   

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:

      

Depreciation and amortization

     38,430        36,253        31,158   

Loss on disposal or impairment of property, plant, and equipment

     3,331        1,828        253   

Deferred income taxes

     (22,610     55        (10,338

Stock-based compensation

     6,730        6,353        6,302   

Excess tax benefit from employee stock plans

     (498     (41     (72

Impairment of acquired intangible assets

     —          —          24,742   

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

      

Accounts receivable

     (69,500     77,490        (9,689

Inventories

     (87,265     38,831        4,507   

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

     3,856        (1,695     (15,787

Intangibles and other assets

     (1,566     (5,179     101   

Accounts payable

     26,028        (16,944     8,944   

Accrued liabilities

     34,224        7,563        (1,047

Income taxes payable

     9,018        (1,558     2,567   

Other liabilities

     6,302        4,395        8,242   
                        

Net cash provided by operating activities

     23,517        214,372        144,930   
                        

Cash flows from investing activities:

      

Purchases of short-term investments

     (81,671     (25,305     (72,337

Sales of short-term investments

     35,601        25,163        131,565   

Capital expenditures

     (28,838     (33,074     (47,580

Proceeds from sale of property, plant, and equipment

     42        31        52   

Acquisitions, net of cash acquired

     (16,315     —          —     
                        

Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities

     (91,181     (33,185     11,700   
                        

Cash flows from financing activities:

      

Proceeds from notes payable

     31,680        57,588        33,727   

Repayments on notes payable

     (31,680     (57,588     (33,727

Repayment on long-term debt and other long-term liabilities

     —          (4     (21

Proceeds from issuance of common stock under employee stock plans, net

     6,480        86        3,488   

Excess tax benefit from employee stock plans

     498        41        72   

Repurchase of common stock

     (13,838     (7,399     (83,865

Cash dividends paid

     (75,439     (22,331     (22,098
                        

Net cash used in financing activities

     (82,299     (29,607     (102,424
                        

Net effect of exchange rate changes on cash

     (2,444     4,467        (15,539
                        

Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

     (152,407     156,047        38,667   

Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of year

     386,664        230,617        191,950   
                        

Cash and cash equivalents, end of year

   $ 234,257      $ 386,664      $ 230,617   
                        

Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information:

      

Cash paid during the year for interest

   $ 76      $ 35      $ 47   

Cash paid during the year for income taxes

     34,924        31,284        48,521   

Supplemental disclosures of non-cash investing activities:

      

Capital expenditures incurred but not yet paid

     1,001        7,852        6,760   

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

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COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR COMPANY

 

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY

(In thousands)

 

    Common Stock     Retained
Earnings
    Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
Income
    Comprehensive
Income
    Total  
  Shares
Outstanding
    Amount          

BALANCE, JANUARY 1, 2008

    35,824      $ 17,004      $ 895,476      $ 57,641        $ 970,121   

Components of comprehensive income:

           

Net income

    —          —          95,047        —        $ 95,047        95,047   

Cash dividends ($0.64 per share)

    —          —          (22,098     —          —          (22,098

Foreign currency translation adjustment

    —          —          —          (30,511     (30,511     (30,511

Unrealized holding gain on derivative transactions, net

    —          —          —          6,036        6,036        6,036   
                 

Comprehensive income

    —          —          —          —        $ 70,572        —     
                 

Issuance of common stock under employee stock plans, net

    131        3,488        —          —            3,488   

Tax adjustment from stock plans

    —          (430     —          —            (430

Stock-based compensation expense

    —          6,302        —          —            6,302   

Repurchase of common stock

    (2,090     (24,883     (58,982     —            (83,865
                                         

BALANCE, DECEMBER 31, 2008

    33,865        1,481        909,443        33,166          944,090   

Components of comprehensive income:

           

Net income

    —          —          67,021        —        $ 67,021        67,021   

Cash dividends ($0.66 per share)

    —          —          (22,331     —          —          (22,331

Unrealized holding gains on available-for-sales securities, net

    —          —          —          64        64        64   

Foreign currency translation adjustment

    —          —          —          13,854        13,854        13,854   

Unrealized holding loss on derivative transactions, net

    —          —          —          (3,640     (3,640     (3,640
                 

Comprehensive income

    —          —          —          —        $ 77,299        —     
                 

Issuance of common stock under employee stock plans, net

    75        86        —          —            86   

Tax adjustment from stock plans

    —          (870     —          —            (870

Stock-based compensation expense

    —          6,353        —          —            6,353   

Repurchase of common stock

    (204     (6,214     (1,185     —            (7,399
                                         

BALANCE, DECEMBER 31, 2009

    33,736        836        952,948        43,444          997,228   

Components of comprehensive income:

           

Net income

    —          —          77,037        —        $ 77,037        77,037   

Cash dividends ($2.24 per share)

    —          —          (75,439     —          —          (75,439

Unrealized holding losses on available-for-sales securities, net

    —          —          —          (28     (28     (28

Foreign currency translation adjustment

    —          —          —          3,812        3,812        3,812   

Unrealized holding loss on derivative transactions, net

    —          —          —          (513     (513     (513
                 

Comprehensive income

    —          —          —          —        $ 80,308        —     
                 

Issuance of common stock under employee stock plans, net

    240        6,480        —          —            6,480   

Tax adjustment from stock plans

    —          505        —          —            505   

Stock-based compensation expense

    —          6,730        —          —            6,730   

Repurchase of common stock

    (293     (9,499     (4,339     —            (13,838
                                         

BALANCE, DECEMBER 31, 2010

    33,683      $ 5,052      $ 950,207      $ 46,715        $ 1,001,974   
                                         

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

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COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR COMPANY

 

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

NOTE 1—BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND ORGANIZATION

 

Nature of the business:

 

Columbia Sportswear Company is a global leader in the design, development, marketing and distribution of active outdoor apparel, footwear, accessories and equipment.

 

Principles of consolidation:

 

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Columbia Sportswear Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries (the “Company”). All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

 

Estimates and assumptions:

 

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results may differ from these estimates and assumptions. Some of these more significant estimates relate to revenue recognition, allowance for doubtful accounts, inventory obsolescence, product warranty, long-lived and intangible assets, income taxes and stock-based compensation.

 

NOTE 2—SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

 

Cash and cash equivalents:

 

Cash and cash equivalents are stated at fair value or at cost, which approximates fair value, and include investments with maturities of three months or less at the date of acquisition. At December 31, 2010, cash and cash equivalents consisted of money market funds, municipal bonds and time deposits with original maturities ranging from overnight to less than 90 days. At December 31, 2009, cash and cash equivalents consisted of money market funds and time deposits with maturities ranging from overnight to less than 90 days.

 

Investments:

 

At December 31, 2010, short-term investments consisted of shares in a short-term municipal bond fund and municipal bonds with original maturities greater than 90 days. These investments are considered available for use in current operations. At December 31, 2009, short-term investments consisted of shares in a short-term bond fund available for use in current operations and time deposits with maturities of six months or less. All short-term investments are classified as available-for-sale securities and are recorded at fair value with any unrealized gains and losses reported, net of tax, in other comprehensive income. Realized gains or losses are determined based on the specific identification method.

 

At December 31, 2010 and 2009, long-term investments consisted of mutual fund shares held to offset liabilities to participants in the Company’s deferred compensation plan. The investments are classified as long-term because the related deferred compensation liabilities are not expected to be paid within the next year. These investments are classified as trading securities and are recorded at fair value with unrealized gains and losses reported in operating expenses, which are offset against gains and losses resulting from changes in corresponding deferred compensation liabilities to participants.

 

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COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR COMPANY

 

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

 

Accounts receivable:

 

Accounts receivable have been reduced by an allowance for doubtful accounts. The Company makes ongoing estimates of the uncollectibility of accounts receivable and maintains an allowance for estimated losses resulting from the inability of the Company’s customers to make required payments.

 

Inventories:

 

Inventories are carried at the lower of cost or market. Cost is determined using the first-in, first-out method. The Company periodically reviews its inventories for excess, close-out or slow moving items and makes provisions as necessary to properly reflect inventory value.

 

Property, plant, and equipment:

 

Property, plant and equipment are stated at cost, net of accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is provided using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets. The principal estimated useful lives are: buildings and building improvements, 15-30 years; land improvements, 15 years; furniture and fixtures, 3-10 years; and machinery and equipment, 3-5 years. Leasehold improvements are depreciated over the lesser of the estimated useful life of the improvement, which is most commonly 7 years, or the remaining term of the underlying lease.

 

Improvements to property, plant and equipment that substantially extend the useful life of the asset are capitalized. Repair and maintenance costs are expensed as incurred. Internal and external costs directly related to the development of internal-use software during the application development stage, including costs incurred for third party contractors and employee compensation, are capitalized and depreciated over a 3-7 year estimated useful life.

 

Impairment of long-lived assets:

 

Long-lived assets are amortized over their useful lives and are measured for impairment only when events or circumstances indicate the carrying value may be impaired. In these cases, the Company estimates the future undiscounted cash flows to be derived from the asset or asset group to determine whether a potential impairment exists. When reviewing for retail store impairment, identifiable cash flows are measured at the individual store level. If the sum of the estimated undiscounted cash flows is less than the carrying value of the asset, the Company recognizes an impairment loss, measured as the amount by which the carrying value exceeds the estimated fair value of the asset. Impairment charges for long-lived assets are included in selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”) expense and were immaterial for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008.

 

Intangible assets and goodwill:

 

Goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite useful lives are not amortized but are periodically evaluated for impairment. Intangible assets that are determined to have finite lives are amortized using the straight-line method over their useful lives and are measured for impairment only when events or circumstances indicate the carrying value may be impaired.

