For many outside Japan, the name Coleman is likely to conjure up images of tents and weekend camping trips by a roaring campfire.
Yet despite its 24-year presence here, Coleman's Japanese subsidiary, Coleman Japan Co., has yet to establish the same kind of brand recognition and is broadening its horizons to reinvent itself as the "outdoor recreation company," said recently elected President Richard Guilfoile.
"Our sales force, and to a certain extent our marketing team, has always been focused on camping," said Guilfoile, who took over the helm of Coleman Japan in January. "But only 7 percent of the Japanese population have been camping over the past few years . . . and of those who have, the majority tend to be in their 40s and have families."