Clothing Company Definitions — United States clothing company definitions from Apparel Search
Columbia Sportswear Company is a United States company that manufactures and distributes outerwear and sportswear. Founded in 1938 by the late Paul Lamfrom, father of chairperson Gert Boyle, the company is headquartered in Portland, Oregon, and began as a small family-owned hat distributor named for the nearby Columbia River. Columbia also produces footwear, headgear, camping equipment, skiwear and outerwear accessories, and distributes its products in more than 72 countries.
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Columbia Sportswear Company (NASDAQ: COLM) is a
United States company that manufactures
and distributes outerwear and
sportswear. Founded in 1938 by
the late Paul Lamfrom, father of present chairperson Gert Boyle,
the company is headquartered in Portland, Oregon. Columbia Sportswear
also produces
footwear,
headgear, camping equipment, skiwear,
and outerwear accessories.
Columbia Sportswear began as a small, 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. Frustrations over suppliers influenced the family to start manufacturing their own products.
Ten years later, Gert married Neal Boyle, who became the head of the company. In 1970, Neal 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.
Columbia Sportswear acquired footwear makerSorel Corporation in 2000 and Mountain Hardwear in 2003. In 2006, Columbia acquired the Pacific Trail, and Montrail.
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.
Columbia Sportswear distributes its products in more than 72 countries and 13,000 retailers. Its flagship store is located in downtown Portland, Oregon. Columbia also operates thirteen factory outlet stores outside Portland.
Columbia Sportswear Company is publicly traded on NASDAQ with ticker symbol COLM.
The above definition about the clothing company Columbia Sportswear is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. The information source is from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and was originally obtained from the following page address https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Sportswear. The definition has been modified by the Apparel Search Company in June 2009. The rest of this page and other pages on Apparel Search are NOT under the free document license.
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Columbia Sportswear's growth came from a fabric idea applied to a jacket. The company began in 1938 as a family hat distributor in Portland, Oregon, turned to manufacturing its own products out of frustration with suppliers, and was rescued from near bankruptcy after 1970 by Gert Boyle and her son Tim. The jackets that followed combined two properties outerwear had struggled to hold together — waterproof fabric that was also breathable — and added interchangeable shells and liners, so one jacket could be worn in several configurations across seasons. Multiple wearing options and fabric technology fueled rapid sales growth, and the range widened from jackets into footwear, headgear, camping equipment, skiwear and outerwear accessories.
Scale followed the product. Columbia distributes in more than 72 countries through some 13,000 retailers, runs a flagship store in downtown Portland and thirteen factory outlet stores, and is publicly traded on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol COLM. Acquisitions filled in specialist categories the Columbia name did not cover: Sorel for footwear in 2000, Mountain Hardwear in 2003, and Pacific Trail and Montrail in 2006. Sponsorship took the name into endurance sport: on June 15, 2008 Columbia announced a three year sponsorship of the cycling team formerly known as Team High Road, beginning with the Tour de France on July 5, 2008, covering both the men's and women's teams under the name Team Columbia.
Columbia Sportswear began as a small, family-owned hat distributor. Gert Boyle's parents, Paul and Marie Lamfrom, fled Germany in 1937 and bought a Portland hat distributorship, which became the Columbia Hat Company, named for the nearby Columbia River; frustrations over suppliers influenced the family to start manufacturing their own products.
In 1970 Neal Boyle died following a heart attack, and Gert Boyle and son Tim Boyle, then a University of Oregon senior, took over the operations of Columbia, rescuing it from near bankruptcy. Columbia's jackets then featured waterproof fabric that was also breathable and interchangeable shells and liners, and the multiple wearing options and fabric technology fueled rapid sales growth.
Columbia Sportswear acquired footwear maker Sorel Corporation in 2000 and Mountain Hardwear in 2003. In 2006 Columbia acquired Pacific Trail and Montrail, extending the group beyond the Columbia name into specialist footwear and outdoor brands.