Case Requirements:

$1.$ Value Chain Analysis

i$.$ Conduct a value chain analysis $($must be applied to the company core business$)$

$2.$ SWOT Analysis

i$.$ analyze the external and inernal environment

ii$.$ identify the opportunities and threats

iii. identify strengths and weaknesses

iv$.$ evaluate the main SWOT elements Nathan DeLano, Craig Hooker, James Mendiola, and Alisha Sanford

Texas A&M University

Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell and advertise.

Gert Boyle

Chairperson of Columbia Sportswear

Columbia Sportswear Company $($Columbia$)$ is a leader

in the highly competitive industry of active outdoor

apparel. The firm's success is a result of its ability to

effectively design, manufacture, and distribute out$-$

door apparel. Making these outcomes possible are

Columbia's innovation skills, the equity of its brand,

and strong marketing. Columbia's broad product lines

include everything from outerwear and footwear to

camping equipment and skiwear. The firm has grown

from a small hat company founded in the $1930$s into

a company with a global strategy and a physical and

online presence spanning Asia, Latin America, Africa,

and Europe.

To appreciate fully the evolution of Columbia from

"a corporation that was a niche manufacturer of out$-$

door clothing aimed at fishermen...into an interna$-$

tional brand and publicly traded powerhouse,"$\text{'}{?}^{,1}$ one must

understand the level of perseverance, work ethic, dedi$-$

cation, and attitude of Gertrude Boyle: now in her late

eighties, but still "One Bad Mother."$2$ Gert Boyle took

over the family business in the early $70$s after the sudden

death of her husband. A candid and straightforward per$-$

son, Boyle has often admitted that, having never worked a

day in her life, she had no idea what to do when she first

began running the company. ${?}^3$ Despite her lack of experi$-$

ence, Boyle helped turn Columbia from near bankruptcy

and collapse into a billion dollar publicly traded organi$-$

zation. Along the way, she relied on her natural business

savvy and perseverance, overcoming family tragedy and

even an attempted kidnapping.

Columbia's corporate culture and business personal$-$

ity reflect a great number of the ideals that Gert Boyle's

leadership had imbued into the company. Her sharp

wit, dedication, and love for the company are legend$-$

ary, as proven in November $2010$ when an armed assail$-$

ant forced Boyle at gunpoint from her garage and into

her home. Thinking on her feet, Boyle activated a silent

alarm to contact police and escaped shaken, but largely

unharmed. ${?}^4$ After the incident, the local police chief

stopped by Boyle's home but "made the mistake of wear$-$

ing a North Face jacket," $...$ "The police chief asked if she

was all right. True to her personality Boyle said, 'I was

OK until that jacket walked in here."$\mathrm{.}5$ As evidenced, even

in the most unimaginable and frightening situations

Boyle stays true to herself. Her relentless commitment

has been a driving force behind Columbia's growth and

profitability, proving that "the buck still stops with Ma$."$

History of Columbia Sportswear

The story of Columbia Sportswear began in $1937$ when

the Lanfrom family escaped Nazi$-$controlled Germany

and settled in Portland, Oregon. There, Paul Lanfrom

bought a small hat distributorship named Rosenfeld

Hat Company and, fearing the name could hurt sales,

renamed it The Columbia Hat Company. ${?}^{?}$

The Columbia Hat Company became relatively suc$-$

cessful but like many small companies, Paul started to butt

heads with the firm's suppliers. In Paul's opinion, the best

solution for The Columbia Hat Company was to begin

manufacturing its own hats. This decision would greatly

affect the direction Columbia would take, ultimately

becoming the juggernaut that it is today. In the late $40$s$,$

Paul's daughter, Gertrude, married Neal Boyle and he