PORTLAND, Ore (KOIN) – With just under 10,000 global employees, four brands and 80-plus years of existence, Columbia Sportswear represents an Oregon success story.
A lot of that credit goes to the family behind the famous outerwear logo, the Boyle family.
Never afraid to speak his mind, current CEO Tim Boyle didn’t disappoint when he recently sat down with KOIN for an extended interview on all things Portland.
“Portions of Portland have plummeted frankly. It’s been very rapid,” Boyle said, speaking from his mom Gert’s old office.
“Leadership requires getting kicked in the teeth.”
While encouraged by reform efforts surrounding Measure 110, Boyle said the lasting image of Portland as an open drug haven will be tough to shake.
“It’s damaged it,” he said. “That has been a real problem for the state, and especially Portland where it’s the largest population concentration.”
The local business climate remains challenging, says Boyle, and he’s convinced the woman known as “One Tough Mother” would be very disappointed with everything from the drug crisis to mental health resources to sky-high taxes.
“She’d be concerned,” said Boyle. “She [Gert] loved it here. It would’ve been challenging to see what’s happened.”
It doesn’t take long to find data that reinforces Boyle’s opinion.
The Portland Metro Chamber explained in its latest report that last year’s metro area job growth was a sluggish 1.3%, well below the US average.
Local companies like Nike, REI, and even Columbia, are also undergoing layoffs this year. REI even shuttered its last downtown Portland store over safety concerns in February.
Boyle is still eager to tackle the metro’s trash problem and told KOIN he has once again pledged at least $200,000 of his own dollars for a trial program to target I-405 and nearby areas.
He gives credit to Gov. Tina Kotek for getting on board with the proposed $20 million ODOT program to tackle the trash and graffiti issue this past legislative session.
“She’s made an effort there. She’s helped me to get together with employees of the state that can really make it happen,” Boyle said. “I mean, if we can’t pick up trash what the hell can we do?”
But he’s quick to point out, the program will need a sustained commitment and active enforcement to succeed.
As for the future of Columbia in Oregon?
They’re committed to Portland – for now.
“We’re fighters […] but at some point and time, you have to keep questioning. As I’ve told the governor and the mayor, our investors don’t really care where the company is headquartered. They just want it to be well run,” he said.
