Reebok
| Reebok International Limited
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|---|---|
 |
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| legal form | subsidiary |
| founding | 1895 |
| Seat | Boston, USA |
| management | Matt O'Toole, President and CEO |
| Branch | Sporting goods |
| Website | www.reebok.com |
Reebok International Limited is an American sporting goods manufacturer from the 1980s in the United States by a licensee expanded and a subsidiary of since 2006 Adidas belongs AG. The company manufactures sports shoes, sports clothing, sports accessories and fashion items. The name comes from the Afrikaans and English word (Vaal / Gray) Rhebok for the African deer antelope (in Afrikaans today Ribbok , generally for roebuck ).
history
Reebok's history began in 1895 when JW Foster and Sons was founded in Bolton , UK. The family business manufactured the racing shoes for the participating athletes for the 1924 Summer Olympics .
In 1958, two of the founder's grandchildren started a joint venture that became known as Reebok .
In 1979, the American entrepreneur Paul Fireman , a partner in an outdoor sports sales company, discovered Reebok shoes during an international trade show. He acquired the distribution rights for the North American area under license from JW Foster and introduced three running shoes in the United States in the same year . At $ 60, they were the most expensive running shoes available at the time.
In 1981 the British Pentland Group took over a 55% stake in Reebok USA Ltd. for approx. 75,000 US dollars. from Fireman. The latter had run into financial difficulties after initial success in the highly competitive US sports market. Through his contacts with manufacturers in Asia and with innovative design ideas, the then Pentland boss Stephen Rubin , who was CEO of Reebok USA from 1981 to 1984 , developed the small American shoe brand Reebok, which was then based in Stoughton, Massachusetts, in a few Years to a major sports brand. Reebok's market share in the American market was close to 35% in the mid-1980s. Reebok made a name for itself in the early 1980s with colorful aerobic shoes aimed particularly at female customers . Revenues under Fireman's leadership had been around $ 300,000, and in 1984 Reebok generated sales of $ 66 million. In the same year Rubin and Fireman acquired the Reebok brand and with it the international trademark rights from JW Foster for 700,000 US dollars and expanded the range to include tennis shoes. In 1985, Rubin and Fireman listed Reebok on the New York Stock Exchange , generating more than $ 12 million in revenue for Pentland. In 1986, the Reebok brand made over $ 900 million worldwide. When the aerobics wave subsided in 1986, the company expanded the Reebok portfolio to include basketball shoes, children's shoes, sportswear and accessories . At the same time, the walking shoe manufacturer Rockport Company was bought out. In 1987 Reebok took over the North American license for the Italian sports brand Ellesse. In 1990, the previously separately administered US and international divisions were merged at Reebok. In the late 1980s, Reebok revenues declined despite intensive advertising and sponsorship campaigns. With the introduction of the popular The Pump (see below), the company regained lost market shares, especially in the European market.
In 1991, after the end of a 10-year contract, Pentland gradually sold its Reebok shares to Reebok and its shareholders, the investment banks First Boston Corporation and Montgomery Securities, and ultimately achieved more than $ 700 million. In the early 1990s, the Reebok brand was available in more than 140 countries around the world. From 1995 to 1999 and from 2003 to 2005 Reebok was listed in the Fortune 500 .
The American sports brand Reebok with sales of 1.8 billion euros in 2017 was bought up by Adidas boss Herbert Hainer in 2006 and integrated into the Adidas Group . Since then, however, sales have stagnated, there have been losses, business closings and numerous restructuring programs.
Success with freestyle and Ex-O-Fit in the 1980s
Reebok had a huge surge in popularity in 1982 when the "Freestyle" running shoe, a woman's shoe, was introduced, which hit the shelves right at the start of the aerobic fitness wave. The freestyle shoe was popular not only as a sports shoe but also as a street shoe because of its comfort and design. As a result, freestyle became an icon of the 1980s style. Higher-closing shoe models (with two Velcro fasteners at the top) and many different colored models were also introduced. To this day, the production of freestyle continues under the Reebok Classics label, as it is particularly popular as a lifestyle shoe.
Following the success of the freestyle shoe, Reebok also launched an equally popular men's athletic shoe called the Ex-O-Fit . As with freestyle, low and high-necked shoe models were developed. In contrast to the Freestyle, the high-closing Ex-O-Fit only had a Velcro fastener to close the shoe.
The invention of the PUMP in the late 1980s
In 1989, under the direction of Paul Litchfield (now Vice President of Development), Reebok developed the Reebok Pump technology, with which the brand achieved legendary success in the years that followed. The PUMP shoes contain air chambers that can be filled using a small pump integrated into the shoe. Because of these air chambers, the shoes conformed better to the wearer's foot. The shoe attracted widespread attention from its prominent wearers, such as athletes Dee Brown and Michael Chang . Even today, the PUMP shoe and its technology are still available in certain lifestyle shops. In November 2009 Reebok celebrated the 20th anniversary of the sneaker.
Further developments
In the past, Reebok had a business relationship with companies where workers were exploited - so-called sweatshops , but today the company is committed to human rights . In April 2004 , Reebok's footwear division was the first to be recognized by the Fair Labor Association .
