History of Reebok
History of Reebok
Reebok is a global manufacturer of athletic shoes, apparel, and accessories. From African gazelle to spiked running shoes, Reebok has been running fast for more than a hundred years, however the roots of Reebok lay in another company, JW Foster and Sons. In 1893, a famous English runner Joseph Foster customized a pair of running shoes for himself by adding spikes to the sole. Other runners quickly took notice of this innovation, prompting Foster to create his own shoe company, JW Foster and Sons of Bolton, United Kingdom, in 1894. The company remained a moderately successful, but little-known British shoe company, providing the running shoes worn at the 1924 Summer Olympics, until 1958 when Foster’s grandsons created a sister company, Reebok. Reebok would later absorb JW Foster and Sons to create a unified brand.
In 1979, Paul Fireman, a partner in an outdoor sporting goods distributorship, noticed the high quality, custom-made track shoes at a Chicago trade show and saw potential in the century old company. He acquired exclusive rights to distribute Reebok shoes in North American and subsequently started the company known as Reebok USA and introduced three running shoes the same year. At $60 a pair, they were the most expensive running shoes on the market at the time.. The company faced stiff competition from the already established Nike and rather than try to compete directly, Reebok chose to develop niche markets and product lines such as women’s fitness and aerobics shoes.
By 1981, Reebok’s sales exceeded $1.5 million, but a dramatic move was planned for the next year. The company surged in popularity in 1982 when Reebok introduced the Reebok Freestyle athletic shoe. The shoe ,an oxford-style sneaker specially designed for women, was an instant success with the current aerobic dance craze in full swing. Reebok and Reebok shoes became the hot brand for aerobic buffs everywhere and the Freestyle has been hailed as Reebok’s most successful athletic shoes of all time. But the success of the freestyle was not entirely due to its athletic uses. It also became the icon of the 80’s fashion world used for casual wear because of its comfort and sleek style. A high top version was released (identified by the two velcro straps around the ankle collar) and additional colors were released, including white, black, red, yellow, and blue. The Freestyle continue to be produced
The 80’s were Reebok’s decade of success. The company also developed and released the famous Pump technology marketed with the memorable slogan “Pump It Up” in the late 80’s. The shoes used an air bladder, inflated with a small pump integrated into the tongue of the shoes, to hold them tightly to the wearer’s feet. Such technology has been parodied by Mel Brooks in his 1993 film, Robin Hood: Men in Tights. Sidekick Ahchoo, played by comedian/actor Dave Chappelle (Chappelle’s Show, Undercover Brother, and Half Baked), called a timeout in a fight with the Sheriff’s men to pump up his sneakers.
Despite its financial and cultural success, Reebok struggled with the problem of producing a high-quality, cost efficient product without compromising its values or offending moral and cultural standards. The company’s failure to divest from South African in the 1980’s and its former association with sweatshops severely hurt its reputation, causing the company to institute an aggressive human rights agenda in the 1990’s. As part of the campaign, Reebok established the Human Rights Award which is presents to prominent civil rights activists once a year.
In 1997, Reebok introduced its DMX technology shoe. The DMX shoes were designed to increase air flow and cushion and stabilize the feet. Venus Williams and Allen Iverson endorsed the 1999 DMX advertising campaign, but did not catch on. In April of the same year, Reebok launched a new campaign to market the shoes as the VW Beetle of sneakers; unattractive but highly functional shoes for people who care more about how the shoes feel than how fashionable they look. Unsurprisingly, the campaign and shoes lacked appeal with the growing youth market. Teenagers in the late 1990’s gained greatly in buying power and they demanded fashion not function. Reebok then went back to its original plan and began marketing to more women and to embrace and encourage individuals establishing a marketing partnership with talk show host/comedienne/actress Rosie O’Donnell, who endorsed Reebok through her “Chub Club” exercise club for regular women. This campaign was counter to the general idea that athletic shoes are primarily sold to teenage males looking for the trendiest buy rather than the most practical.
Increasingly, Reebok has dug in for competition in the fierce rivalry with Nike. In 2000, Reebok again revolutionized how people exercise and train with its global introduction of Reebok Core Training and the Reebok Core Board. Widely used today by professional athletes, conditioned exercisers and beginners alike, this innovative workout is a dynamic strength and conditioning program that focuses on developing total body power by emphasizing the abs, torso and “core” muscles. Reebok and the National Football League announced the formation of an exclusive partnership. The NFL granted a 10-year exclusive license to Reebok beginning with the 2002 NFL season to manufacture, market and sell NFL licensed merchandise for all 32 NFL teams. This license allows Reebok to provide on-field uniforms, sideline apparel, practice apparel, footwear and sell an NFL-branded apparel line as well as exclusive rights to develop a new line of NFL fitness equipment.
Also in 2002, Reebok launched Rbk, a collection of street-inspired footwear and apparel hook-ups designed for the youth to reflect the attitude of their lives - cool, edgy, and authentic. Rbk is inspired by current street fashion and marketed to appeal to the current culture. The global Sounds of Rhythm of Sport campaign was launched in January of 2002 with a flurry of product launches, television and print ads, consumer and retail promotions, and celebrity events. The “Sound & Rhythm of Sport” collections represent the fusion between sports and music. The campaign featured Reebok’s NBA, NFL and tennis athletes paired with many of the music industry’s edgiest hip-hop and rap artists. Reebok also previewed its Rbk collection at more than 1,000 music stores around the U.S. Noted styles from this marketing campaign are the Reebok G Unit collection, promoted by rapper 50 Cent, and the Reebok S. Carter collection.
Beginning in the 2004-05 season, Reebok gained exclusive rights to supply and market all on-court apparel, including uniforms, shooting shirts, warm-ups, authentic and replica jerseys and practice gear for all NBA, WNBA and NBDL teams. Reebok also gained exclusive rights, with limited exceptions, to design, manufacture, market, and sell headwear, T-shirts, fleece and other apparel products for all teams in most channels of distributions. Also in 2004, after years of champion human and civil rights, the fair Labor Association accredited Reebok’s footwear division, the first such credit issued.
