Lonsdale (company)
Lonsdale is an English manufacturer of boxing articles as well as sports and leisure clothing.
Creation of the brand
The Lonsdale brand was founded in 1960 by the Briton Bernhard Hart. The brand name refers to the fifth Earl of Lonsdale (Hugh Cecil Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale, 1857-1944), who made a name for himself in modern boxing in the 1890s . Among other things, the boxing enthusiast English aristocrat donated the Lonsdale Belt, a prize for boxers that is still awarded today. In his shop in London's district of Soho Bernard Hart offered under the brand name of Lonsdale boxing equipment and clothing. With the success, the spread of the brand, which is now sold worldwide, also grew. In 2002 the brand was acquired by the British company Sports Direct.
Spread of the brand
Many famous boxers wore Lonsdale, including Muhammad Ali , Lennox Lewis , Henry Cooper, and Mike Tyson . The brand soon became famous beyond the boxing sector. In connection with the subcultural scenes around the music styles Northern Soul , Ska and Early Reggae , which emerged at that time and were influenced by migrants , Lonsdale (along with a few other brands) enjoyed great popularity. These scenes were shaped by young people from the working class who were able to discover a suitable expression of life in a boxing brand. Out of these scenes a first early and still apolitical skinhead subculture developed , whose followers continued to use the brands they knew subculturally (such as Lonsdale).
Conquest by right-wing extremists
In the 1980s and especially in the 1990s, parts of the skinhead scene turned away from their apolitical and actually multicultural origins and developed an increasingly right-wing extremist orientation. This process began in England (initiated by movements such as the National Front and British Movement ) and later spread to mainland Europe. In the 1990s, skinheads finally became the predominantly perceptible subculture of right-wing extremism - regardless of the fact that there were always apolitical or anti-racist skinheads during this period.
The new, right-wing extremist skinheads often continued to wear the clothing brands of the original, traditional skinhead subculture. Lonsdale (as well as other affected brands) posed major image problems. In the case of Lonsdale, there was also the fact that the sequence of letters "NSDA" (especially in Germany) that happened to be included in the brand name and visible under open jackets could be reinterpreted as an allusion to the " NSDAP ". It is controversial here whether this could have contributed to the popularity of the brand in right-wing extremist circles at the beginning or whether this interpretation was added later. In any case, with the logo and clothing of the Lonsdale brand, a commitment to the National Socialist ideology was possible without being prosecuted, because the direct use of symbols of anti-constitutional organizations is prohibited in Germany under Section 86a of the Criminal Code.
In the early 2000s, Lonsdale was also popular in the hardcore techno ( gabber ) scene . Particularly in the Benelux countries , parts of this scene were right-wing extremist. Conspicuous or violent youngsters from this scene were often called “Lonsdalejongeren” (Dutch for “Lonsdale youngsters”) in the social discussion. However, as the spread of this music decreased, this phenomenon disappeared more and more from the public.
In retrospect, the Lonsdale brand can be seen as an early case of right-wing extremists using more or less hidden codes to identify their attitudes.
Distancing the brand
In response to this appropriation, the brand distanced itself from right-wing extremism. The German licensee, Punch GmbH from Neuss , has been working against the image of a “Nazi brand” and unwanted customers in a variety of ways since the end of the 1990s: In advertising campaigns under the motto “Lonsdale Loves All Colors”, models were deliberately different of ethnic origin and right-wing extremist dealers no longer supply. According to the company, this reduced sales by 75 percent in Saxony alone . In 2005 Lonsdale sponsored Christopher Street Day in Cologne . The work of anti-racist initiatives is still supported today.
As a result of these efforts, according to popular opinion, Lonsdale is no longer considered a mark of identification of right-wing extremists; there have even been calls for a boycott in this area. Brands with an actual right-wing extremist background have largely replaced the traditional brands that were affected by this appropriation at the time. In addition, skinheads are currently no longer the dominant right-wing extremist subculture. With the rise of the so-called autonomous nationalists , the subcultural and action-oriented part of right-wing extremism leaned heavily on the manifestations of the left- wing autonomists in terms of self-portrayal and forms of organization and action .
Nonetheless, Lonsdale and other then-co-opted brands are struggling to continue being associated with right-wing extremism, racism and violence. There are still z. B. in some school regulations, which were written mainly in the 1990s as a reaction to right-wing violence, bans on such brands. In 2006, the mail order company Quelle wanted to take the brand out of the range following advice from Jusos Papenburg , but after a public discussion it was convinced of the credibility of the distance and revised the decision. In 2009 the Berlin police chief wanted to forbid his civilian officers to wear clothes from Lonsdale, among other things, but also withdrew this after protests.
Sponsorship
In professional boxing, Lonsdale (UK) sponsors a number of British athletes with Carl Froch , Tom Watson, Tony Jeffries , Darren Barker , David Price , Ricky Hatton , Joe Calzaghe and Nathan Cleverly (as of 2012). In amateur boxing, Lonsdale in Germany has been supporting the boxers of FC St. Pauli since 2011 . Lonsdale has sponsored the fourth division soccer club SV Babelsberg 03 and the Saxon club Roter Stern Leipzig since 2014 . These clubs and their surroundings are known for their anti-racist engagement.
Since 2005 Lonsdale has been a partner of the Laut against Nazis initiative in Germany . The label also sponsored a bus for the No Bock Nazi campaign . This is to be made available free of charge as a loudspeaker truck for demonstrations against right-wing extremism in Berlin and Brandenburg .
Web links
- Internet presence of the brand in Germany (German)
- Company website in English
- Report on the anti-racist sponsorship of the Lonsdale brand in the “tageszeitung”, March 2014
Individual evidence
- ↑ https://www.wuv.de/marketing/neues_image_fuer_lonsdale_wie_man_eine_marke_entnaziziert
- ↑ Protection of the Constitution of the State of Brandenburg Cf. a. the constitution protection reports of the years 2008 and 2011
- ↑ www.mf-zine.de Support for the Lonsdale boycott by a right-wing extremist Dutch band
- ^ "Fluter", magazine of the Federal Agency for Civic Education ( Memento of November 8, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Article about autonomous nationalists
- ↑ Berliner Zeitung report on the withdrawal of the Lonsdale ban for police officers
- ^ Website of the boxing department of FC St. Pauli
- ^ Website of SV Babelsberg 03
- ↑ Fan website of the Red Star Leipzig with a report on sponsoring by Lonsdale
- ↑ Marcus Böttcher: In the past popular with neo-Nazis: Controversial brand “Lonsdale” sponsors anti-racism bus . In: Berliner-Kurier.de . ( berliner-kurier.de [accessed December 17, 2016]).