Columbia.com - Columbia Sportswear for outdoor apparel, footwear & more edit this microsummary

edit Columbia Sportswear

Columbia Sportswear Company™, founded in 1938 as a small family-owned hat distributorship, is now one of the world's largest outerwear companies. Columbia's product line includes jackets, shoes, boots, accessories, and a wide range of rugged outdoor clothing.

Columbia specializes in outdoor clothing for extreme conditions, featuring ultraviolet-protective fabrics, waterproof jackets and pants, moisture-wicking running apparel, shells, and cold weather gear of all kinds.

In addition to the flagship Columbia Sportswear® brand, Columbia also designs, develops, markets and distributes active outdoor apparel, footwear and related accessories and equipment under the Mountain Hardwear®, Sorel®, Montrail®, and Pacific Trail® brands.

edit Columbia Groups its products in 6 Catagories

Winter - Snowboarding, Snowshoeing, Skiing, Mountaineering

Water - Upland, Waterfowl, Big Game

Trail - Trail Running, Climbing, Hiking/Trekking, Mountain Biking

Travel - Cycling,Camping Gear

Fishing - Freshwater, Deep-sea, Flats

Golf - Golf Apparel and Products.

edit History

1938

• Columbia Hat Company established

1960

• Gert Boyle designs first fishing vest
• Columbia Hat Company becomes Columbia Sportswear Company

1970

• Gert Boyle, a housewife, takes over the company

1975

• Columbia first to introduce Gore-Tex® parka
• Company goes international

1982

• The Columbia Interchange System® is introduced in the Quad™ Parka

1984

• The Mother of all ad campaigns begins
• Youth line introduced

1985

• Sportswear line introduced

1986

• First Bugaboo™ Parka revolutionizes how downhill skiers dress

1990

• First national television ad, "Car Wash"

1991

• Omni-Tech®: Columbia's proprietary waterproof-breathable technology developed

1993

• Footwear line introduced

1994

• Convert and Titanium lines introduced
• Lillehammer Winter Olympics Games: Official supplier to CBS Sports
• Rivergate Distribution Center opens

1995

• GRT: Gear for Rugged Trekking and Travel line introduced
• America's Cup: Official sponsor to America3

1996

• Columbia Comfort System introduced
• PFG (Performance Fishing Gear) introduced
• Flagship store opens in downtown Portland

1997

• Omni Dry®: High-performance moisture management technology developed
• Special Olympics: Official supplier to Team USA

1998

• Company goes public
• Sydney Summer Olympic Games: Official supplier to NBC Sports

2000

• Columbia acquires Sorel

2002

• Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games: Official supplier to NBC Sports
• Eco-Challenge official provider 1996-2002

2003

• Cambrai, France, Distribution Center opens
• 5+ million visitors to website

2004

• 4 Star Distribution Center opens
• Columbia acquires Mountain Hardwear
• Company reaches $1 billion dollars in annual sales

2005

• Gert's autobiography, One Tough Mother, is released
• X Games official supplier 2002–2005

2006

• Columbia acquires Montrail and Pacific Trail Products
• Available in 72 countries

2008

• Omni-Shade® Columbia's proprietary sun protection technology developed
• Columbia celebrates its 70th anniversary
• Official Sponsor of Team Columbia, former team High Road

2009

• Columbia launches e-commerce site
• Titanium golf line introduced

2010

• Omni-Heat introduced

edit Investor Relations

Read Columbia's 2008 annual report to investors

Information on Columbia's publicly traded stock -- COLM

edit Contact

Columbia Sportswear Company

(800) MA BOYLE

(800) 622-6953

GetSatisfaction

edit Address

14375 NW Science Park Drive

Portland, Oregon 97229

U.S.A.

edit Languages

English, Korean, Norwegian, Japanese, Greek, Czech, Russian

edit Related Domains

edit External Links

• Alexa: Columbia.com