The Chinese joint venture between Columbia Sportswear and Swire Resources, which has acted as Columbia's exclusive distributor in China since 2004 commenced operations as planned on Jan. 1 under the leadership of Samson Wong and other people who held comparable roles at Swire. It will service a network of 51 wholesale dealers that operated about 660 Columbia retail stores and 47 Mountain Hardwear stores in 180 cities as of last Dec. 31. In addition, the joint venture directly operates some 70 Columbia branded retail locations in seven Chinese cities. As Columbia owns a 60 percent stake in the joint venture, its results will be fully consolidated in the American company's accounts as of the first quarter of 2014. Swire Resources will continue as Columbia's independent distributor in Hong Kong and Macau.

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