Columbia Sportswear Company (NASDAQ:COLM)

Oh Columbia, what hast happened to thou lately? I love the volatility of this stock and have bought and sold it many times. I think this is a great dip to dive into. Plus, I love their products and commend them for their recent experiment with higher end clothing and equipment; it tells me their management is on the ball and thinking strategically.

Tim Boyle has been CEO & President since 1989, but has been involved in running the company since 1964, after his father’s sudden death. Columbia Sportswear was founded in 1938 by current chairwoman Gert Boyle's father (Tim Boyle’s grandfather). Common sense dictates that this family history and involvement means that management have deep interest in the firm, however, unlike other firms which have handed over the reigns to institutional shareholders, insider holdings still make up the majority: 64.90%. Despite this old history, it has been able to keep up with the times, and Tim Boyle at the lead has been able to reinvent and refresh the company. Jim Cramer stated “Tim Boyle…who's delivering and delivering”.

Fall 2011 backlog increased 19% as compared to same quarter last year and this “reflects growth across each major brand, geographic region and product category.”

I won’t breakdown sales by brand and geographic region here, however, sales of the Sorel brand has increased indicating that people are buying these hand over fist. Maybe that sounds a bit over-exaggerated: 158% soar in sales disproves that.

The downside, as with other retailers, is the systematic risk. Products costs, and as a result margins and income fluctuate based on raw materials, oil prices and consequently freight costs (which have been down the quarter but may see an increase for the next quarter so watch out for that), currency rates and labor costs. Staying on the topic of margins, Tim Boyle supports that “We’ve made significant investments…in technologies that make us different from our competitors and that’s, at the end of the day, how you are able to raise your margins in an inflationary environment.”