 

Impairment of goodwill and intangible assets:

 

The Company reviews and tests its goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite useful lives for impairment in the fourth quarter of each year and when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets may be impaired. The Company’s intangible assets with indefinite lives consist of

 

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COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR COMPANY

 

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

 

trademarks and trade names. Substantially all of the Company’s goodwill is recorded in the United States segment and impairment testing for goodwill is performed at the reporting unit level. In the impairment test for goodwill, the two-step process first compares the estimated fair value of the reporting unit with the carrying amount of that reporting unit. The Company estimates the fair value of its reporting units using a combination of discounted cash flow analysis, comparisons with the market values of similar publicly traded companies and other operating performance based valuation methods. If step one indicates impairment, step two compares the estimated fair value of the reporting unit to the estimated fair value of all reporting unit assets and liabilities except goodwill to determine the implied fair value of goodwill. The Company calculates impairment as the excess of carrying amount of goodwill over the implied fair value of goodwill. In the impairment test for trademarks, the Company compares the estimated fair value of the asset to the carrying amount. The fair value of trademarks is estimated using the relief from royalty approach, a standard form of discounted cash flow analysis used in the valuation of trademarks. If the carrying amount of trademarks exceeds the estimated fair value, the Company calculates impairment as the excess of carrying amount over the estimate of fair value.

 

If events or circumstances indicate the carrying value of intangible assets with finite lives may be impaired, the Company estimates the future undiscounted cash flows to be derived from the asset or asset group to determine whether a potential impairment exists. If the sum of the estimated undiscounted cash flows is less than the carrying value of the asset the Company recognizes an impairment loss, measured as the amount by which the carrying value exceeds the estimated fair value of the asset.

 

Impairment charges are classified as a component of SG&A expense. The fair value estimates are based on a number of factors, including assumptions and estimates for projected sales, income, cash flows, discount rates and other operating performance measures. Changes in estimates or the application of alternative assumptions could produce significantly different results. These assumptions and estimates may change in the future due to changes in economic conditions, changes in the Company’s ability to meet sales and profitability objectives or changes in the Company’s business operations or strategic direction.

 

Income taxes:

 

Income taxes are provided on financial statement earnings for financial reporting purposes. Income taxes are based on amounts of taxes payable or refundable in the current year and on expected future tax consequences of events that are recognized in the financial statements in different periods than they are recognized in tax returns. As a result of timing of recognition and measurement differences between financial accounting standards and income tax laws, temporary differences arise between amounts of pre-tax financial statement income and taxable income and between reported amounts of assets and liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheets and their respective tax bases. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities reported in the Consolidated Balance Sheets reflect estimated future tax effects attributable to these temporary differences and to net operating loss and net capital loss carryforwards, based on tax rates expected to be in effect for years in which the differences are expected to be settled or realized. Realization of deferred tax assets is dependent on future taxable income in specific jurisdictions. Valuation allowances are used to reduce deferred tax assets to amounts considered likely to be realized. U.S. deferred income taxes are not provided on undistributed income of foreign subsidiaries where such earnings are considered to be permanently invested, or to the extent such recognition would result in a deferred tax asset.

 

Accrued income taxes in the Consolidated Balance Sheets include unrecognized income tax benefits relating to uncertain tax positions, including related interest and penalties, appropriately classified as current or noncurrent. The Company recognizes the tax benefit from an uncertain tax position if it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained on examination by the relevant taxing authority based on the technical merits of the position. The tax benefits recognized in the financial statements from such positions are then

 

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COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR COMPANY

 

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

 

measured based on the largest benefit that has a greater than 50% likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement with the relevant tax authority. In making this determination, the Company assumes that the taxing authority will examine the position and that they will have full knowledge of all relevant information. The provision for income taxes also includes estimates of interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions.

 

Derivatives:

 

The effective portion of changes in fair values of outstanding cash flow hedges are recorded in other comprehensive income until earnings are affected by the hedged transaction. In most cases amounts recorded in other comprehensive income will be released to earnings some time after maturity of the related derivative. The Consolidated Statement of Operations classification of effective hedge results is the same as that of the underlying exposure. Results of hedges of product costs are recorded in cost of sales when the underlying hedged transaction affects earnings. Unrealized derivative gains and losses, which are recorded in current assets and liabilities, respectively, are non-cash items and therefore are taken into account in the preparation of the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows based on their respective balance sheet classifications. See Note 19 for more information on derivatives and risk management.

 

Foreign currency translation:

 

The assets and liabilities of the Company’s foreign subsidiaries have been translated into U.S. dollars using the exchange rates in effect at period end, and the net sales and expenses have been translated into U.S. dollars using average exchange rates in effect during the period. The foreign currency translation adjustments are included as a separate component of accumulated other comprehensive income in shareholders’ equity and are not currently adjusted for income taxes when they relate to indefinite net investments in non-U.S. operations.

 

Revenue recognition:

 

The Company records wholesale, e-commerce and licensed product revenues when title passes and the risks and rewards of ownership have passed to the customer. Title generally passes upon shipment to, or upon receipt by, the customer depending on the terms of sale with the customer. Retail store revenues are recorded at the time of sale.

 

In some countries outside of the United States where title passes upon receipt by the customer, predominantly in the Company’s Western European wholesale business, precise information regarding the date of receipt by the customer is not readily available. In these cases, the Company estimates the date of receipt by the customer based on historical and expected delivery times by geographic location. The Company periodically tests the accuracy of these estimates based on actual transactions. Delivery times vary by geographic location, generally from one to six days. To date, the Company has found these estimates to be materially accurate.

 

At the time of revenue recognition, the Company also provides for estimated sales returns and miscellaneous claims from customers as reductions to revenues. The estimates are based on historical rates of product returns and claims. However, actual returns and claims in any future period are inherently uncertain and thus may differ from the estimates. If actual or expected future returns and claims are significantly greater or lower than the reserves that had been established, the Company would record a reduction or increase to net revenues in the period in which it made such determination. For each of the years in the three year period ended December 31, 2010, the Company’s actual annual sales returns and miscellaneous claims from customers have averaged approximately three percent of net sales. The allowance for outstanding sales returns and miscellaneous claims from customers was approximately $20,737,000 and $13,889,000 as of December 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively.

 

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COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR COMPANY

 

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

 

Cost of sales:

 

The expenses that are included in cost of sales include all direct product and conversion-related costs, and costs related to shipping, duties and importation. Specific provisions for excess, close-out or slow moving inventory are also included in cost of sales. In addition, some of the Company’s products carry limited warranty provisions for defects in quality and workmanship. A warranty reserve is established at the time of sale to cover estimated costs based on the Company’s history of warranty repairs and replacements and is recorded in cost of sales.

 

Selling, general and administrative expense:

 

Selling, general and administrative expense consists of commissions, advertising, other selling costs, personnel-related costs, planning, receiving finished goods, warehousing, depreciation and other general operating expenses.

 

Shipping and handling costs:

 

Shipping and handling fees billed to customers are recorded as revenue. The direct costs associated with shipping goods to customers are recorded as cost of sales. Inventory planning, receiving and handling costs are recorded as a component of SG&A expenses and were $57,901,000, $55,867,000 and $57,700,000 for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008, respectively.

 

Stock-based compensation:

 

Stock-based compensation cost is estimated at the grant date based on the award’s fair value and is recognized as expense over the requisite service period using the straight-line attribution method. The Company estimates stock-based compensation for stock options granted using the Black-Scholes option pricing model, which requires various highly subjective assumptions, including volatility and expected option life. Further, the Company estimates forfeitures for stock-based awards granted which are not expected to vest. If any of these inputs or assumptions changes significantly, stock-based compensation expense may differ materially in the future from that recorded in the current period. Assumptions are evaluated and revised as necessary to reflect changes in market conditions and the Company’s experience. Estimates of fair value are not intended to predict actual future events or the value ultimately realized by people who receive equity awards. The fair value of service-based and performance-based restricted stock units is discounted by the present value of the estimated future stream of dividends over the vesting period using the Black-Scholes model.

 

Advertising costs:

 

Advertising costs are expensed in the period incurred and are included in selling, general and administrative expenses. Total advertising expense, including cooperative advertising costs, was $77,978,000, $65,204,000 and $72,237,000 for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008, respectively.

 

Through cooperative advertising programs, the Company reimburses its wholesale customers for some of their costs of advertising the Company’s products based on various criteria, including the value of purchases from the Company and various advertising specifications. Cooperative advertising costs are included in expenses because the Company receives an identifiable benefit in exchange for the cost, the advertising may be obtained from a party other than the customer, and the fair value of the advertising benefit can be reasonably estimated. Cooperative advertising costs were $7,259,000, $10,978,000 and $16,351,000 for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008, respectively.

 

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COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR COMPANY

 

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

 

Recent Accounting Pronouncements:

 

In January 2010, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2010-06, Improving Disclosures about Fair Value Measurements. ASU 2010-06 requires additional disclosures about fair value measurements including transfers in and out of Levels 1 and 2 and a higher level of disaggregation for the different types of financial instruments. For the reconciliation of Level 3 fair value measurements, information about purchases, sales, issuances and settlements are presented separately. This standard is effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2009 with the exception of revised Level 3 disclosure requirements, which are effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2010. The adoption of this standard did not have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position, statement of operations or cash flows. See Note 20.

 

NOTE 3—CONCENTRATIONS

 

Cash and Cash Equivalents

 

At December 31, 2010, approximately 70% of the Company’s cash and cash equivalents were concentrated in domestic and international money market mutual funds. All of the Company’s money market mutual funds were assigned top-tier investment grade credit ratings.

