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Reebok
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Reebok International Limited is a producer of athletic footwear, apparel, and accessories and is currently a subsidiary of Adidas. The name comes from the Afrikaans spelling of rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle. The company, founded in Bolton, United Kingdom, in 1895, was originally called J.W. FOSTER & SONS but was renamed Reebok in 1958. 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.
ok 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.
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Encyclopedia
Reebok International Limited is a producer of athletic footwear, apparel, and accessories and is currently a subsidiary of Adidas. The name comes from the Afrikaans spelling of rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle. The company, founded in Bolton, United Kingdom, in 1895, was originally called J.W. FOSTER & SONS but was renamed Reebok in 1958. 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.
Freestyle and Ex-O-Fit success
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. Not only was the Reebok Freestyle popular 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.
Basquiat
In 2006, Reebok licensed Jean-Michel Basquiat; there have been three collaborations to date:
1. European street wear designer Maharishi designed 3 colors 3,000 pair
2. West coast art/skate brand RVCA designed 2 colors 2,000 pair
3. Artist Designer Rolland Berry designed 1 color 500 pair
Human rights and production details
In the past, Reebok had an association with outsourcing through sweatshops, but today it claims it is firmly 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 Asiaprimarily 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 US 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
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 (Gridiron) since 2002, the Canadian Football League since 2004, and is the official shoe supplier to the NFL Gridiron and Major League Baseball. In addition Reebok acquired official National Hockey League 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. Reebok is also endorsed by Allen Iverson, Yao Ming, Carolina Klüft, Amélie Mauresmo, Nicole Vaidiová, Jelena Jankovic, Shahar Pe'er, Ivy, Thierry Henry, Vince Young, Iker Casillas, Baron Davis, Andriy Shevchenko and Amir Khan
It maintains its relationship with its origins in England through a long-term sponsorship deal with Bolton Wanderers, a Premiership football club. 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 2005, Reebok also signed an exclusive agreement to design and supply all 8 team home and away strips for the new Australian A-League competition. Although not an expensive deal, this partnership is paying huge 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. Reebok has supplied rugby league teams the Melbourne Storm, Manly Sea Eagles and the Gold Coast Titans with club's kits and other merchandise.
In rugby union, Reebok sponsored the Wales national team until late 2008, the last team to date to win a Grand Slam in the Six Nations Championship, and the Tasman Makos in New Zealand's domestic competition, the Air New Zealand Cup.
In 2006, current Barcelona and France striker Thierry Henry (then playing for Arsenal FC) 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, 2006, Andriy Shevchenko started his endorsement deal with the company.
The company also holds sponsorships with Mexican club CD Guadalajara, Brazilian clubs Cruzeiro, Internacional and Săo Paulo, and German club 1. FC Köln for the 2008/09 season.
Several international cricketers, such as Pakistani batsmen Shoaib Malik and Abdur Razzaq, Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Bangladeshi captain Mohammad Ashraful, Indian batsmen VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid, Bangladeshi cricketers Mohammad Rafique and Habibul Bashar, and Chris Gayle of the West Indies endorse Reebok. They are supplied with Reebok cricket shoes, as well as with cricket bats marked with the Reebok brand in the cases of Malik, Dhoni, Laxman, and Gayle. In fact, these bats are actually made by Reebok. Also in August 2006 Reebok re-signed a Track & Field athlete to a 2 year deal, The contract supposedly insisted of Curtis James to test upcoming shoes, and other innovative designs. He also endorses Reebok running apparel, where he is supplied with Clothing, Shoes, Hats, and other Reebok running equipment. Curtis re-signed once again in 2008. In September, 2007 it appeared that Reebok had also signed Sanath Jayasuriya of Sri Lanka. Either that, or Sanath simply decided to start using Reebok products. Reebok also made the uniforms used in the Indian Premier League, such as the Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings' kits.
Rapper Jay-Z became the first non-athlete to get a signature shoe from Reebok. The "S. Carter Collection by Rbk" was launched in November 21, 2003 and the "S. Carter" sneaker became the fastest selling shoe in the company history. 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. Also the DJ Tiesto released an own line of sneakers. Reebok also signed Scarlett Johansson and introduced her very own line of apparel and footwear called Scarlett Hearts an RBK Lifestyle Collection.
Cricket teams with kits manufactured by Reebok
Asia
Chennai Super Kings
Rajasthan Royals
Bangalore Royal Challengers
Kolkata Knight Riders
Soccer clubs/leagues with kits manufactured by Reebok
Europe
Bolton Wanderers
Aris FC
KF Drenica
1. FC Köln
PFC CSKA Moscow
Africa
Bloemfontein Celtic
AmaZulu F.C.
Asia
Adelaide United
Central Coast Mariners
Melbourne Victory
Newcastle Jets
Perth Glory
Queensland Roar
Sydney FC
Wellington Pheonix
Kingfisher East Bengal FC
Mohun Bagan
North America
Deportivo Guadalajara
Central America
Deportivo Saprissa
South America
Cruzeiro
Internacional
Săo Paulo
Rugby Union
Recent news
In August 2005, one of the company's largest rivals, Adidas, announced that it would acquire Reebok for $12.8 billion. The deal was completed in January 2006.
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 October 2006 Reebok launches its first blog, in Spanish.
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 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 Ł7m 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, and this is more likely the cause of any loss of revenue, as the kit was still released in adequate time for the new season. Liverpool subsequently switched to Adidas for their official kit following Adidas' acquisition of Reebok.
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 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.
In July 2007, Reebok launched its Lifestyle Footwear Collection in association with Daddy Yankee's new album for those who love to fuse music with fashion. In December 2007, Reebok launched the GOAL Collection of football gear on the sidelines of the release of Indian football movie Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal.
Reebok technologies
- PlayDry
- RBK EDGE Uniform System
- Hydromove
- DMX
- DMX10
- DMX6
- Griptonite
- The Pump
- DMX Foam
- DMX Reflex
- Hexalite
- 3D Ultralite
- E.R.S. (Energy Return System)
Some athletic shoe models
Some designer shoe models
- Fish Fry by Manish Arora
- Reebok Rolland Berry by Reebok/[Rolland Berry] artist / designer
- ALIFExReebok court victory pump by Alife/Reebok
External links
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