Mayor-elect Ted Wheeler, Columbia CEO Tim Boyle (left) and Sorel president Mark Nenow (right) talk about why Portland is a good location for the new Sorel brand headquarters.

Portland’s fame for wilderness recreation, which draws young talent to the creative workforce, is bringing a local brand back to downtown.

Sorel, a brand from Columbia Sportswear Company, announced its decision to relocate its headquarters from Washington County to downtown Portland. With the move, 45 employees are relocating from Washington County, and the new headquarter will have room to expand to about 85 total.

Tim Boyle, CEO of Columbia, said the company is a family of brands including Sorel and Richmond, California-based Mountain Hardware.

“The goal is for each brand to have its own personality,” Boyle said. “When we thought about Sorel’s scale and size, it’s needing its own nest and it’s an opportune time to invest in downtown Portland.”

Columbia employs 1,800 around the Portland area, and the Sorel team will join the 400 within the city of Portland.

“Portland is a city that has a great affinity for the outdoors, connecting to nature, active transportation and a keen understanding of live-work-play balance,” said Ted Wheeler, mayor-elect. “Athletic outdoor apparel in Portland is very bullish and something for the entire state to be proud of.”

Wheeler said Portland is going to aggressively grow its recreational businesses, building good careers with good wages that predict a bright economic future for the city that fits with the Sorel brand.

“Be aware of the younger employees, the next generation,” Wheeler said. “They want to bike, walk and use transit. Portland is robust and vibrant, and this location fits that (Sorelbrand) perfectly.”

Columbia was founded in 1938 in Portland as a small family business, and over the past 78 years acquired other brands such as Sorel, for $8 million in a bankruptcy auction in 2000. In 2001, the Sorel brand’s leadership, product design and marketing teams relocated to Washington County.

“Portland is at the center of the footwear and apparel landscape,” said Mark Nenow, president of Sorel. “This move is one of many strategies to welcome key talent to fuel Sorel’s next chapter.”

In 2001, Columbia moved its flagship location out to Washington County because it wanted to relocate from its St. Johns headquarters to downtown, but was outbid by Multnomah County on the former U.S. Bank, now the Multnomah County headquarters. Other Columbia brands have their own cities, which helps establish unique branding personalities for each.

“Mountain Hardware is based separately in Richmond (Calif.) to encourage personality expansion,” Boyle said. “Sorel is a very rapidly growing brand for us (since) we bought the intellectual property.”

The Sorel brand, which was refocused from its traditional winterwear, made $50 million in sales in 2008, and the 2016 projected estimate is $220 million, making it the second-largest brand in Columbia’s portfolio.

“The Sorel brand has undergone the most dramatic repositioning ever undertaken and achieved in footwear history,” Nenow said. “From men’s winterwear to women’s year-round fashion, it’s a unique personality in the Columbia brands.”

The Portland Development Commission has built a collaborative relationship with Columbia, and is granting $50,000 of assistance to the relocation for tenant improvements that aren’t nailed down yet.

By May 1, 2017, Sorel plans to occupy 13,700 square feet on the top floor of the Historic United Carriage Building at 700 S.W. Taylor St. Built in 1888, the building served as carriage and horse parking, and as a Meier & Frank warehouse. Columbia opened its first branded retail store there in 1996.

The lowest two floors achieved LEED Gold in 2007, and the top floor has been fully modernized and seismically retrofitted into creative space.

“We’re very excited, relocating to the center of the city,” Nenow said. “We now have the confidence to nest. Any expansion will be based on success.”

jrogers@pamplinmedia.com