Columbia Sportswear (COLM) Reshuffles Managerial Positions

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

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

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

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

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

Bottom Line

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

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

Columbia Sportswear currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Key Picks from the Sector

Meanwhile, investors can count on some better-ranked stocks in the same industry that include Cherokee Inc. (NASDAQ:CHKE) , Gildan Activewear Inc. (TO:GIL) and Tailored Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TLRD) .

While Cherokee and Tailored Brands flaunt a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Gildan Activewear holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

While Cherokee has a long-term earnings growth rate of 15%, Gildan Activewear has a long-term earnings growth rate of 12.3%. Tailored Brands has a long-term earnings growth rate of 16.5%.

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