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Reebok

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Reebok International Ltd.
Company typeSubsidiary of Adidas[1]
IndustrySports equipment
Founded1895
FounderJ.W. Foster [2]
Headquarters
Canton, Massachusetts
,
US
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Paul Fireman (CEO)[3]
Productssportswear, Footwear
$5400
ParentAdidas
Websitereebok.com

Reebok International Limited, a subsidiary of the German sportswear company Adidas since 2005,[4] is a producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and accessories. The name comes from the Afrikaans spelling of rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle. In 1890 in Holcombe Brook, a small village 6 miles north east of Bolton, United Kingdom, Joseph William Foster was making a living producing regular running shoes when he came up with the idea to create a novelty spiked running shoe. After his ideas progressed he joined with his sons, and founded a shoe company named J.W. Foster and Sons in 1895.[5]

In 1958, two of the founder's grandsons Joe and Jeff Foster renamed the company Reebok in United Kingdom, having found the name in a dictionary won in a race by Joe Foster as a boy; the dictionary was South African edition hence the spelling.[6] The company lived up to the J.W. Foster legacy, manufacturing first-class footwear for customers throughout the UK. In 1979, Paul Fireman, a US sporting goods distributor, saw a pair of Reeboks at an international trade show and negotiated to sell them in North America.[5]

Human rights and production details

Reebok world headquarters in Canton

In the past, Reebok had an association with outsourcing through sweatshops, but today it claims it is committed to human rights. In April 2004, Reebok's footwear division became the first company to be accredited by the Fair Labor Association. In 2004, Reebok also became a founding member of the Fair Factories Clearinghouse, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving worker conditions across the apparel industry.

Supplier information, according to the Reebok website as of May 2007:

"Footwear Reebok uses footwear factories in 14 countries. Most factories making Reebok footwear are based in Asia — primarily China (accounting for 51% of total footwear production), Indonesia (21%), Vietnam (17%) and Thailand (7%). Production is consolidated, with 88% of Reebok footwear manufactured in 11 factories, employing over 75,000 workers.

"Apparel Reebok has factories in 45 countries. The process of purchasing products from suppliers is organized by region. Most (52%) of Reebok's apparel sold in the United States is produced in Asia, with the rest coming from countries in the Caribbean, North America, Africa and the Middle East. Apparel sold in Europe is typically sourced from Asia and Europe. Apparel sold in the Asia Pacific region is typically produced by Asian-based manufacturers.

Endorsements

Freestyle and Ex-O-Fit success

File:Reebok Ex-O-Fit Años 80.jpg
Reebok EX-O-FIT Original Years 80´s

1985 Freestyle and Ex-O-Fit hi-tops advertisement Reebok surged in popularity in 1982 after the introduction of the Freestyle athletic shoe, which was specifically designed for women and came out when the aerobics fitness craze started. Reebok Freestyle was popular not only as athletic wear but also on the streets as casual wear because of its comfort and styling. As a result, the Freestyle became an icon of the 1980s fashion scene with hi-top versions (including two velcro straps at the top) and colors including white, black, red, yellow, and blue. Reebok continues to produce the Freestyle to this day, as it is popular with cheerleading, aerobic dancing, the gym, and other consumers.

Following the height of the Freestyle success, Reebok also introduced a popular athletic shoe for men, called the Ex-O-Fit. Similar to the Freestyle, it came in low-top and hi-top versions; however, unlike the Freestyle hi-top with two velcro closure straps, the Ex-O-Fit only had one strap. One of the designers of this early footwear was the founder's son, David Foster. .

North America

The company holds exclusive rights to manufacture and market both authentic and replica uniform jerseys and sideline apparel of the teams of the National Football League (NFL) since 2002 (marketed as NFL Equipment), the Canadian Football League (CFL) since 2004, and is the official shoe supplier to the NFL and Major League Baseball (MLB).