 

Short-term Investments

 

At December 31, 2010, approximately 77% of the Company’s short-term investments were concentrated in short-term municipal debt securities whose interest and principal payments were 100% collateralized in an escrow account by U.S. Treasury Securities, U.S. Government Securities or U.S. Government Agency Securities, and approximately 23% were invested in a short-term municipal bond fund.

 

Trade Receivables

 

At December 31, 2010 and 2009, the Company had one customer in its Canadian segment that accounted for approximately 11.9% and 15.5% of consolidated accounts receivable, respectively. No single customer accounted for 10% or more of consolidated revenues for any of the years ended December 31, 2010, 2009 or 2008.

 

Derivatives

 

The Company uses derivative instruments primarily to hedge the exchange rate risk of anticipated transactions denominated in non-functional currencies that are designated and qualify as cash flow hedges. From time to time, the Company also uses derivative instruments to economically hedge the exchange rate risk of certain investment positions, to hedge balance sheet re-measurement risk and to hedge other anticipated transactions that do not qualify as cash flow hedges. At December 31, 2010, the Company’s derivative contracts had a remaining maturity of approximately two years or less. All the counterparties to these transactions had investment grade short-term credit ratings. The maximum net exposure to any single counterparty, which is generally limited to the aggregate unrealized gain of all contracts with that counterparty, was less than $1,000,000 at December 31, 2010. The majority of the Company’s derivative counterparties have strong credit ratings and as a result, the Company does not require collateral to facilitate transactions. See Note 19 for further disclosures concerning derivatives.

 

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COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR COMPANY

 

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

 

Country and supplier concentrations:

 

The Company’s products are produced by independent factories located outside the United States, principally in Southeast Asia. Apparel is manufactured in more than 13 countries, with Vietnam and China accounting for approximately 68% of 2010 global apparel production. Footwear is manufactured in three countries, with China and Vietnam accounting for approximately 93% of 2010 global footwear production. The five largest apparel factory groups accounted for approximately 20% of 2010 global apparel production, with the largest factory group accounting for 7% of 2010 global apparel production. The five largest footwear factory groups accounted for approximately 81% of 2010 global footwear production, with the largest factory group accounting for 34% of 2010 global footwear production. In addition, a single vendor supplies substantially all of the zippers used in our products. These companies, however, have multiple factory locations, many of which are in different countries, thus reducing the risk that unfavorable conditions at a single factory or location will have a material adverse effect on the Company.

 

NOTE 4—ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE, NET

 

Accounts receivable, net, is as follows (in thousands):

 

     December 31,  
     2010     2009  

Trade accounts receivable

   $ 307,279      $ 233,895   

Allowance for doubtful accounts

     (7,098     (7,347
                

Accounts receivable, net

   $ 300,181      $ 226,548   
                

 

A reconciliation of the allowance for doubtful accounts is as follows (in thousands):

 

     Year Ended December 31,  
     2010     2009     2008  

Balance at beginning of period

   $ 7,347      $ 9,542      $ 7,369   

Bad debt expense

     983        768        3,473   

Write offs

     (1,304     (3,133     (940

Other

     72        170        (360
                        

Balance at end of period

   $ 7,098      $ 7,347      $ 9,542   
                        

 

NOTE 5—INVENTORIES, NET

 

Inventories, net, consisted of the following (in thousands):

 

     December 31,  
     2010      2009  

Raw materials

   $ 1,096       $ 1,021   

Work in process

     659         163   

Finished goods

     312,543         220,977   
                 
   $ 314,298       $ 222,161   
                 

 

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COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR COMPANY

 

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

 

NOTE 6—PROPERTY, PLANT, AND EQUIPMENT, NET

 

Property, plant, and equipment consisted of the following (in thousands):

 

     December 31,  
     2010     2009  

Land and improvements

   $ 16,898      $ 16,557   

Building and improvements

     144,004        147,093   

Machinery and equipment

     193,104        184,721   

Furniture and fixtures

     46,147        44,158   

Leasehold improvements

     62,884        57,866   

Construction in progress

     9,775        8,932   
                
     472,812        459,327   

Less accumulated depreciation

     (250,999     (223,887
                
   $ 221,813      $ 235,440   
                

 

NOTE 7—INTANGIBLE ASSETS AND GOODWILL

 

Identifiable intangible assets consisted of the following (in thousands):

 

     December 31, 2010      December 31, 2009  
     Gross
Carrying
Amount
     Accumulated
Amortization
    Net
Carrying
Amount
     Gross
Carrying
Amount
     Accumulated
Amortization
    Net
Carrying
Amount
 

Intangible assets subject to amortization:

               

Patents and purchased technology

   $ 14,198       $ (1,196   $ 13,002       $ 898       $ (643   $ 255   

Intangible assets not subject to amortization:

               

Trademarks and trade names

     27,421           27,421         26,872           26,872   
                           

Identifiable intangible assets, net

        $ 40,423            $ 27,127   
                           

 

On September 1, 2010, the Company acquired OutDry Technologies S.r.l., which included patents, purchased technology and trademarks. These acquired patents and purchased technology are subject to amortization over 10 years from the date of acquisition.

 

Amortization expense for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2009, and 2008 was $553,000, $109,000 and $205,000, respectively. Amortization expense for intangible assets subject to amortization is estimated to be $1,402,000 per year in 2011 and 2012 and $1,330,000 in 2013 through 2015.

 

At December 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009, the Company determined that its goodwill and intangible assets were not impaired. At December 31, 2008, the Company determined that goodwill and trademarks for certain acquired brands were impaired. These brands were acquired in 2006 and were not achieving their sales and profitability objectives. For the year ended December 31, 2008, the Company recorded impairment charges in the United States segment, before income taxes, of $24,742,000, of which $4,614,000 was related to goodwill.

 

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COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR COMPANY

 

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

 

A reconciliation of goodwill is as follows (in thousands):

 

     December 31,  
     2010      2009  

Balance at beginning of period

   $ 12,659       $ 12,659   

Acquisitions

     1,811         —     

Impairment charges

     —           —     
                 

Balance at end of period

   $ 14,470       $ 12,659   
                 

 

NOTE 8—SHORT-TERM BORROWINGS AND CREDIT LINES

 

The Company entered into a domestic credit agreement for an unsecured, committed $125,000,000 revolving line of credit effective June 15, 2010. The maturity date of this agreement is July 1, 2012. Interest, payable monthly, is based on the Company’s applicable funded debt ratio, ranging from LIBOR plus 100 to 175 basis points. This line of credit requires the Company to comply with certain financial covenants covering net income, tangible net worth and borrowing basis. At December 31, 2010, the Company was in compliance with all associated covenants. If the Company is in default, it is prohibited from paying dividends or repurchasing common stock. At December 31, 2010, no balance was outstanding under this line of credit. At December 31, 2009, the Company had domestic unsecured lines of credit with aggregate seasonal limits ranging from $50,000,000 to $125,000,000, of which $25,000,000 to $100,000,000 was committed. These lines of credit were terminated June 15, 2010 upon entering into the $125,000,000 agreement referred to above.

 

The Company’s Canadian subsidiary has available an unsecured and uncommitted line of credit guaranteed by the parent company providing for borrowing to a maximum of C$30,000,000 (US$30,060,000) at December 31, 2010. The revolving line accrues interest at the bank’s Canadian prime rate. There was no balance outstanding under this line at December 31, 2010 and 2009.

 

The Company’s European subsidiary has available two separate unsecured and uncommitted lines of credit guaranteed by the parent company providing for borrowing up to a maximum of 30,000,000 and 5,000,000 euros, respectively (combined US$46,842,000) at December 31, 2010, of which US$3,346,000 of the 5,000,000 euro line is designated as a European customs guarantee. These lines accrue interest based on the European Central Bank (“ECB”) refinancing rate plus 50 basis points and Euro Overnight Index Average (“EONIA”) plus 75 basis points, respectively. There was no balance outstanding under either line at December 31, 2010 or 2009.

 

The Company’s Japanese subsidiary has an unsecured and uncommitted line of credit guaranteed by the parent company providing for borrowing to a maximum of US$5,000,000 at December 31, 2010. The revolving line accrues interest at LIBOR plus 110 basis points. There was no balance outstanding under this line at December 31, 2010 and 2009.

 

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

 

The Company has arrangements in place to facilitate the import and purchase of inventory through import letters of credit. The Company has available unsecured and uncommitted import letters of credit in the aggregate amount of $25,000,000 subject to annual renewal. At December 31, 2010, the Company had outstanding letters of credit of $439,000 for purchase orders for inventory under this arrangement.

 

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COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR COMPANY

 

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

 

NOTE 9—ACCRUED LIABILITIES

 

Accrued liabilities consisted of the following (in thousands):

 

     December 31,  
     2010      2009  

Accrued salaries, bonus, vacation and other benefits

   $ 49,078       $ 34,711   

Accrued import duties

     13,443         1,117   

Product warranties

     10,256         12,112   

Other

     30,033         19,372   
                 
   $ 102,810       $ 67,312   
                 

 

A reconciliation of product warranties is as follows (in thousands):

 

     Year Ended December 31,  
     2010     2009     2008  

Balance at beginning of period

   $ 12,112      $ 9,746      $ 10,862   

Provision for warranty claims

     1,371        5,133        2,718   

Warranty claims

     (3,104     (2,984     (3,364

Other

     (123     217        (470
                        

Balance at end of period

   $ 10,256      $ 12,112      $ 9,746   
                        

 

NOTE 10—INCOME TAXES

 

Consolidated income from continuing operations before income taxes consisted of the following (in thousands):

 

     Year Ended December 31,  
     2010      2009      2008  

U.S. operations

   $ 59,881       $ 59,629       $ 44,478   

Foreign operations

     45,010         30,221         81,765   
                          

Income before income tax

   $ 104,891       $ 89,850       $ 126,243   
                          

 

The components of the provision (benefit) for income taxes consisted of the following (in thousands):

 

     Year Ended December 31,  
     2010     2009     2008  

Current:

      

Federal

   $ 24,419      $ 10,030      $ 22,576   

State and local

     4,060        2,088        2,459   

Non-U.S.

