The US outdoor group Columbia Sportswear Company, based in Portland, Oregon, increased its net sales in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 by 23 percent to $1.13 billion. Operating income increased 71 percent to $211.6 million from $123.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2020.
For the full year, operating income increased 229 percent to a record $450.5 million, or 14.4 percent of net sales, compared to operating income of $137.0 million, or 5, 5 percent of net sales in 2020. Compared to 2019, the last year before the pandemic, net sales increased by three percent. The company repurchased $165.9 million of common stock during the year.
In addition to Columbia, the brand portfolio includes the brands Sorel (shoes), Mountain Hardwear (outdoor clothing) and Prana (climbing/bouldering clothing). Mountain Hardwear posted the strongest growth in the fourth quarter, with sales up 30 percent, followed by Columbia (up 28 percent), Sorel (up 9 percent) and Prana, down 7 percent. In terms of categories, apparel, equipment and accessories increased 28 percent, footwear twelve percent. Looking at the channels, the DTC channel with an increase of 33 percent was ahead of the wholesale with an increase of 13 percent.
The company’s largest market is still the USA with a turnover of 762 million US dollars, followed by Asia with 173 million US dollars, EMEA (114 US dollars) and Canada (81 US dollars).
According to the company, the comparatively low sales in the shoe sector in general and at Sorel in particular are primarily a result of problems in the supply chain and capacity bottlenecks in production. Uncertainties remain for the new 2022 fiscal year, but net sales are expected to be between $3.63 billion and $3.69 billion, representing net sales growth of 16% to 18% over 2021.