Columbia Sportswear

[adygua57]

Columbia Sportswear
Columbia Sportswear began as a small,August Charm by Thomas Sabo, family-owned hat distributor. Present chairwoman Gert Boyle's parents, Paul and Marie Lamfrom, fled Germany in 1937 and immediately bought a Portland hat distributorship. They became the Columbia Hat Company, named for the nearby Columbia River. In 1948, Gert married Neal Boyle, who became the head of the company. Frustrations over suppliers influenced the family to start manufacturing their own products. Columbia Hat Company became Columbia Sportswear Company in 1960.
In 1970, Neal Boyle died following a heart attack. Gert and son Tim Boyle, then a University of Oregon senior, took over the operations of Columbia, rescuing it from near bankruptcy.
Columbia's jackets featured waterproof fabric that was also breathable. Additionally, new jackets featured interchangeable shells and liners. Multiple wearing options and fabric technology fueled rapid sales growth.
Company headquarters in Washington County, Oregon
Columbia became a publicly traded company in 1998. It acquired footwear maker Sorel Corporation in 2000 and Mountain Hardwear in 2003. In 2006, Columbia acquired the Pacific Trail and Montrail brands.
In 2001, the company moved its headquarters from Portland to a site in an unincorporated part of Washington County,in the Cedar Mill area and just outside the Beaverton city limits. The site on NW Science Park Drive has a Portland mailing address, but is not in Portland. In 2007, City of Portland officials attempted to convince Columbia Sportswear to move back to Portland,but the company ultimately rejected the idea and said it would expand its existing headquarters instead.
On June 15, 2008, Columbia Sportswear announced a three-year sponsorship of the cycling team formerly known as Team High Road and before that T-Mobile and Team Telekom. The sponsorship began on July 5, 2008 with the start of the Tour de France. The team's new name is "Team Columbia". The sponsorship includes both the men's and women's teams.