Columbia Sportswear
Once known mainly as a wholesale leader with little digital footprint, the company kicked off a major digital transformation. Anthony, its first Director of Design and UX, led the rebrand and redesign of four core brands and launched 58 global e-commerce sites — boosting the customer experience and raising average order value by over 20%. Meanwhile, Mark, newly appointed as Director of Ecommerce & Digital, built targeted audiences and expanded digital marketing efforts. Together, their work grew DTC revenue from under $14 million to over $100 million in just one year.
Creating the digital strategy for Columbia Sportswear and its four brands — Columbia, Sorel, Mountain Hardwear, and Montrail — was a dream project.
Creating the digital strategy for Columbia Sportswear and its four brands — Columbia, Sorel, Mountain Hardwear, and Montrail — was a dream project. We were asked to take these iconic outdoor brands and bring them to life in the digital world. Tony started by rebranding and redesigning all four websites, and each one had its own personality and challenges. Columbia was dominating wholesale but barely had a digital footprint. Sorel wanted to move beyond its famous Pac Boot and own the women's fashion space. Mountain Hardwear was the innovative rebel looking to get back in the game. And Montrail? They needed to break out of their hardcore trail-running niche.
Tony's job was to figure out what made each brand special — their history, their why, their edge — and turn that into digital experiences that felt authentic and modern. He spent time with each brand team, diving into their stories and where they were headed. With some basic analytics and a lot of brand insight, he started mapping out how each one could come alive online.
While Tony worked on the creative vision, Mark tackled the performance side. He built a framework that connected data, media, and storytelling across every channel. By restructuring paid search, display, and affiliate programs with smarter budget models, he drove revenue 26% above forecast and improved ROI by 25% in just one quarter. For the first time, they could actually see how marketing dollars connected to sales, store traffic, and brand impact.
Mark also cleaned up the backend — renegotiating contracts, cutting out redundant vendors, and reducing costs by 18%. The savings didn't mean doing less; it meant doing more with better tools, sharper targeting, and creative that could adapt in real time. The whole system became leaner and more effective.
METRIC | RESULTS | STRATEGIC VALUE |
|---|---|---|
E-commerce Growth | $25M > $199M+ | Scalable DTC Success |
ROI | +25% Improvement | Marketing Efficiency & Control |
Forecast Accuracy | +26% Over Projections | Predictable Performance |
Platform Costs | -18% | Operational Optimization |
Cultural Shift | Tactical > Strategic Growth Mindset | Sustainable Capability Building |
In the end, we built something that worked. The digital experiences felt right for each brand and reconnected with customers in a meaningful way. Ecommerce revenue jumped from $25 million to over $175 million, and digital went from being a side project to a core part of how the company thought and operated. It proved that creativity and performance could work together to drive real, lasting growth.