     23,253        10,399        18,568   
                        
     51,732        22,517        43,603   

Deferred:

      

Federal

     (18,405     2,377        (10,444

State and local

     (1,223     12        (1,228

Non-U.S.

     (4,250     (2,077     (735
                        
     (23,878     312        (12,407
                        

Income tax expense

   $ 27,854      $ 22,829      $ 31,196   
                        

 

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COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR COMPANY

 

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

 

The following is a reconciliation of the statutory federal income tax rate to the effective rate reported in the financial statements:

 

     Year Ended
December 31,
 
     2010     2009     2008  
     (percent of income)  

Provision for federal income taxes at the statutory rate

     35.0     35.0     35.0

State and local income taxes, net of federal benefit

     2.6        1.9        0.8   

Non-U.S. income taxed at different rates

     (2.3     0.4        (4.1

Foreign tax credits

     (3.5     (5.8     (3.2

Reduction of accrued income taxes

     (4.0     (4.1     (3.3

Tax-exempt interest

     (0.2     (0.5     (0.8

Other

     (1.0     (1.5     0.3   
                        

Actual provision for income taxes

     26.6     25.4     24.7
                        

 

Significant components of the Company’s deferred taxes consisted of the following (in thousands):

 

     December 31,  
     2010     2009  

Deferred tax assets:

    

Non-deductible accruals and allowances

   $ 26,905      $ 18,979   

Capitalized inventory costs

     21,065        15,326   

Stock compensation

     6,157        5,399   

Net operating loss carryforward

     6,894        4,734   

Depreciation and amortization

     1,722        582   

Tax credits

     11,187        —     

Other

     414        1,633   
                
     74,344        46,653   

Valuation allowance

     (7,261     (5,163
                

Net deferred tax assets

     67,083        41,490   

Deferred tax liabilities:

    

Deductible accruals and allowance

     (593     (1,129

Depreciation and amortization

     (7,182     (4,624

Foreign currency loss

     —          (1,475

Other

     (1,564     (1,368
                
     (9,339     (8,596
                

Total

   $ 57,744      $ 32,894   
                

 

The Company had net operating loss carryforwards at December 31, 2010 and 2009 in certain international tax jurisdictions of $67,800,000 and $50,338,000, respectively, which will begin to expire in 2014. The net operating losses result in a deferred tax asset at December 31, 2010 of $6,894,000, which was subject to a $6,894,000 valuation allowance, and a deferred tax asset at December 31, 2009 of $4,734,000, which was subject to a $4,734,000 valuation allowance. To the extent that the Company reverses a portion of the valuation allowance, the adjustment would be recorded as a reduction to income tax expense.

 

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COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR COMPANY

 

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

 

Non-current deferred tax assets of $14,806,000 and $5,435,000 are included as a component of other non-current assets in the consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively.

 

The Company had undistributed earnings of foreign subsidiaries of approximately $180,351,000 at December 31, 2010 for which deferred taxes have not been provided. Such earnings are considered indefinitely invested outside of the United States. If these earnings were repatriated to the United States, the earnings would be subject to U.S. taxation. The amount of the unrecognized deferred tax liability associated with the undistributed earnings was approximately $43,014,000 at December 31, 2010. The unrecognized deferred tax liability approximates the excess of the United States tax liability over the creditable foreign taxes paid that would result from a full remittance of undistributed earnings.

 

A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of gross unrecognized tax benefits is as follows (in thousands):

 

     December 31,  
     2010     2009     2008  

Balance at beginning of period

   $ 20,183      $ 21,839      $ 20,694   

Increases related to prior year tax positions

     893        1,346        583   

Decreases related to prior year tax positions

     (27     (634     (2,496

Increases related to current year tax positions

     1,278        1,598        4,768   

Settlements

     —          (1,194     —     

Expiration of statute of limitations

     (3,633     (2,772     (1,710
                        

Balance at end of period

   $ 18,694      $ 20,183      $ 21,839   
                        

 

Unrecognized tax benefits of $16,740,000 and $18,659,000 would affect the effective tax rate if recognized at December 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively.

 

The Company conducts business globally, and as a result, the Company or one or more of its subsidiaries files income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and various state and foreign jurisdictions. The Company is subject to examination by taxing authorities throughout the world, including such major jurisdictions as Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. The Company has effectively settled U.S. tax examinations of all years through 2005. Internationally, the Company has effectively settled French tax examinations of all years through 2006 and Italian tax examinations of all years through 2007. The Company has effectively settled Canadian tax examinations of all years through 2004 and is currently under examination for the tax years 2005 through 2008. The Company does not anticipate that adjustments relative to these ongoing tax audits will result in a material change to its consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

 

Due to the potential for resolution of income tax audits currently in progress, and the expiration of various statutes of limitation, it is reasonably possible that the unrecognized tax benefits balance may change within the twelve months following December 31, 2010 by a range of zero to $10,102,000. Open tax years, including those previously mentioned, contain matters that could be subject to differing interpretations of applicable tax laws and regulations as they relate to the amount, timing, or inclusion of revenue and expenses or the sustainability of income tax credits for a given examination cycle.

 

The Company recognizes interest expense and penalties related to income tax matters in income tax expense. The Company recognized net interest and penalties of $780,000 in 2010, a net reversal of accrued interest and penalties of $80,000 in 2009 and net interest and penalties of $313,000 in 2008, all related to

 

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COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR COMPANY

 

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

 

uncertain tax positions. The Company had $3,935,000 and $3,155,000 of accrued interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions at December 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively.

 

NOTE 11—OTHER LONG-TERM LIABILITIES

 

Other long-term liabilities consisted of the following (in thousands):

 

     December 31,  
     2010      2009  

Straight-line and deferred rent liabilities

   $ 16,296       $ 13,497   

Asset retirement obligations

     1,122         721   

Deferred compensation plan liability

     1,670         826   

Other

     2,368           
                 
   $ 21,456       $ 15,044   
                 

 

NOTE 12—RETIREMENT SAVINGS PLANS

 

401(k) Profit-Sharing Plan

 

The Company has a 401(k) profit-sharing plan, which covers substantially all U.S. employees. Participation begins the first of the quarter following completion of thirty days of service. The Company may elect to make discretionary matching and/or non-matching contributions. All Company contributions to the plan as determined by the Board of Directors totaled $4,443,000, $2,610,000 and $3,118,000 for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008, respectively.

 

Deferred Compensation Plan

 

The Company sponsors a nonqualified retirement savings plan for certain senior management employees whose contributions to the tax qualified 401(k) plan would be limited by provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. This plan allows participants to defer receipt of a portion of their salary and incentive compensation and to receive matching contributions for a portion of the deferred amounts. Company contributions to the plan totaled $155,000 and $108,000 for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively. Participants earn a return on their deferred compensation based on investment earnings of participant-selected mutual funds. Changes in the market value of the participants’ investment selections are recorded as an adjustment to deferred compensation liabilities, with an offset to compensation expense. Deferred compensation, including accumulated earnings on the participant-directed investment selections, is distributable in cash at participant-specified dates or upon retirement, death, disability or termination of employment. At December 31, 2010 and 2009, the liability to participants under this plan was $1,670,000 and $826,000, respectively, and was recorded in other long-term liabilities. The current portion of the participant liability at December 31, 2010 and 2009 was not material.

 

The Company has purchased specific mutual funds in the same amounts as the participant-directed investment selections underlying the deferred compensation liabilities. These investment securities and earnings thereon, held in an irrevocable trust, are intended to provide a source of funds to meet the deferred compensation obligations, subject to claims of creditors in the event of the Company’s insolvency. The mutual funds are recorded at fair value in intangibles and other non-current assets. At December 31, 2010 and 2009, the fair value of the mutual fund investments was $1,670,000 and $826,000, respectively. Realized and unrealized gains and losses on the mutual fund investments are offset against gains and losses resulting from changes in corresponding deferred compensation liabilities to participants.

 

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COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR COMPANY

 

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

 

NOTE 13—COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

 

Operating Leases

 

The Company leases, among other things, retail space, office space, warehouse facilities, storage space, vehicles and equipment. Generally, the base lease terms are between 5 and 10 years. Certain lease agreements contain scheduled rent escalation clauses in their future minimum lease payments. Future minimum lease payments are recognized on a straight-line basis over the minimum lease term and the pro rata portion of scheduled rent escalations is included in other long-term liabilities. Certain retail space lease agreements provide for additional rents based on a percentage of annual sales in excess of stipulated minimums (percentage rent). Certain lease agreements require the Company to pay real estate taxes, insurance, common area maintenance (“CAM”), and other costs, collectively referred to as operating costs, in addition to base rent. Percentage rent and operating costs are recognized as incurred in SG&A expense in the Consolidated Statement of Operations. Certain lease agreements also contain lease incentives, such as tenant improvement allowances and rent holidays. The Company recognizes the benefits related to the lease incentives on a straight-line basis over the applicable lease term.

 

Rent expense, including percentage rent but excluding operating costs for which the Company is obligated, consisted of the following (in thousands):

 

     Year Ended December 31,  
     2010      2009      2008  

Rent Expense included in SG&A

   $ 39,898       $ 31,140       $ 24,230   

Rent Expense included in Cost of sales

     1,351         1,465         1,533   
                          
   $ 41,249       $ 32,605       $ 25,763   
                          

 

Approximate future minimum payments, including rent escalation clauses and stores that are not yet open, on all lease obligations at December 31, 2010, are as follows (in thousands). These operating lease commitments are not reflected on the Consolidated Balance Sheet.

