GXO Logistics has signed a 10-year agreement to run Columbia Sportswear's distribution centre in Cambrai, northern France — the outdoor apparel group's main distribution hub for continental Europe.

Under the contract, GXO takes control of the full scope of operations at the site: inbound logistics, storage, order fulfilment and outbound distribution. The Cambrai facility supports e-commerce orders, retail replenishment and wholesale distribution across several European markets.

The deal is the second leg of a broader reshaping of Columbia's European distribution network. In August, the company signed a five-year agreement with Maersk covering the UK and Ireland. Under that arrangement, Columbia is moving its UK and Ireland distribution activities out of Cambrai and into Maersk's facility in Tamworth, near Birmingham.

The split leaves a clear geographic logic. Cambrai, under GXO, now serves continental European markets only. Tamworth, under Maersk, handles the UK and Ireland.

What the operators are saying

Vincent Ricci, Managing Director of GXO France, said the handover has already been executed and framed the agreement as a long-term operational commitment rather than a simple outsourcing contract.

"Our team has delivered a seamless transition of this critical distribution operation, and together we have established a multi-year roadmap that is designed to enhance agility and strengthen Columbia Sportswear's supply chain across the region," Ricci said.

Matthieu Schegg, SVP and GM for EMEA at Columbia Sportswear, positioned the GXO deal within the company's wider distribution and logistics transformation.

"At Columbia Sportswear, we partner with world-class experts like GXO, as we advance our distribution and logistics transformation, leveraging their capabilities to strengthen our supply chain in Europe and deliver consistent multi-channel service for our customers," Schegg said.

Commercial read-through

For Columbia, the twin deals consolidate what was previously a single-hub European operation into two regionally focused networks, each run by a specialist provider. That structure should shorten delivery lead times into UK and Irish channels via Tamworth while keeping continental European replenishment anchored at Cambrai — a meaningful consideration for an apparel brand whose volumes swing hard with seasonal peaks.

For GXO, the 10-year term provides revenue visibility that is unusually long in contract logistics, where three- to five-year terms are standard. The Columbia contract also lands amid a run of European wins for the company: GXO recently signed logistics agreements with L'Oréal in Central Europe and with discount retailer Action in Italy.

The contract deepens GXO's already substantial French footprint. The company operates more than 60 warehouses in France and employs nearly 8,500 people in the country, serving sectors including e-commerce, retail, consumer goods and technology.

For Maersk, the Columbia arrangement extends the carrier's integrator strategy — selling warehouse and fulfilment services alongside ocean freight — although the UK deal remains the smaller of the two pieces, both in scope and duration.

For forwarders and 3PL competitors, the Columbia restructuring is a signal that large apparel shippers are willing to split regional distribution mandates between providers rather than award a single pan-European contract — a trend that increases competitive tendering at each regional renewal point.

With the transition complete and a multi-year roadmap in place at Cambrai, attention shifts to execution: whether GXO can deliver the agility gains promised in the contract across Columbia's continental European channels, and how the Tamworth operation performs as UK and Ireland volumes ramp up under Maersk.