American outdoor clothing giants Columbia are set to buy
cutting-edge technical clothing brand Mountain Hardwear this week in
a merger deal worth a cool 36 million dollars.
According to this story on the Outside web site, the merger will
go ahead if approved by MHW shareholders and the brand will become a
subsidiary of Columbia Sportswear Company.
The management of both companies are making encouraging noises
about the deal, but for consumers, the deal, if it happens, should
make little difference. Mountain Hardwear would carry on with its own
management, workforce and independent base.
More importantly, there are no plans to take MHW downmarket and
the company would continue to concentrate on high-end kit, while the
Columbia brand sits in the mass middle market in the States.
'You won't see us going into the middle of the market level and
you won't see their name on our products,' a MHW spokesperson is
quoted as saying.
For more information see the story
on the Outside site.
John Corteen
