Industry footwear brand Sorel, owned by Columbia Sportswear, is experiencing weak sell through this season, which is weighing on future wholesale orders, according to Columbia executives.
As a result, Sorel’s revenue is expected to drop in the 20% range in 2024, a significant decline for a brand that has been a strong performer for Columbia for more than a decade.
For 2023, Sorel’s revenue fell 3% to $336.7 million. It was only the second annual revenue decline for Sorel in the past 10 years – the other occurred in 2020 due to the pandemic.
In Q4 of 2023, sales of the Sorel brand declined 19% to $116 million. Columbia Sportswear Co. CEO Tim Boyle said shifting consumer trends coupled with weather impacted demand and led to the weak sell through.
New Sorel Brand President Cory Long
Columbia Sportswear remains confident that Sorel will continue its growth trajectory in the long term, and brought on a new Sorel brand president at the end of last year to help steer Sorel going forward.
Cory Long most recently was global general manager and chief global merchant of DC Shoes, which sold in September to Authentic Brands Group. He has also held leadership roles at Mitchell & Ness, Asics, Supra, and Converse.
“Cory is a veteran of the footwear and apparel industry with leadership experience across an array of growth brands,” Boyle said on a conference call with investors last week. “His leadership and consumer champion mindset will be key in fueling the next era of Sorel growth.”
Columbia acquired Sorel – then a men’s utility boot brand with minimal sales – 20 years ago. The brand has not only grown revenue substantially since then, but it is also now a women’s led footwear brand, according to Boyle.
“The next phase in the brand embraces Sorel’s heritage and the opportunity to serve all consumers globally, by bringing the most style in the outdoors and the most outdoors in style,” he said.
The Sorel team is now refining product line and marketing strategies to help the brand grow in 2025 and beyond.
“I remain confident Sorel has meaningful long-term growth potential,” Boyle said.