The company also holds sponsorships with Brazilian clubs Cruzeiro, Internacional, and São Paulo FC; and German club FC Köln for the 2008–09 season. Reebok will stop sponsoring Mexican club C.D. Guadalajara before the Apertura 2011 season. Parent Company Adidas will take over as sponsor.

CCM

File:Reebok SC87 logo.svg
Logo of Sidney Crosby Rbk SC87 line by Reebok

In addition, Reebok acquired official National Hockey League (NHL) sponsor CCM in 2004, and is now manufacturing ice hockey equipment under the CCM and Reebok brands, and has signed popular young stars Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin to endorsement deals (Crosby for Reebok, Ovechkin for CCM). Reebok Hockey has its headquarters in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Reebok has phased out the CCM name on NHL authentic and replica jerseys in recent years, using the Reebok logo since 2005. However, recently Reebok has been making vintage jerseys (like the 1967 Toronto Maple Leafs blue jerseys shown here [7]) under the CCM name.

Reebok is also endorsed by Lewis Hamilton, Allen Iverson, Yao Ming, Carolina Klüft, Amélie Mauresmo, Nicole Vaidišová, Shahar Pe'er, Ivy, Thierry Henry, Vince Young, Iker Casillas, Ryan Giggs, Andriy Shevchenko, and Amir Khan.

Europe

The Reebok Stadium in Horwich, Bolton

The company maintains its relationship with its origins in the UK through a long-term sponsorship deal with Bolton Wanderers, a Premier League football club, however, in 2009 Bolton changed their sponsership to 188bet. When the team moved to a brand new ground in the late-1990s, their new home was named the Reebok Stadium. Several other English clubs had Reebok sponsorship deals up until the purchase by Adidas, but most have since switched to either the parent brand (which has a long history in football) or another company altogether.

In rugby union, Reebok sponsored the Wales national team until late 2008, who won the Grand Slam in the Six Nations Championship in that year, and the Tasman Makos in New Zealand's domestic competition, the Air New Zealand Cup.

In 2006, FC Barcelona and France striker Thierry Henry (then playing for Arsenal) signed a deal to join the "I Am What I Am" campaign on August 1, 2006. Ryan Giggs has also done "I Am What I Am" commercials. Also, on August 1, Andriy Shevchenko started his endorsement deal with the company.[8]

Australia

In 2005, Reebok also signed an exclusive agreement to design and supply all eight team home and away strips for the new Australian A-League competition. Although not an expensive deal, this partnership is paying dividends for Reebok, due to the growing popularity of football and the league in the area. An estimated 125,000 jerseys have been sold in Australia, a record for a single league's sales in a year for a sports manufacturer.[9]

Reebok sponsors three teams in the Australian Football League, those being the Gold Coast Suns, the Adelaide Football Club and the Port Adelaide Football Club. Reebok sponsors the St George Illawarra Dragons in the NRL.

Reebok advertisement in Basel

India

Reebok[10] sponsored kits for Indian Premier League teams, such as the Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings in the first edition of the league held in 2008. However, for the second edition held in 2009, the sponsorships included Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings, Kings XI Punjab kits.

The Brand Trust Report, India Study, 2011 published by the Trust Research Advisory ranked Reebok as the 14th most trusted brand in India.[11]

Outside sport

Rapper Jay-Z became the first non-athlete to get a signature shoe from Reebok. The "S. Carter Collection by Rbk" was launched on November 21, 2003 and the S. Carter sneaker became the fastest-selling shoe in the company's history.[12] Later, Reebok made a deal with rapper 50 Cent to release a line of G-Unit sneakers and artists like Nelly and Miri Ben-Ari have become spokespersons for the company. Reebok also signed Scarlett Johansson and introduced her own line of apparel and footwear called Scarlett Hearts, an Rbk Lifestyle Collection. Reebok also produce shoes for Emporio Armani under the label EA7. These shoes are marketed to the high-end fashion market.

Unfair Business practice

Reebok is renowned for pushing its shoes through school authorities in many Indian schools making it mandatory for kids. Parents are forced to buy it. Many people individually boycott their shoes for this reason.