 

2011

   $ 34,115   

2012

     31,244   

2013

     29,031   

2014

     25,332   

2015

     23,649   

Thereafter

     110,415   
        
   $ 253,786   
        

 

Operating lease obligations listed above do not include percentage rent, real estate taxes, insurance, CAM, and other costs for which the Company is obligated. Total expenses for real estate taxes, insurance, CAM, and other costs related to retail space operating leases for the year ended December 31, 2010 was $10.3 million and is included in SG&A expense in the Consolidated Statement of Operations.

 

Inventory Purchase Obligations

 

Inventory purchase obligations consist of open production purchase orders for sourced apparel, footwear, accessories and equipment, and raw material commitments not included in open production purchase orders. At

 

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COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR COMPANY

 

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

 

December 31, 2010 and 2009, inventory purchase obligations were $323,327,000 and $258,069,000, respectively. To support certain inventory purchase obligations, the Company maintains unsecured and uncommitted lines of credit available for issuing import letters of credit. At December 31, 2010 and 2009, the Company had letters of credit of $439,000 and $7,771,000, respectively, outstanding for inventory purchase obligations.

 

Litigation

 

The Company is a party to various legal claims, actions and complaints from time to time. Although the ultimate resolution of legal proceedings cannot be predicted with certainty, management believes that disposition of these matters will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

 

Indemnities and Guarantees

 

During its normal course of business, the Company has made certain indemnities, commitments and guarantees under which it may be required to make payments in relation to certain transactions. These include (i) intellectual property indemnities to the Company’s customers and licensees in connection with the use, sale and/or license of Company products, (ii) indemnities to various lessors in connection with facility leases for certain claims arising from such facility or lease, (iii) indemnities to customers, vendors and service providers pertaining to claims based on the negligence or willful misconduct of the Company, (iv) executive severance arrangements and (v) indemnities involving the accuracy of representations and warranties in certain contracts. The duration of these indemnities, commitments and guarantees varies, and in certain cases, may be indefinite. The majority of these indemnities, commitments and guarantees do not provide for any limitation of the maximum potential for future payments the Company could be obligated to make. The Company has not recorded any liability for these indemnities, commitments and guarantees in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets.

 

NOTE 14—SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY

 

Since the inception of the Company’s stock repurchase plan in 2004 through December 31, 2010, the Company’s Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of $500,000,000 of the Company’s common stock. As of December 31, 2010, the Company had repurchased 9,190,890 shares under this program at an aggregate purchase price of approximately $421,237,000. During the year ended December 31, 2010, the Company repurchased an aggregate of $13,838,000 of common stock under the stock repurchase plan, of which $4,339,000 was recorded as a reduction to retained earnings; otherwise, the aggregate purchase price would have resulted in a negative common stock carrying amount. Shares of the Company’s common stock may be purchased in the open market or through privately negotiated transactions, subject to market conditions. The repurchase program does not obligate the Company to acquire any specific number of shares or to acquire shares over any specified period of time.

 

NOTE 15—STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

 

1997 Stock Incentive Plan

 

The Company’s 1997 Stock Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) provides for issuance of up to 8,900,000 shares of the Company’s Common Stock, of which 1,711,768 shares were available for future grants under the Plan at December 31, 2010. The Plan allows for grants of incentive stock options, non-statutory stock options, restricted stock awards, restricted stock units and other stock-based awards. The Company uses original issuance shares to satisfy share-based payments.

 

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COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR COMPANY

 

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

 

Stock-based compensation expense consisted of the following (in thousands):

 

     Year Ended December 31,  
     2010     2009     2008  

Cost of sales

   $ 286      $ 335      $ 302   

Selling, general, and administrative expense

     6,444        6,018        6,000   
                        

Pre-tax stock-based compensation expense

     6,730        6,353        6,302   

Income tax benefits

     (2,162     (2,258     (2,088
                        

Total stock-based compensation expense, net of tax

   $ 4,568      $ 4,095      $ 4,214   
                        

 

No stock-based compensation costs were capitalized for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2009 or 2008.

 

The Company realized a tax benefit for the deduction from stock-based award transactions of $1,909,000, $851,000, and $636,000 for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008, respectively.

 

Stock Options

 

Options to purchase the Company’s common stock are granted at exercise prices equal to or greater than the fair market value of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant. Options granted after 2000 and before 2009 generally vest and become exercisable over a period of four years (25 percent on the first anniversary date following the date of grant and monthly thereafter) and expire ten years from the date of the grant, with the exception of most options granted in 2005. Most options granted in 2005 vested and became exercisable one year from the date of grant and expire ten years from the date of grant. Options granted after 2008 generally vest and become exercisable ratably on an annual basis over a period of four years and expire ten years from the date of the grant.

 

The Company estimates the fair value of stock options using the Black-Scholes model. Key inputs and assumptions used to estimate the fair value of stock options include the exercise price of the award, the expected option term, the expected volatility of the Company’s stock over the option’s expected term, the risk-free interest rate over the option’s expected term, and the Company’s expected annual dividend yield. Assumptions are evaluated and revised as necessary to reflect changes in market conditions and the Company’s experience. Estimates of fair value are not intended to predict actual future events or the value ultimately realized by people who receive equity awards.

 

The following table presents the weighted average assumptions for the years ended December 31:

 

     2010      2009      2008  

Expected term

     4.53 years         4.71 years         4.43 years   

Expected stock price volatility

     28.79%         29.52%         25.03%   

Risk-free interest rate

     1.91%         1.73%         2.54%   

Expected dividend yield

     1.64%         2.17%         1.57%   

Weighted average grant date fair value

   $ 10.08       $ 6.55       $ 8.60   

 

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COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR COMPANY

 

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

 

The following table summarizes stock option activity under the Plan:

 

     Number of
Shares
    Weighted
Average
Exercise
Price
     Weighted
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Life
     Aggregate
Intrinsic
Value (in
thousands)
 

Options outstanding at January 1, 2008

     1,358,417      $ 46.70         6.54       $ 4,497   

Granted

     640,008        40.98         

Cancelled

     (228,300     49.49         

Exercised

     (116,486     32.42         
                      

Options outstanding at December 31, 2008

     1,653,639        45.10         6.73         1,042   

Granted

     387,505        29.75         

Cancelled

     (252,303     44.90         

Exercised

     (28,668     24.76         
                      

Options outstanding at December 31, 2009

     1,760,173        42.08         6.25         4,599   

Granted

     385,924        44.11         

Cancelled

     (77,481     46.04         

Exercised

     (196,402     37.34         
                      

Options outstanding at December 31, 2010

     1,872,214      $ 42.84         6.33       $ 33,057   
                                  

Options vested and expected to vest at December 31, 2010

     1,815,671      $ 42.93         6.26       $ 31,898   
                                  

Options exercisable at December 31, 2010

     1,111,332      $ 45.38         4.98       $ 16,922   
                                  

 

The aggregate intrinsic value in the table above represents pre-tax intrinsic value that would have been realized if all options had been exercised on the last business day of the period indicated, based on the Company’s closing stock price on that day.

 

Total stock option compensation expense for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008 was $3,348,000, $2,861,000 and $3,329,000, respectively. At December 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008, unrecognized costs related to stock options totaled approximately $4,770,000, $4,609,000 and $6,473,000, respectively, before any related tax benefit. The unrecognized costs related to stock options are being amortized over the related vesting period using the straight-line attribution method. Unrecognized costs related to stock options at December 31, 2010 are expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 2.39 years. The aggregate intrinsic value of stock options exercised was $2,854,000, $333,000 and $1,071,000 for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008, respectively. The total cash received as a result of stock option exercises for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008 was $7,333,000, $710,000 and $3,731,000, respectively.

 

Restricted Stock Units

 

Service-based restricted stock units are granted at no cost to key employees, and shares granted prior to 2009 generally vest over three years from the date of grant. Service-based restricted stock units granted after 2008 generally vest over a period of four years. Performance-based restricted stock units are granted at no cost to certain members of the Company’s senior executive team, excluding the Chairman and the President and Chief Executive Officer. Performance-based restricted stock units granted prior to 2010 generally vest over a performance period of between two and one-half and three years with an additional required service period of one year. Performance-based restricted stock units granted after 2009 generally vest over a performance period of between two and one-half and three years. Restricted stock units vest in accordance with the terms and conditions established by the Compensation

 

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COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR COMPANY

 

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

 

Committee of the Board of Directors, and are based on continued service and, in some instances, on individual performance and/or Company performance. For the majority of restricted stock units granted, the number of shares issued on the date the restricted stock units vest is net of the minimum statutory withholding requirements that the Company pays in cash to the appropriate taxing authorities on behalf of its employees. For the years ended December 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008, the Company withheld 18,721, 19,819 and 5,951 shares, respectively, to satisfy $853,000, $624,000 and $243,000 of employees’ tax obligations, respectively.

 

The fair value of service-based and performance-based restricted stock units is discounted by the present value of the estimated future stream of dividends over the vesting period using the Black-Scholes model. The relevant inputs and assumptions used in the Black-Scholes model to compute the discount are the vesting period, expected annual dividend yield and closing price of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant.

