Columbia Sportswear Company

American company offering clothing and footwear for the outdoors, sports, and mountain climbing. It is a market leader in the United States, with 16 million pieces sold worldwide, an increase in sales of around 200% over the last ten years, and a turnover that increased from 22 billion liras in 1984 to 600 billion in 1997. The catalogue offers 238 items. It was established in the mid 1930s by Gertrude Boyle who, at the time, had just fled Nazi Germany and is today still featured in Columbia’s advertising campaigns. Starting in 1990, the company, with headquarters in Portland, Oregon and subsidiaries in Europe, Japan, Australia, South America, and New Zealand, began to distribute its styles on an international scale through 10,000 retailers. In 1998, it was first quoted on the New York Stock Exchange. The president is Tim Boyle, the founder’s son. The design decisions are made by Doug Prentice, Mike Eggeck, and Rodney Gummiringer.”