Columbia Heads Abroad
Portland, Ore.–based Columbia Sportswear Co. struck distribution agreements with South Africa–based Foschini Retail Group, a division of Foschini Ltd., and the Kenrich International Distributor Corp. of the Philippines. The two companies will distribute Columbia apparel and footwear throughout South Africa and the Philippines beginning this fall. Foschini will introduce Columbia merchandise in its new concept store, Due South, in late 2004. There are seven Due South stores located in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Pretoria. After the initial launch of Columbia, Foschini will begin distributing the line in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland and Lesotho.
