Columbia Sportswear, which made a big image statement at ISPO with its large booth in Hall B1, where Adidas used to be, has hired Jean Laporte for the new position of European retail manager, based at the company’s European office in Switzerland. Laporte is a 48-year-old French Canadian executive who started off with Forzani Group in his native country before moving over to Switzerland. He acted there as Raichle’s product manager, and then as Intersport International’s business unit manager for retail and marketing, before spending the last five years as marketing manager at MacDonald’s for Switzerland. Columbia has 10 free-standing stores in Europe, the majority in France, two factory outlets and more than 100 shop-in-shops with numerous important retailers. Laporte’s main task will be to better develop Columbia’s retail business throughout the continent, without antagonizing its key accounts. In the USA meanwhile, Mick McCormick, former chief marketing officer of Golf Galaxy, has been appointed as Columbia’s vice president of U.S. sales, responsible for all the group’s brands.