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Speedo
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Speedo is a swimwear manufacturer. The company was started by a young Scot named Alexander MacRae, who migrated to Australia in 1910, and set up an underwear manufacture business called MacRae Hosiery manufacturers on Bondi Beach, Sydney.
Today the company is headquartered in Nottingham, England, and is owned by the London based Pentland Group. The company is the world's largest selling swimwear brand and manufactures products for both recreational and competitive swimming. Its trademark is a red boomerang-shaped logo.
HistoryThe company was founded in 1914 by hosiery manufacturer Alexander MacRae as McRae Hosiery manufacturers and then MacRae Knitting Mills in an effort to expand his company into swimwear. In 1928 the name Speedo was first adopted after the firm developed its Racerback design of swimwear, making it one of the first manufacturers to specifically produce athletic designs. The name was made up by a Captain Jim Parsons who won a company competition with the slogan "Speed on in your Speedos."
During World War II the manufacturer shifted nearly all of its production to war materials such as mosquito nets. Speedo resumed production after the war and became a publicly traded corporation in 1951. In 1955 Speedo introduced nylon into its fabric for competitive swimwear. The 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne saw the widespread debut of the new fabric and the introduction of the style of men's briefs that has become associated with the brand. The company quickly expanded into the international arena from there until the present, boasting that 70 percent of swimming medals were won by athletes wearing its products in the Olympic Games of 1968, 1972, and 1976.
During the 1970s and '80s, new fabrics such as lycra were incorporated into the company's swimwear design. During the late 1990s the company turned its attention to its aquablade and fastskin product lines of competitive swimwear. The designs employ new fabrics that the company claims will reduce resistance in the water by replicating biological skin characteristics of various marine animals such as sharks.
In March 2007 in an attempt to appeal to a younger audience, Speedo's collaboration with Japanese brand Comme des Garcons hit UK fashion store Topshop with a collection of classic women's Speedos decorated with quirky Comme des Garcons designs.
ProductsThough it still manufactures the traditional briefs, jammers, and racerback designs that made the company famous, Speedo's latest competitive swimwear designs incorporate suits that provide greater coverage to the arms, legs, and even full body for their top end lineup. Their high-end suits often sell for in excess of US$300 for the Fastskin II and FS Pro series. The company also continues to manufacture recreational swimwear, goggles, earplugs, swim caps, towels, robes, sportswear and other logo clothing, watches, sandals, beach volleyball and triathlon products, lifeguard gear, and training supplies for competitive and recreational swimmers.
On February 12 2008, the company launched the LZR Racer suit, made of a new Hi-Tech Swimwear Fabric composed of a light weight woven fabric with polyurethane panels to reduce drag. This suit has been developed in association with NASA and the Australian Institute of Sport as well as the support of Speedo's sponsored athletes, and it is claimed once again to be the world's fastest swimsuit. This will be the focus of Speedo's campaign for the Beijing Olympics, spearheaded by Michael Phelps of the US, recent winner of eight Olympic Medals. It also continues the collaboration with Comme des Garcons introducing an element of fashion to a performance suit for the first time. As of June 20 2008, 38 world records have been broken in the new LZR Racer suit. As a result of the success of the swimming suit, some people have asked for a review of the suit and if the suit is ethical when it comes to the sport of swimming.
CompetitionMany of sportswear and designer fashion companies, such as Nike and Adidas have expanded their merchandise to reflect recent trends in water sport (and present direct competition to Speedo), offering multiple lines of sports swimwear and fashion based swimwear.
AthletesSome athletes who have been sponsored by the Speedo brand include Grant Hackett, Michael Klim, Megan Jendrick, Greg Louganis, Janet Evans, Michael Phelps, Lewis Gordon Pugh, Natalie Coughlin, Amanda Beard, Dawn Fraser, Wu Peng and Kosuke Kitajima.
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