Sportswear retailer investigates data breach

Columbia Sportswear’s prAna brand has become the industry’s latest cyber-breach victim.



When the lifestyle brand’s e-commerce site was targeted last week, the incident lead Columbia to “immediately launch an investigation and engage a leading third-party cyber security firm to assist us,” Columbia’s CEO Timothy Boyle said on the company’s Q4 2016 earnings call on Feb. 9. “Protecting our customers' information is one of our top priorities and we are taking this very seriously.”



The evaluation is still underway. Until it is complete, the company cannot “characterize the scope or nature of the potential incident, but we are working vigilantly to address this issue,” he added.



The incident was isolated among prAna's e-commerce site, which is separately managed from the company’s other branded websites.



The PrAna brand grew 12% in 2016 to $140 million, its sixth consecutive year of double-digit growth.