LaCrosse purchases Portland based END Outdoor

According to the Portland Business Journal, the Portland based trail running shoe company END Outdoor has been purchased by LaCrosse Footwear:

LaCrosse Footwear Inc. on Monday said it has closed on its $500,000 deal to acquire Environmentally Neutral Design Outdoor Inc., or END. Portland-based LaCrosse (NASDAQ: BOOT), which makes boots and apparel for the work and outdoor markets, hopes to expand into new distribution channels with the purchase of END, a Portland-based startup that makes sustainable footwear for the outdoor athletic market. END was launched in 2007 by Ben Finklea and award-winning footwear designer Andrew Estey, the former global design director for sport culture at Nike Inc. The company made news last year by winning $250,000 in seed money in the Angel Oregon competition and by raising more than $1 million to launch the new brand. It released its first product to retail markets in August, when it sold only on the Internet through four retailers: REI, Zappos, Rock Creek and Backcountry.com. It branched out to retail stores in January and quickly spread to 100 stores across the United States, Canada and Japan.