 

The following table presents the weighted average assumptions for the years ended December 31:

 

    2010     2009     2008  

Vesting period

    3.75 years        3.82 years        3.06 years   

Expected dividend yield

    1.56%        2.19%        1.56%   

Estimated average fair value per restricted stock unit granted

  $ 43.95      $ 27.14      $ 39.27   

 

The following table summarizes the restricted stock unit activity under the Plan:

 

     Number of
Shares
    Weighted Average
Grant Date Fair Value
Per Share
 

Restricted stock units outstanding at January 1, 2008

     159,870      $ 55.31   

Granted

     168,347        39.27   

Vested

     (20,625     51.85   

Forfeited

     (47,083     49.25   
                

Restricted stock units outstanding at December 31, 2008

     260,509        46.32   

Granted

     136,327        27.14   

Vested

     (65,935     53.41   

Forfeited

     (44,381     41.22   
                

Restricted stock units outstanding at December 31, 2009

     286,520        36.35   

Granted

     128,525        43.95   

Vested

     (62,417     42.95   

Forfeited

     (23,833     42.44   
                

Restricted stock units outstanding at December 31, 2010

     328,795      $ 37.63   
                

 

Restricted stock unit compensation expense for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008 was $3,382,000, $3,492,000 and $2,973,000, respectively. At December 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008, unrecognized costs related to restricted stock units totaled approximately $5,540,000, $4,216,000 and $5,499,000, respectively, before any related tax benefit. The unrecognized costs related to restricted stock units are being amortized over the related vesting period using the straight-line attribution method. These unrecognized costs at December 31, 2010 are expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 1.82 years. The total grant date fair value of restricted stock units vested during the year ended December 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008 was $2,681,000, $3,522,000 and $1,069,000, respectively.

 

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COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR COMPANY

 

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

 

NOTE 16—EARNINGS PER SHARE

 

Earnings per Share (“EPS”), is presented on both a basic and diluted basis. Basic EPS is based on the weighted average number of common shares outstanding. Diluted EPS reflects the potential dilution that could occur if outstanding securities or other contracts to issue common stock were exercised or converted into common stock. For the calculation of diluted EPS, the basic weighted average number of shares is increased by the dilutive effect of stock options and restricted stock units determined using the treasury stock method.

 

A reconciliation of the common shares used in the denominator for computing basic and diluted EPS is as follows (in thousands, except per share amounts):

 

     Year Ended December 31,  
     2010      2009      2008  

Weighted average common shares outstanding, used in computing basic earnings per share

     33,725         33,846         34,610   

Effect of dilutive stock options and restricted stock units

     367         135         101   
                          

Weighted-average common shares outstanding, used in computing diluted earnings per share

     34,092         33,981         34,711   
                          

Earnings per share of common stock:

        

Basic

   $ 2.28       $ 1.98       $ 2.75   

Diluted

     2.26         1.97         2.74   

 

Stock options and service-based restricted stock units representing 480,707, 1,562,064 and 1,410,849 shares of common stock for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008, respectively, were outstanding but were excluded in the computation of diluted EPS because their effect would be anti-dilutive as a result of applying the treasury stock method. In addition, performance-based restricted stock units representing 43,323, 44,043 and 41,799 shares for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008, respectively, were outstanding but were excluded from the computation of diluted EPS because these shares were subject to performance conditions that had not been met.

 

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COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR COMPANY

 

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

 

NOTE 17—COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

 

Accumulated other comprehensive income, net of applicable taxes, reported on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets consists of foreign currency translation adjustments, unrealized gains and losses on derivative transactions and unrealized gains and losses on available-for-sale securities. A summary of comprehensive income, net of related tax effects, for the year ended December 31, is as follows (in thousands):

 

     2010     2009     2008  

Net income

   $ 77,037      $ 67,021      $ 95,047   

Other comprehensive income (loss):

      

Unrealized holding gains (losses) on available-for-sale securities

     (28     64        —     

Unrealized derivative holding gains (losses) arising during period (net of tax expense (benefit) of ($725), ($1,054) and $361 in 2010, 2009 and 2008, respectively)

     1,167        (3,024     6,425   

Reclassification to net income of previously deferred gains on derivative transactions (net of tax benefit of $269, $227 and $36 in 2010, 2009 and 2008, respectively)

     (1,680     (616     (389

Foreign currency translation adjustments

     3,812        13,854        (30,511
                        

Other comprehensive income (loss)

     3,271        10,278        (24,475
                        

Comprehensive income

   $ 80,308      $ 77,299      $ 70,572   
                        

 

Accumulated other comprehensive income, net of related tax effects, is as follows (in thousands):

 

     Foreign
currency
translation
adjustments
     Unrealized
holding gains
(losses) on
derivative
transactions
    Unrealized
holding gains
(losses) on
available-for-
sale securities
    Accumulated
other
comprehensive
income
 

Balance at December 31, 2009

   $ 44,538       $ (1,158   $ 64      $ 43,444   

Activity for the twelve months ended December 31, 2010

     3,812         (513     (28     3,271   
                                 

Balance at December 31, 2010

   $ 48,350       $ (1,671   $ 36      $ 46,715   
                                 

 

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COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR COMPANY

 

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

 

NOTE 18—SEGMENT INFORMATION

 

The Company operates in four geographic segments: (1) United States, (2) Latin America and Asia Pacific (“LAAP”), (3) Europe, Middle East and Africa (“EMEA”), and (4) Canada, which are reflective of the Company’s internal organization, management, and oversight structure. Each geographic segment operates predominantly in one industry: the design, development, marketing and distribution of active outdoor apparel, including outerwear, sportswear, footwear and accessories and equipment.

 

The geographic distribution of the Company’s net sales, income before income taxes, interest income (expense), income tax (expense) benefit, and depreciation and amortization expense are summarized in the following tables (in thousands) for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008 and for identifiable assets at December 31, 2010 and 2009. Inter-geographic net sales, which are recorded at a negotiated mark-up and eliminated in consolidation, are not material.

 

     2010     2009     2008  

Net sales to unrelated entities:

      

United States

   $ 880,990      $ 736,942      $ 727,706   

LAAP

     263,429        203,230        198,236   

EMEA

     222,451        197,357        267,152   

Canada

     116,654        106,494        124,741   
                        
   $ 1,483,524      $ 1,244,023      $ 1,317,835   
                        

Income before income taxes:

      

United States

   $ 53,752      $ 49,660      $ 38,674   

LAAP

     35,635        27,138        32,857   

EMEA

     5,817        1,410        26,167   

Canada

     8,123        9,554        21,008   

Interest

     1,564        2,088        7,537   
                        
   $ 104,891      $ 89,850      $ 126,243   
                        

Interest income (expense), net:

      

United States

   $ 4,664      $ 4,561      $ 5,804   

LAAP

     500        561        1,023   

EMEA

     (717     (910     45   

Canada

     (2,883     (2,124     665   
                        
   $ 1,564      $ 2,088      $ 7,537   
                        

Income tax (expense) benefit:

      

United States

   $ (9,938   $ (13,710   $ (13,363

LAAP

     (9,325     (6,745     (8,312

EMEA

     (7,668     (2,744     (2,692

Canada

     (923     370        (6,829
                        
   $ (27,854   $ (22,829   $ (31,196
                        

Depreciation and amortization expense:

      

United States

   $ 28,634      $ 26,850      $ 21,866   

LAAP

     2,557        2,120        1,865   

EMEA

     6,410        6,642        6,978   

Canada

     829        641        449   
                        
   $ 38,430      $ 36,253      $ 31,158   
                        

 

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COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR COMPANY

 

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

 

     2010     2009     2008  

Assets:

      

United States

   $ 941,154      $ 916,847     

LAAP

     141,911        104,734     

EMEA

     276,136        249,838     

Canada

     150,236        127,205     
                  

Total identifiable assets

     1,509,437        1,398,624     

Eliminations and reclassifications

     (214,683     (185,741  
                  
   $ 1,294,754      $ 1,212,883     
                  

Net sales by product category:

      

Outerwear

   $ 560,826      $ 482,512      $ 491,777   

Sportswear

     555,812        472,508        540,903   

Footwear

     270,223        214,565        217,237   

Accessories and equipment

     96,663        74,438        67,918   
                        
   $ 1,483,524      $ 1,244,023      $ 1,317,835   
                        

 

NOTE 19—FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS AND RISK MANAGEMENT

 

In the normal course of business, the Company’s financial position and results of operations are routinely subject to a variety of risks. These risks include risks associated with global financial and capital markets, primarily exchange rate risk and, to a lesser extent, interest rate risk and equity market risk. The Company regularly assesses these risks and has established policies and business practices designed to result in an appropriate level of protection against an adverse effect of these risks. The Company does not engage in speculative trading in any financial or capital market.

 

The Company’s primary exchange rate risk management objective is to mitigate the uncertainty of anticipated cash flows attributable to changes in exchange rates. The Company primarily focuses on mitigating changes in functional currency equivalent cash flows resulting from anticipated U.S. dollar denominated inventory purchases by subsidiaries that use European euros, Canadian dollars, Japanese yen or Korean won as their functional currency. The Company manages this risk primarily by using currency forward and option contracts. If the anticipated transactions are deemed probable, the resulting relationships are formally designated as cash flow hedges. The Company also uses foreign currency forward and option contracts to hedge net balance sheet exposures related primarily to intercompany loan agreements and payables.

 

The effective change in fair value of financial instruments formally designated in cash flow hedging relationships is initially offset to accumulated other comprehensive income and any ineffective portion is offset to current income. Amounts accumulated in other comprehensive income are subsequently reclassified to cost of sales when the underlying transaction is included in income. Hedge effectiveness is determined by evaluating the ability of a hedging instrument’s cumulative change in fair value to offset the cumulative change in the present value of expected cash flows on the underlying exposures. For forward contracts, the change in fair value attributable to changes in forward points are excluded from the determination of hedge effectiveness and included in current cost of sales. For option contracts, the hedging relationship is assumed to have no ineffectiveness if the critical terms of the option contract match the hedged transaction’s terms, the strike price, or prices, match the specified levels beyond or within that of the exposure being hedged, the option’s cash flows completely offset the hedged item’s cash flow at maturity and the option can only be exercised on a specified date. Hedge ineffectiveness was not material during the years ended December 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008.

