OutDry Technologies, the company acquired by Columbia Sportswear one year ago, has found several new customers for the application of its water-resistant membranes to gloves. One is Browning, the hunting gear company. Another one is a company in the bike sector whose identity will be revealed just before next month's Eurobike show in Friedrichshafen.
OutDry membranes will also be used in a new line of work gloves developed by Ergodyne, which specializes in personal protective equipment. They were recently adopted by Musto for its sailing gloves, and this sailing specialist plans to also use OutDry for a new line of sailing shoes.
Meanwhile, the European Commission has reacted to OutDry's complaint against Gore-Tex' allegedly anti-competitive practices by sending out a questionnaire to a large number of companies – even to some that are not based in the European Union – that have contracts with Gore in the areas of shoes or clothing. According to OutDry, many of these companies are waiting for American and European anti-trust authorities to issue a verdict before approaching or doing business with OutDry.
Some would like to at least test OutDry in parts of their lines, but apparently cannot do so because of the exclusivity clauses in their contracts with Gore.
European anti-trust authorities are expected to work together with their colleagues at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission on the issue, as they did in the past on the more momentous cases involving Intel and Microsoft. In the U.S., the FTC set a June 7 deadline for Gore to supply all its documents from the past ten years relating to its contracts with clients for its membranes.
A spokesman for Gore in the U.S. said his company was working cooperatively with the FTC staff in responding to their questions and requests on a timetable agreed with the FTC staff, but he did not want to say whether the timetable has changed. Likewise, a Gore spokesman for Europe said his company was cooperating with the EU, but declined to provide any details because, he said, their cooperation is covered by confidentiality.
