PORTLAND, Ore., and
REDMOND, Wash., Jan. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Columbia Sportswear
Co. (Nasdaq: "COLM"), a leading innovator in the active outdoor
apparel, footwear, accessories and equipment industries, and
Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: "MSFT") have announced plans to
collaborate on enhancing Columbia Sportswear's global consumer
experience and drive its digital transformation using intelligent
cloud technology.
As consumers continue to change the way they engage with brands,
Columbia Sportswear is working to deliver a more personalized,
seamless experience to those consumers by leveraging Microsoft
Dynamics 365 and the Microsoft Azure cloud platform for its retail,
call center, customer relationship management and merchandising
operations. With a single, holistic view of its consumer and
improved omnichannel capabilities, Columbia Sportswear will be able
to personalize engagement at every touchpoint by providing
employees with enhanced digital tools and information across its
global customer relationship management database. Columbia
Sportswear also intends to use Dynamics 365 and Azure to gain
greater consumer insights and business intelligence through every
consumer interaction, whether through its wholesale businesses,
brick-and-mortar retail stores, ecommerce experiences or mobile
channels.
"At Columbia, we have a long history of leveraging innovative
technologies to help connect active people with their passions,"
said Michael Hirt, chief information
officer at Columbia Sportswear. "This practice extends not just to
our products, but across every aspect of our business. Through our
collaboration with Microsoft, we're implementing intelligent cloud
technology to streamline our global operations and provide
additional flexibility and convenience to our consumers."
In addition, Columbia Sportswear will be able to manage
merchandise globally and streamline operations with increased
efficiency, providing the ability to garner valuable insights and
improved business intelligence through customized reporting and
analytics. Columbia Sportswear is implementing these innovations
through Microsoft's flexible, agile development platform, Visual
Studio Team Services, and creating revolutionary data platforms at
scale with Azure data services and integration platforms.
"Established in 1938, Columbia Sportswear is setting itself up
to be an industry leader for another 80 years," said Judson Althoff, executive vice president,
Worldwide Commercial Business, Microsoft. "Columbia Sportswear will
leverage Microsoft's intelligent cloud to connect data, people and
processes globally to deliver personalized shopping experiences for
its customers."
About Columbia Sportswear Company
Columbia Sportswear Company has assembled a portfolio of
brands for active lives, making it a leader in the global active
lifestyle apparel, footwear, accessories and equipment industry.
Founded in 1938 in Portland, Oregon, the company's brands are today sold in
approximately 90 countries. In addition to the Columbia®
brand, Columbia Sportswear Company also owns the Mountain
Hardwear®, SOREL®, prAna® brands. To learn more, please visit the
company's website at www.columbia.com, www.mountainhardwear.com,
www.sorel.com, www.prana.com.
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT" @microsoft) is the leading platform and
productivity company for the mobile-first, cloud-first world, and
its mission is to empower every person and every organization on
the planet to achieve more.
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SOURCE Microsoft Corp.