Columbiaa€?s second Twin Cities store to open in April 2010

USA -- Columbia Sportswear Company, a global leader in the active outdoor apparel and footwear industries, announced it has signed a lease with Urban Anthology for a new 11,000-square-foot Columbia-branded retail store located on Minneapolis' iconic Hennepin Avenue, a popular local shopping and recreational destination. The store will be the first ground-up build-to-suit development for Columbia in the U.S.

The new store, anticipated to open in April 2010, will be Columbia's second branded store in the Twin Cities, joining the company's Mall of America store, which opened in November 2008. The Hennepin Avenue store will reflect a "modern meets rustic" design to present the company's industry-leading Columbia and Sorel brands and to showcase the innovative outdoor technologies that set the brands apart from their competition.

"Minneapolis-St. Paul is renowned for the broad range of outdoor activities that are readily accessible for residents and visitors, making the city a vital market for our Columbia and Sorel brands," said Kerry Barnes, vice president of retail, Columbia Sportswear Company. "We are very excited about the potential of our new Hennepin Avenue store to magnify the message of our innovative technologies and drive demand for our brands among our target outdoor consumers."

According to the Minnesota Star-Tribune, Minnesota has the nation's highest number of bicyclists, sport fisherman, and snow skiers per capita. Minneapolis-St. Paul was also ranked 'The Most Athletic City' by Men's Fitness in 2006, and 'America's sixth best city for runners' by Runner's World in 2007.

Local brokerage and development were handled through Jeffrey Herman of Urban Anthology. National brokerage was handled by Victor Fandel of Fandel Retail Group.
 
Columbia Sportswear Company