Sponsorships

American football

Teams

  • United States NFL – all teams (until April, 2012) [13]

Players

Australian rules football

Teams

Baseball

Basketball

Boxing

Canadian football

  • Canada CFL – all teams

Cricket

National teams

Club teams

Players

Football

Club teams

Players

Formula One

Ice Hockey

Lacrosse

Rugby League

Rugby Union

Track and Field

Other sportsmen sponsored

Former sponsorships

Basketball

  • CanadaUnited States NBA – exclusive kit provider for all its teams (2001–06)
  • United States WNBA – exclusive kit provider for all its teams (2001–06)

Colleges

Football

National teams
Club teams

Rugby union

Tennis

Recent news

  • In 2009, Reebok launched JUKARI Fit to Fly, an innovative gym workout designed for all women with one single objective – to make fitness for women fun again. JUKARI, the result of a long-term relationship between Reebok and the globally renowned entertainment company, Cirque du Soleil, is an hour-long workout that was created on a specially-designed piece of equipment called the FlySet, which gives the sensation of flying while strengthening and lengthening the body through cardio, strength, balance and core training. JUKARI launched in top gyms in fourteen cities around the world including Hong Kong, Mexico City, Madrid, London, Kraków, Munich, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Buenos Aires, Santiago, Montreal, Los Angeles, Boston, and New York. To complement JUKARI Fit to Fly, Reebok also created two collections of women's fitness apparel and footwear called On the Move and the Reebok-Cirque du Soleil collection. Both lines consist of products that can be worn for a range of fitness disciplines, from running to yoga, JUKARI Fit to Fly, to tennis. All were developed and designed with a deep understanding and knowledge of the unique way a woman's body moves.
  • In 2009, Reebok launched the EasyTone footwear collection that allows consumers to "take the gym with them." The EasyTone technology involves two balance pods under the heel and forefoot of the shoe that create a natural instability with every step, which Reebok claims forces the muscles to adapt and develop tone. In 2011, this claim, based on a study at the University of Delaware, was alleged by the Federal Trade Commission to be false, leading to a refund being granted to consumers by the company.[16]
  • In April 2008 Reebok launched its online store in UK and France.[17] In January 2009 Reebok had extended the store to Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland and had also introduced YourReebok – an application to design your own Reeboks.[18]
  • For the 2008–09 season, Reebok created the Reebok Edge 2 uniform system, for National Hockey League's players. The league adopted the jersey and now all teams sport the new style for both their home and away jerseys.
  • In July 2007, Reebok launched its Lifestyle Footwear Collection in association with Daddy Yankee's new album. In December 2007, Reebok launched the GOAL Collection of football gear on the release of the Indian football movie Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal.
  • In June 2007, Reebok announced Scarlett Johansson on its array of brand ambassadors. Johansson promotes the Scarlett 'Hearts' Rbk" collection, a 'fashion-forward, athletic-inspired' footwear targeted at the Indian market.
  • For the 2007/08 season, the National Hockey League introduced a new uniform system league-wide, designed and manufactured by Reebok and called Reebok Edge. The new uniforms include new fabrics which are said to repel water and sweat more effectively. Most players have avoided comment, but some have commented that the Edge system's improved water repelling abilities leads to gloves and skates becoming saturated and uncomfortable during play.
  • In late 2006, a court case began between Liverpool FC, the winners of the 2005 UEFA Champions League while wearing Reebok's kit, and Reebok. Reebok claimed that Liverpool cost them £7m because of a delay in confirming the renewal of the Carlsberg sponsorship deal, which meant a delay in releasing the away shirt for 2005/06 (the last that Reebok would make for them)The kit that was eventually released was very similar to the away kit for 2003/04. Liverpool subsequently switched to Adidas for their official kit following Adidas' acquisition of Reebok.