 

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COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR COMPANY

 

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

 

The classification of effective hedge results in the Consolidated Statements of Operations is the same as that of the underlying exposure. Results of hedges of product costs are recorded in cost of sales when the underlying hedged transaction affects income. Unrealized derivative gains and losses, which are recorded in current assets and liabilities, respectively, are non-cash items and therefore are taken into account in the preparation of the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows based on their respective balance sheet classifications.

 

The Company uses derivative instruments not formally designated as hedges to manage the exchange rate risk associated with both the remeasurement of monetary assets and liabilities and anticipated transactions that do not qualify as the hedged items in cash flow hedging relationships. The change in fair value of these instruments is recognized immediately in cost of sales or SG&A expense, depending on the underlying exposure.

 

The following table presents the gross notional amount of outstanding derivative instruments (in thousands):

 

     December 31,  
     2010      2009  

Derivative instruments designated as cash flow hedges:

     

Currency forward contracts

   $ 86,260       $ 82,730   

Currency option contracts

     4,500         —     

Derivative instruments not designated as cash flow hedges:

     

Currency forward contracts

     179,382         61,017   

 

At December 31, 2010, approximately $1,349,000 of deferred net losses on both outstanding and matured derivatives accumulated in other comprehensive income are expected to be reclassified to net income during the next twelve months as a result of underlying hedged transactions also being recorded in net income. Actual amounts ultimately reclassified to net income are dependent on U.S. dollar exchange rates in effect against the European euro, Canadian dollar, Japanese yen and Korean won when outstanding derivative contracts mature.

 

At December 31, 2010, the Company’s derivative contracts had a remaining maturity of approximately two years or less. All the counterparties to these transactions had investment grade short-term credit ratings. The maximum net exposure to any single counterparty, which is generally limited to the aggregate unrealized gain of all contracts with that counterparty, was less than $1,000,000 at December 31, 2010. The majority of the Company’s derivative counterparties have strong credit ratings and, as a result, the Company does not require collateral to facilitate transactions. The Company does not hold derivatives featuring credit-related contingent terms. In addition, the Company is not a party to any derivative master agreement featuring credit-related contingent terms. Finally, the Company has not pledged assets or posted collateral as a requirement for entering into or maintaining derivative positions.

 

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COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR COMPANY

 

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

 

The following table presents the balance sheet classification and fair value of derivative instruments (in thousands):

 

    

Balance Sheet Classification

   December 31,  
        2010      2009  

Derivative instruments designated as cash flow hedges:

        

Derivative instruments in asset positions:

        

Currency forward contracts

   Prepaid expenses and other current assets    $ 362       $ 1,099   

Currency option contracts

   Prepaid expenses and other current assets      15         —     

Derivative instruments in liability positions:

        

Currency forward contracts

   Accrued liabilities      2,732         890   

Currency option contracts

   Accrued liabilities      102         —     

 

    

Balance Sheet Classification

   December 31,  
         2010      2009  

Derivative instruments not designated as cash flow hedges:

        

Derivative instruments in asset positions:

        

Currency forward contracts

   Prepaid expenses and other current assets    $ 789       $ 453   

Derivative instruments in liability positions:

        

Currency forward contracts

   Accrued liabilities      4,169         1,065   

 

The following table presents the effect and classification of derivative instruments for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009 (in thousands):

 

    

Statement Of Operations Classification

   For the Year Ended
December 31,
 
        2010     2009  

Currency Forward Contracts:

       

Derivative instruments designated as cash flow hedges:

       

Gain (Loss) recognized in other comprehensive income, net of tax

      $ 1,167      $ (3,024

Gain (Loss) reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income to income for the effective portion

   Cost of sales      1,789        (740

Loss recognized in income for amount excluded from effectiveness testing and for the ineffective portion

   Cost of sales      (230     (14

Derivative instruments not designated as cash flow hedges:

       

Loss recognized in income

   Cost of sales      (130     (130

Loss recognized in income

   SG&A      (54     —     

 

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COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR COMPANY

 

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

 

NOTE 20—FAIR VALUE MEASURES

 

Certain assets and liabilities are reported at fair value on either a recurring or nonrecurring basis. Fair value is defined as an exit price, representing the amount that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants, under a three-tier fair value hierarchy which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value as follows:

 

Level 1 –    observable inputs such as quoted prices in active liquid markets;
Level 2 –    inputs, other than the quoted market prices in active markets, which are observable, either directly or indirectly; or observable market prices in markets with insufficient volume and/or infrequent transactions; and
Level 3 –    unobservable inputs for which there is little or no market data available, which require the reporting entity to develop its own assumptions.

 

Assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of December 31, 2010 are as follows (in thousands):

 

     Level 1      Level 2      Level 3      Total  

Assets:

           

Cash equivalents

           

Money market funds

   $ 177,104       $ —         $ —         $ 177,104   

Time deposits

     7,510         —           —           7,510   

U.S. Government-backed municipal bonds

     —           5,560         —           5,560   

Available-for-sale short-term investments

           

Short-term municipal bond fund

     15,624         —           —           15,624   

U.S. Government-backed municipal bonds

     —           53,188         —           53,188   

Other current assets

           

Derivative financial instruments (Note 19)

     —           1,166         —           1,166   

Non-current assets

           

Mutual fund shares

     1,670         —           —           1,670   
                                   

Total assets measured at fair value

   $ 201,908       $ 59,914       $ —         $ 261,822   
                                   

Liabilities:

           

Accrued liabilities

           

Derivative financial instruments (Note 19)

   $ —         $ 7,003       $ —         $ 7,003   
                                   

Total liabilities measured at fair value

   $ —         $ 7,003       $ —         $ 7,003   
                                   

 

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COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR COMPANY

 

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

 

Assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis at December 31, 2009 are as follows (in thousands):

 

     Level 1      Level 2      Level 3      Total  

Assets:

           

Cash equivalents

           

Money market funds

   $ 332,574       $ —         $ —         $ 332,574   

Time deposits

     16,844         —           —           16,844   

Available-for-sale short-term investments

           

Short-term municipal bond fund

     20,247         —           —           20,247   

Time deposits

     2,512         —           —           2,512   

Other current assets

           

Derivative financial instruments (Note 19)

     —           1,552         —           1,552   

Non-current assets

           

Mutual fund shares

     826         —           —           826   
                                   

Total assets measured at fair value

   $ 373,003       $ 1,552       $ —         $ 374,555   
                                   

Liabilities:

           

Accrued liabilities

           

Derivative financial instruments (Note 19)

   $ —         $ 1,955       $ —         $ 1,955   
                                   

Total liabilities measured at fair value

   $ —         $ 1,955       $ —         $ 1,955   
                                   

 

Level 1 instrument valuations are obtained from real-time quotes for transactions in active exchange markets involving identical assets. Level 2 instrument valuations are obtained from inputs, other than quoted market prices in active markets, that are directly or indirectly observable in the marketplace and quoted prices in markets with limited volume or infrequent transactions.

 

There were no assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a nonrecurring basis at December 31, 2010 or 2009.

 

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SUPPLEMENTARY DATA—QUARTERLY FINANCIAL DATA (Unaudited)

 

The following table summarizes the Company’s quarterly financial data for the past two years ended December 31, 2010 (in thousands, except per share amounts):

 

2010

   First
Quarter
     Second
Quarter
    Third
Quarter
     Fourth
Quarter
 

Net sales

   $ 300,406       $ 221,831      $ 504,028       $ 457,259   

Gross profit

     127,304         96,922        214,281         190,897   

Net income (loss)

     9,228         (10,604     52,205         26,208   

Earnings (loss) per share

          

Basic

   $ 0.27       $ (0.31   $ 1.55       $ 0.78   

Diluted

     0.27         (0.31     1.53         0.77   

 

2009

   First
Quarter
     Second
Quarter
    Third
Quarter
     Fourth
Quarter
 

Net sales

   $ 271,966       $ 179,268      $ 434,473       $ 358,316   

Gross profit

     110,495         74,307        188,599         150,677   

Net income (loss)

     6,898         (9,878     46,915         23,086   

Earnings (loss) per share

          

Basic

   $ 0.20       $ (0.29   $ 1.39       $ 0.68   

Diluted

     0.20         (0.29     1.38         0.68   

 

Item 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

 

None.

 

Item 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

 

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

 

Our management has evaluated, under the supervision and with the participation of our chief executive officer and chief financial officer, the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this report pursuant to Rule 13a-15(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”). Based on that evaluation, our chief executive officer and chief financial officer have concluded that, as of the end of the period covered by this report, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective in ensuring that information required to be disclosed in our Exchange Act reports is (1) recorded, processed, summarized and reported in a timely manner, and (2) accumulated and communicated to our management, including our chief executive officer and chief financial officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

 

Design and Evaluation of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

 

Report of Management

 

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. All internal control systems, no matter how well designed, have inherent limitations. Therefore, even those systems determined to be effective can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to financial statement preparation and presentation.

 

Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, we assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2010. In making this assessment, we used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission in Internal Control –

 

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Integrated Framework. Based on our assessment we believe that, as of December 31, 2010, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting is effective based on those criteria.

 

There has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during our fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2010 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

 

Our independent auditors have issued an audit report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2010, which is included herein.

 

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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

 

To the Board of Directors and Shareholders

Columbia Sportswear Company

Portland, Oregon

 

We have audited the internal control over financial reporting of Columbia Sportswear Company and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2010, based on criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying “Report of Management”. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit.

