Columbia Sportswear to Build Global eCommerce on Demandware

Columbia Sportswear Company has selected the Demandware eCommerce Platform as the foundation upon which to build its new business-to-consumer online channel.

The company is expected to launch on the platform this summer, serving consumers in the United States, with other sites to follow to serve consumers in Europe and Canada.

Columbia's ecommerce sites will convey the extensive breadth of the brand while showcasing "The Science of the Greater Outdoors" and how the company's advanced product technologies protect consumers from the elements and enable people to enjoy the outdoors year-round.

Columbia intends to create unique user experiences for its customers, incorporating contextual product content and rich media into its sites. Additionally, the company will integrate ecommerce kiosks into several bricks-and-mortar branded retail stores that it plans to open in key metropolitan markets to greatly expand the product selection and inventory available in the stores.

Columbia selected Demandware for features including: capabilities of an enterprise-class ecommerce platform, minus the need for web hosting infrastructure; full in-house control over merchandising promotions, catalog, pricing and all other aspects of the online shopping experience; the ability to develop multiple sites quickly from a common architecture; automatic upgrades to continually leverage new merchandising functionality and enable ecommerce best practices; and support for multiple languages, currencies and payment types.

for more information: www.demandware.com