Reebok International Limited , a subsidiary of German sportswear giant Adidas, is a producer of athletic footwear, 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 from the town of Bolton, England, Joseph William Foster was making a living producing regular shoes when he came up with the novel idea of a spiked running shoe. After his ideas progressed considerably, he founded a company in 1895 together with his adult sons, named J.W. Foster and Sons .
By 1924, Foster and Sons had established a reputation for manufacturing superior quality shoes, and the company was given the chance to manufacture running shoes for athletes representing Great Britain at the 1924 Summer Olympics. Among the runners performing in Foster shoes were the legendary Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell, who were both portrayed in the Oscar-winning 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. In 1960, Joe and Jeff Foster renamed the company Reebok in England, having discovered 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.
In 1979 United States camping equipment distributor Paul B. Fireman saw a pair of Reeboks at an international trade show and negotiated for the rights to sell them in North America, where they did very well despite being pricier than competitors Nike, Adidas and Puma.
Freestyle and Ex-O-Fit success
Reebok surged in popularity in 1982 after the introduction of the Freestyle athletic shoe, which was designed for women and came out when the aerobics craze started. Not only was the Reebok Freestyle popular as athletic wear, but also as casual wear. 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 as it is popular with cheerleading, aerobic dancing, the gym and consumers.
Following the Freestyle success, Reebok also introduced an athletic shoe for men, called the Ex-O-Fit. Similar to the Freestyle, it came in low-top and high-top versions; however, unlike the Freestyle high-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.
Human rights and production details
In the past, Reebok was associated 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.
List of Reebok advertising campaigns
Reebok Ad Campaigns
- "Planet Reebok"
- "I Am, What I Am"
- "Run Easy"
- "Because Life Is Not Just A Spectator Sport"
- "Whodunit?"
- "Pump Up, Air Out"'
- "Your Move"
- "Terry Tate: Office Linebacker"
- "EasyTone"
Endorsements
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 Mexican club Chivas Guadalajara; Brazilian clubs Cruzeiro, Internacional, and São Paulo FC for the 2008–09 season.
CCM
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 has phased out the CCM name on NHL authentic and replica jerseys in recent years, using the Reebok logo since 2005.
Europe
The company maintains its relationship with its origins in England, through a long-term sponsorship deal with Bolton Wanderers, a Premiership football (soccer) club close to the birthplace of the company. When the team moved to a brand new ground in the late 1990s, their new home was named the Reebok Stadium. Several other English soccer clubs, most notably Liverpool FC, had short term Reebok sponsorship deals up until the purchase by Adidas, but most have since switched to either the parent brand (which has a much longer history in soccer) or other companies.
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 1 August 2006. Ryan Giggs has also done "I Am What I Am" commercials. Also, on 1 August, Andriy Shevchenko started his endorsement deal with the company.
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.
Reebok sponsors four teams in the Australian Football League, those being the Fremantle Football Club, the Melbourne Football Club, the Port Adelaide Football Club and the Richmond Football Club, the latter two beginning their association from the 2007 season. They also sponsor the Gold Coast Football Club, who currently play in the TAC Cup and are due to enter the AFL in 2011. Reebok has supplied rugby league teams the Melbourne Storm, Manly Sea Eagles and the Gold Coast Titans with club's kits and other merchandise.
India
Reebok sponsored sports kits for the new Indian Premier League cricket teams, such as the Royal Challengers Bangalore,Kolkata Knight Riders,Rajasthan Royals,Chennai Super Kings and Deccan Chargers in the first edition of the league held in 2008, however for the second edition held in 2009 the sponsorship was reduced to 4 teams (Royal Challengers Bangalore,Kolkata Knight Riders,Chennai Super Kings,Kings XI Punjab) kits.
International Cricket
Reebok is the official sponsor of the International Cricket Council. It manufactures uniform for ICC International Panel of umpires and referees. Also, all the playing kits used in ICC Events , such as wickets, are sponsored by Reebok. It became official sponsor of ICC in 2007.
International cricketers such as Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene , Sri Lankan Cricketers Sanath Jayasuriya , Ajantha Mendis, Indian captains Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rahul Dravid, Bangladeshi captain Mohammad Ashraful , Bangladeshi cricketers Mohammad Rafique and Habibul Bashar, endorse Reebok. They are supplied with Reebok cricket shoes, as well as with cricket bats marked with the Reebok brand in the case of Dhoni.The recent cricketers include Yuvraj Singh and Yusuf Pathan.
Non-Sports
Rapper Jay-Z became the first non-athlete to get a signature shoe from Reebok. The "S. Carter Collection by Rbk" was launched on 21 November 2003 and the S. Carter <
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