 

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

 

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed by, or under the supervision of, the company’s principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, and effected by the company’s board of directors, management, and other personnel to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

 

Because of the inherent limitations of internal control over financial reporting, including the possibility of collusion or improper management override of controls, material misstatements due to error or fraud may not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Also, projections of any evaluation of the effectiveness of the internal control over financial reporting to future periods are subject to the risk that the controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

 

In our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2010, based on the criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission.

 

We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2010 of the Company, and our report dated March 11, 2011, expressed an unqualified opinion on those financial statements.

 

DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP

Portland, Oregon

March 11, 2011

 

Item 9B. OTHER INFORMATION

 

None.

 

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PART III

 

Item 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

 

The sections of our 2011 Proxy Statement entitled “Election of Directors,” “Corporate Governance—Code of Business Conduct and Ethics,” “Corporate Governance—Board Committees,” “Corporate Governance—Director Nomination Policy,” and “Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance” are incorporated herein by reference.

 

See Item 4A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for information regarding our executive officers.

 

Item 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

 

The sections of our 2011 Proxy Statement entitled “Executive Compensation,” “Director Compensation,” “Corporate Governance—Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation” and “Compensation Committee Report” are incorporated herein by reference.

 

Item 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS

 

The section of our 2011 Proxy Statement entitled “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management” is incorporated herein by reference.

 

The following table provides information about compensation plans (including individual compensation arrangements) under which our equity securities are authorized for issuance to employees or non-employees (such as directors and consultants), at December 31, 2010:

 

Equity Compensation Plan Information

 

Plan Category

   Number of
securities to be
issued upon
exercise of
outstanding options,
warrants and rights (1)
     Weighted-average
exercise price of
outstanding
options, warrants
and rights (2)
     Number of securities
remaining available for
future issuance under
equity compensation
plans (excluding
securities reflected in
column a)
 
     (a)      (b)      (c)  

Equity compensation plans approved by security holders:

        

1997 Stock Incentive Plan

     2,201,009       $ 42.84         1,711,768   

1999 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (3)

     —           —           474,444   

Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders

     —           —           —     
                          

Total

     2,201,009       $ 42.84         2,186,212   
                          

 

(1)   The number of outstanding shares to be issued under the 1997 Stock Incentive Plan includes stock options and restricted stock units.
(2)   The weighted-average exercise price excludes 328,795 shares issuable upon the vesting of outstanding restricted stock units, which have no exercise price.
(3)   The 1999 Employee Stock Purchase Plan was suspended indefinitely effective July 1, 2005.

 

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Item 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS, RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE

 

The sections of our 2011 Proxy Statement entitled “Corporate Governance—Certain Relationships and Related Transactions,” “Corporate Governance—Related Transactions Approval Process,” and “Corporate Governance—Independence” are incorporated herein by reference.

 

Item 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES

 

The sections of our 2011 Proxy Statement entitled “Ratification of Selection of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm—Principal Accountant Fees and Services” and “Pre-approval Policy” are incorporated herein by reference.

 

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PART IV

 

Item 15. EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULE

 

(a)(1) and (a)(2) Financial Statements. The Financial Statements of Columbia and Supplementary Data filed as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K are on pages 36 to 59 of this Annual Report.

 

(b) See Exhibit Index beginning on page 64 for a description of the documents that are filed as Exhibits to this Annual Report on Form 10-K or incorporated herein by reference.

 

Schedule II, Valuation and Qualifying Accounts, is omitted because the information is included in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

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SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR COMPANY

By:

 

/s/    THOMAS B. CUSICK        

  Thomas B. Cusick
  Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and
Treasurer

 

Date: March 11, 2011

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the date indicated.

 

Signatures

  

Title

/s/    TIMOTHY P. BOYLE        

Timothy P. Boyle

  

President and Chief Executive Officer and Director (Principal Executive Officer)

/s/    THOMAS B. CUSICK        

Thomas B. Cusick

  

Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)

/s/    GERTRUDE BOYLE        

Gertrude Boyle

  

Chairman of the Board of Directors

/s/    SARAH A. BANY        

Sarah A. Bany

  

Director

/s/    EDWARD S. GEORGE        

Edward S. George

  

Director

/s/    MURREY R. ALBERS        

Murrey R. Albers

  

Director

/s/    JOHN W. STANTON        

John W. Stanton

  

Director

/s/    WALTER T. KLENZ        

Walter T. Klenz

  

Director

/s/    STEPHEN E. BABSON        

Stephen E. Babson

  

Director

/s/    ANDY D. BRYANT        

Andy D. Bryant

  

Director

 

Date: March 11, 2011

 

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EXHIBIT INDEX

 

In reviewing the agreements included as exhibits to this Annual Report on Form 10-K, please remember they are included to provide you with information regarding their terms and are not intended to provide any other factual or disclosure information about Columbia or the other parties to the agreements. The agreements may contain representations and warranties by each of the parties to the applicable agreement. These representations and warranties have been made solely for the benefit of the other party or parties to the applicable agreement and:

 

   

should not in all instances be treated as categorical statements of fact, but rather as a means of allocating the risk to one of the parties if those statements prove to be inaccurate;

 

   

may have been qualified by disclosures that were made to the other party or parties in connection with the negotiation of the applicable agreement, which disclosures are not necessarily reflected in the agreement;

 

   

may apply standards of materiality in a manner that is different from what may be viewed as material to you or other investors; and

 

   

were made only as of the date of the applicable agreement or other date or dates that may be specified in the agreement and are subject to more recent developments.

 

Accordingly, these representations and warranties may not describe the actual state of affairs as of the date they were made or at any other time. Additional information about Columbia may be found elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and Columbia’s other public filings, which are available without charge through the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.

 

Exhibit No.

    

Exhibit Name

  3.1       Third Restated Articles of Incorporation (incorporated by reference to exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2000) (File No. 000-23939)
  3.2      Amendment to Third Restated Articles of Incorporation (incorporated by reference to exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended June 30, 2002) (File No. 0-23939)
  3.3      2000 Restated Bylaws (incorporated by reference to exhibit 3.2 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2000) (File No. 000-23939)
  4.1      See Article II of Exhibit 3.1, as amended by Exhibit 3.2, and Article I of Exhibit 3.3
  +*10.1      Columbia Sportswear Company 1997 Stock Incentive Plan, as amended (incorporated by reference to exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended June 30, 2009) (File No. 000-23939)
  +*10.2      Form of Nonstatutory Stock Option Agreement for stock options granted prior to July 20, 2006
  +10.2(a)       Form of Executive Stock Option Agreement (incorporated by reference to exhibit 10.3 (a) to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2000) (File No. 000-23939)
  +10.2(b)       Form of Nonstatutory Stock Option Agreement for stock options granted on or after July 20, 2006 and before January 23, 2009 (incorporated by reference to exhibit 99.1 to the Company’s Form 8-K filed on July 26, 2006)
  +10.2(c)       Form of Performance-based Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement for performance-based restricted stock units granted on or after March 29, 2010 (incorporated by reference to exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2010) (File No. 000-23939)

 

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Exhibit No.

    

Exhibit Name

  +10.2(d)       Form of Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement for awards granted prior to January 23, 2009 (incorporated by reference to exhibit 99.2 to the Company’s Form 8-K filed on July 26, 2006)
  +10.2(e)       Form of Performance-Based Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement (incorporated by reference to exhibit 99.3 to the Company’s Form 8-K filed on July 26, 2006)
  +10.2(f)       Form of Performance-based Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement for performance-based restricted stock units granted on or after February 24, 2009 (incorporated by reference to exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2009) (File No. 000-23939)
  +10.2(g)       Form of Nonstatutory Stock Option Agreement for stock options granted on or after January 23, 2009 (incorporated by reference to exhibit 10.2 (e) to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008) (File No. 000-23939)
  +10.2(h)       Form of Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement for awards granted on or after January 23, 2009 (incorporated by reference to exhibit 10.2 (f) to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008) (File No. 000-23939)
  +10.2(i)       Columbia Sportswear Company 401(k) Excess Plan (incorporated by reference to exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2009) (File No. 000-23939)
  +10.4      Columbia Sportswear Company Change in Control Severance Plan (incorporated by reference to the Company’s Form 8-K filed on January 29, 2009) (File No. 000-23939)
  10.5       Credit Agreement between the Company and Wells Fargo Bank National Association dated June 15, 2010 (incorporated by reference to the Company’s Form 8-K filed on June 18, 2010) (File No. 0-23939).
  10.5(a)       First Amendment to Credit Agreement between the Company and Wells Fargo Bank National Association dated December 16, 2010 (incorporated by reference to the Company’s Form 8-K filed on December 17, 2010) (File No. 0-23939).
  *10.9      Form of Indemnity Agreement for Directors
  +10.10      1999 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, as amended (incorporated by reference to exhibit 10.21 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001) (File No. 000-23939)
  +10.11      Executive Incentive Compensation Plan, as amended (incorporated by reference to exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2000) (File No. 000-23939)
  +10.12      Form of Indemnity Agreement for Directors and Executive Officers (incorporated by reference to exhibit 10.23 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004)
  21.1      Subsidiaries of the Company
  23.1      Consent of Deloitte & Touche LLP
  31.1      Rule 13a-14(a) Certification of Timothy P. Boyle, President and Chief Executive Officer
  31.2      Rule 13a-14(a) Certification of Thomas B. Cusick, Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
  32.1      Section 1350 Certification of Timothy P. Boyle, President and Chief Executive Officer
  32.2      Section 1350 Certification of Thomas B. Cusick, Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

 

+   Management Contract or Compensatory Plan
*   Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (Reg. No. 333-43199).

 

81