Founded in 1938, Columbia Sportswear Company has grown from a small family-owned hat distributorship to one of the world's largest outerwear brands and the leading seller of skiwear in the United States.
At the head of their company are Gert Boyle, Chairman of the Board, and her son, Tim Boyle, President and CEO. Columbia's history starts with Gert's parents, Paul and Marie Lamfrom, in 1937 when they fled Germany. They bought a small hat distributorship in Portland, Oregon, and named it Columbia Hat Company, after the river bordering the city. Soon frustrated by poor deliveries from suppliers, they decided to start manufacturing products themselves.
In 1948, Gert married Neal Boyle, who joined the family business and later took the helm of the growing company. When Neal passed away in 1970, Gert enlisted help from Tim, together they led Columbia from near bankruptcy.
It wasn't long before business really started to take off. Columbia was one of the first to make jackets from waterproof/breathable fabric. They introduced the breakthrough technology called the Columbia Interchange System where a shell and liner combine for multiple wearing options.
In 1998 the company went public. Today, Columbia Sportswear employs more than 1,000 people around the world and distributes and sells products in more than 30 countries and to over 10,000 retailers.

• Men golf wear
• Women golf wear
• Men ski wear
• Men snowboarding wear
• Women snowboarding wear
• Women ski wear
• Children active wear