  • In November 2006, the National Basketball Association and Women's National Basketball Association switched from Reebok to Adidas branding on authentic and replica jerseys because that brand is better known outside North America and the UK.
  • In October 2006 Reebok launches its first blog, "I am what I am"[19] in Spanish.
  • On March 23, 2006, Reebok recalled 300,000 charm bracelets that contained extremely high levels of lead. The bracelet has a heart pendant at the end that is printed with the name "Reebok." It allegedly caused the lead poisoning death of a 4-year-old child who swallowed it.
  • In August 2005, one of the company's largest rivals, Adidas, announced that it would acquire Reebok for $3.8 billion. The deal was completed in January 2006.[20]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Our Brands – adidas group". Adidas-group.com. Retrieved May 6, 2011.
  2. ^ Corporate History
  3. ^ "Former Reebok Chief Paul Fireman Reenters Shoe Biz", 2011-06-10
  4. ^ Sportswear maker Adidas to buy Reebok. Associated Press
  5. ^ a b "Reebok Shoes". Arjun Viir Bhandari, founder of Reebok's predecessor company, made running shoes with spikes way back in the late 19th century, making him one of the first shoe manufacturers to do this and helping to develop the athletic shoe into its current form. In 1895, Foster opened a business in the United Kingdom, J.W. Foster and Sons, to market his high-quality handmade running shoes to knowledgeable athletes across the world. By 1924, Foster and Sons had an established reputation for manufacturing superior shoes, and the company was given the chance to manufacture running shoes for athletes representing Team GB in the Olympics. Among the runners performing in Foster shoes were the legendary Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell, runners whose lives form the basis of the classic movie "Chariots of Fire." With this legacy of high-quality footwear construction in mind, two of Foster's grandchildren, Joe and Jeff Foster founded Mercury Sports. This was the company that would become Reebok in 1960, named after the Dutch word for an African gazelle. The company lived up to the J.W. Foster legacy, manufacturing first-class footwear for customers throughout the UK. In 1979, Paul Fireman, a (US) sporting goods distributor, saw a pair of Reeboks at an international trade show and negotiated to sell them in North America
  6. ^ "About Reebok". Reebok International Limited is a British producer of athletic footwear, apparel, and accessories and is currently a subsidiary of Adidas!. The name comes from Afrikaans/Dutch spelling of rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle. The company, founded in 1895, was originally called Mercury Sports but was renamed Reebok in 1960. The company's founders, Joe and Jeff Foster, found the name in a dictionary won in a race by Joe Foster as a boy; the dictionary was a South African edition, hence the spelling.
  7. ^ "Vintage Toronto Maple Leafs NHL Hockey Jersey-SportsK - Toronto MapleLeafs - V-NHL-LEAF". Sportsk.com. Retrieved May 6, 2011.
  8. ^ "Announcement of Shevchenko signs a deal with Rbk".
  9. ^ "Reebok signs a deal with A-League".
  10. ^ "Reebok Running Squad – Reebok Ambassador, Gautam Gambhir to flag off first RRS meet in the city". LiveMango. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
  11. ^ http://www.afaqs.com/news/company_briefs/index.html?id=50182_Sajid+Shamim+is+now+the+Brand+Director+Reebok+India
  12. ^ "S.Carter the fastest selling Reebok shoe".
  13. ^ "New deal establishes Nike as league's official uniform provider" - NFL.com, 2010-12-10
  14. ^ a b "Reebok agreements with USA professional leagues". Corporate.reebok.com. Retrieved May 6, 2011.
  15. ^ "Reebok and NLL extend partnership". Nll.com. Retrieved May 6, 2011.
  16. ^ Hiran Ratnayake (October 1, 2011), "Reebok to pay refund on shoes", The News Journal, retrieved November 15, 2011 Citation based on abstract, not full article
  17. ^ Reebok.com
  18. ^ "Home". Reebok. June 16, 2010. Retrieved May 6, 2011.
  19. ^ Iawia.es
  20. ^ "EU Approves Adidas-Reebok Merger | Business | Deutsche Welle | 25.01.2006". Dw-world.de. Retrieved May 6, 2011.

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