“When your last name is Boyle, you had better have a presence in Ireland,” said the billionaire businessman, who is also well-known in the US an arch critic of its president,
“Having a standalone store for the brand gives customers the opportunity to touch and feel the merchandise. You don’t get that with online,” said Mr Boyle. The 71-year-old businessman said, however, that he had become a member of “The AA – analogues anonymous. We’ve gotten more used to online sales and they are now a big part of our business.”
Co-directors of Great Outdoors, Ken Costigan and Derek Moody, open Columbia’s first brand store in Ireland, as a partnership venture.Mr Boyle said a hard Brexit later this year could complicate its UK operations, as its European distribution hub is in France. It would not affect its Irish operations, however.