Since 2002, the company has had the exclusive right to both manufacture and market authentic and counterfeit National Football League (NFL) shirts . Since 2004, she has also acquired these rights for the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Canadian Football League and the National Hockey League (NHL).
With the purchase of the company CCM Hockey , ice hockey and inline hockey items were also offered under the name Reebock, when Adidas sold the company CCM, these were also removed from the Reebok range, only the NHL jerseys remained with the group, these are now from Adidas to be delivered.
Reebok is also the official shoe supplier to the NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball, and was a primary sponsor of tennis player Andy Roddick before Reebok ended the sponsorship relationship in April 2005 . However, Venus Williams will continue to be supported. Reebok has also been the main sponsor of Thierry Henry since the 2006/2007 season . He switched from his longtime outfitter Nike to Reebok. In summer 2008, racing driver Lewis Hamilton signed a multi-year contract with the sporting goods manufacturer. In addition, Ryan Giggs , Iker Casillas and Andrij Shevchenko as well as other international athletes are equipped by Reebok.
The company holds the trademark and manufacturing rights to Rockport , Ralph Lauren RLX shoes , Reebok Classics , G Unit , S. Carter and Daddy Yankee street lifestyle shoes and accessories, among others .
The company still demonstrates its English roots today with the long-term support of Bolton Wanderers , a former English premier league football club. When the club moved to a new area in the late 1990s, their new "home" was christened Reebok Stadium . Another top division club, Manchester City , signed a nearly £ 5m equipment deal in 2003.
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Takeover by the adidas Group
On August 3, 2005, Adidas announced that the company intends to sell its competitor Reebok International Ltd. for 3.1 billion euros (3.8 billion US dollars). Reebok has been part of Adidas AG since January 2006, which enabled adidas to increase its market share in North America. On April 1, 2008, Uli Becker became the new CEO and President of Reebok. A joint logistics center for the brands adidas and Reebok for Northern Europe was opened in early summer 2013 in the Lower Saxony Park in Rieste ( Osnabrück district ).
Sponsorship 1. FC Cologne
From July 1, 2008 to 2012, Reebok was the supplier for 1. FC Köln . 1. FC Köln was the only club that was equipped by Reebok in the 1st and 2nd Bundesliga alongside Borussia Mönchengladbach (1995-2003). The collaboration lasted until the end of the 2011/2012 season and was then replaced by Erima . Reebok then withdrew from the soccer business in order to concentrate more on its brand focus on fitness.
Cooperation with Cirque du Soleil
At the beginning of 2009, Reebok presented JUKARI Fit to Fly across Germany for the first time, which was developed together with the Canadian circus company Cirque du Soleil . This new workout can only be implemented with a special device, the so-called FlySet. By working with Cirque du Soleil and various fitness studios that offer the workout, Reebok aims to raise its company profile on the women's fitness sector.
Spartan Race
Reebok has been the main sponsor of the OCR running series Spartan Race since 2013 .
Women's runs
As a further measure of the focus on women's fitness in recent years, the brand is also holding the Reebok Women's Runs in various cities in Germany.
The EasyTone case
In the middle of 2009, the company brought the new EasyTone shoe technology onto the market. The shoe should also train the leg and gluteal muscles through special air chambers in the sole. The manufacturer tried to position the shoe both as a sports shoe and as an everyday shoe with the slogan “The fitness studio for on the go”, thereby securing a pioneering position in the so-called toning segment. This achieved a high level of popularity with the first roller skate, which was launched on the market by Karl Müller in the late 1990s .
In 2011, however, the EasyTone range's advertising promise encountered severe headwinds from the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). This accused Reebok of not being able to provide any convincing scientific evidence for the promised effect and agreed with the company on a fine of US $ 25 million to compensate mislead customers.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Matt O'Toole. Adidas Corporate Blog, accessed March 26, 2019 .
- ↑ Best to keep it in the family ( Memento from August 3, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Pentland to Sell Its Reebok Stake. New York Times , December 11, 1991, accessed March 26, 2019 .
- ↑ Fortune500 Archive. In: money.cnn.com. Retrieved May 7, 2019 .
- ↑ Adidas boss still believes in Reebok , Welt.de of December 30, 2018, last accessed on March 30, 2020
- ↑ adidas completes acquisition of Reebok. FinanzNachrichten.de, January 31, 2006, accessed March 26, 2019 .
- ↑ Start in the first half of 2013: For adidas, all roads lead to the Niedersachsenpark. Niedersachsenpark GmbH, November 21, 2012, accessed on March 26, 2019 .
- ↑ Thomas Gassmann: Supplier shock! Reebok gets out. DuMont, September 15, 2010, accessed March 26, 2019 .
- ↑ Reebok & Cirque du Soleil Launch Innovative Gym Workout for Women - JUKARI Fit to Fly. Business Wire, February 25, 2009, accessed March 26, 2019 .
- ^ Reebok and Spartan Race Announce Groundbreaking Global Partnership. Business Wire, January 17, 2013, accessed March 26, 2019 .
- ^ Barmer Women's run. XLETIX GmbH, accessed on March 26, 2019 .
- ↑ Reebok to Pay $ 25 Million in Customer Refunds To Settle FTC Charges of Deceptive Advertising of EasyTone and RunTone Shoes. Federal Trade Commission , September 28, 2011, accessed March 26, 2019 .