Outdoor goods outfitter Coleman Co. celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, a landmark that company official Brian Rawson attributes to the firm's sustained ability to adapt to consumer needs.

Brian Rawson, vice president of marketing and brand management for Coleman Co., poses next to a lamp.

"We have always tried to make sure we define our business correctly," said Rawson, vice president of marketing and brand management at Coleman. "There are many brands who have not done so and died."

W.C. Coleman started the Kansas-based company in 1901 with a legendary product known as the Efficient Lamp, which provided households with light before the days of electricity.

"But when electricity moved inside, the need for light outside was where he took the business," said Rawson, who was visiting Tokyo to attend events staged here to fete the company's centennial.

Other strong brands of the time went out of business due to a basic failure to move with the times, he added.

"As transportation changed, for example, railroad firms continued to define themselves as 'railroads' as opposed to 'transportation companies,' " Rawson stated. "When other means of transport appeared, they (railroad companies) folded."

Throughout its history, Coleman has stuck to its basic strategy, refocusing its trade in accordance with the changing needs of the time. The firm concentrated on irons, for instance, during the 1920s and home furnaces in the 30s.

Most famously, it moved into tents and camping gear in the 60s, a move that branded the company with an image that still prevails today.

The firm has, however, made considerable efforts to broaden its appeal in recent years.

"We began to realize that this market has its limits. The amount of times a consumer can camp in a year . . . are limited."

A burgeoning outdoor recreation market in the United States in recent years has seen Coleman expand.

The company has especially sought to tap into what Rawson describes as the "accessible recreation" market, launching the Coleman Back Home product line last year for backyard recreation.

"There are about 40 million campers in the U.S. and that figure is not growing. . . . However the number reporting regular recreation in the backyard is 140 million," Rawson said, adding that this market is growing between 6 percent and 10 percent annually.

Coleman is careful, nevertheless, not to neglect its camping faithful.

To commemorate its centennial, the company introduced two new product lines, both of which were launched in Japan late last month.

Its Exponent Line targets "those who aspire to do remote camping" and other outdoor activities, Rawson said.

While a considerable percentage of family campers "stay chained to the picnic table, there's another sector that wants to trade up in their activities" and experience the outdoors in solitude, Rawson said.

"They want to go a little more remote, but not extreme. They don't necessarily want to climb (Mount) Everest, just to get away from everyone else."

And although the scenario may be a little different in Japan, Coleman still has high hopes for the new line here. He sees it as an opportunity to improve the firm's brand image and to attract an increasing number of Japanese involved in adventure sports.

The second line is a limited edition centennial series, which includes collector's items such as classic Zippo lighters, hip flasks and sommelier knives.

Rawson said that in addition to serious investment in product development, Coleman has also made a strategic shift in an effort to make the company consumer-driven as opposed to trade-driven. It is investing heavily in consumer research.

"Our brand is like a violin string: If you don't stretch it you get no sound, but if you stretch it too far the string breaks and you get the same result," Rawson said.

"We're listening carefully (to the consumer): We want to stretch the Coleman brand as far as it makes sense. But not too far."