TOP SHOES BRAND
Their
logos adorn the shoes worn by the most famous athletes in the world.
They actually bid for the right to provide an athlete the footwear he
would use for his competitions. In return, the said athlete would
provide his endorsement and, hopefully, the millions of adoring fans
around the world would heed his advice and follow his example by buying
sneakers from the same brand.
How many of us have bought our sports idol’s shoes hoping that we could replicate his moves, jump a little higher, run a little faster and control the ball a little better by gearing up with the same footwear brand? Here is a list of the top 10 most popular brands of sports shoes in the world.
Nike
is an American company founded in 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports. It
changed its name in 1978 to Nike, who is the Greek goddess of victory.
Its “Just Do It” slogan and swoosh logo are some of the most
recognizable marketing items in the world today. It is considered to be
the leading supplier of athletic shoes and apparel. Its first endorser
was Ilie Nastase, a tennis star back in the 1970s from Romania. It also
had legendary track athletes in its roster, including Steve Prefontaine,
Carl Lewis, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Sebastian Coe. The company’s
signing of Michael Jordan, however, proved to be its biggest coup.
Adolf
Dassler established Adidas in 1948 in Germany. It can trace its roots,
however, to 1924 when the Gebruder Dassler Schuhfabrik was founded by
Adolf and his brother, Rudolf. The two split up in 1949, however, with
Rudolf establishing Puma. The basic design of Adidas is the three
parallel bars, which is also incorporated in the company’s logo. Its
endorsers include legendary basketball players like Pete Maravich,
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jerry West, James Worthy, John Havlicek and Elgin
Baylor. Current athletes on its roster include Lionel Messi, Kaka, Lucas
Moura, David Beckham, Derrick Rose and Dwight Howard.
The
company was founded in 1895 as J.W. Foster and Sons in England. It came
from a desire by the founder to create a spiked running shoe for his
sons. In 1958, his grandsons, Joe and Jeff, renamed the company as
Reebok, which is the Afrikaan spelling of rhebok, a type of antelope or
gazelle native to the continent. Paul Fireman brought it to the United
States in 1979 after seeing a pair in an international trade show.
Endorsers include Eli Manning, Phillip Rivers, Peyton Manning, Tim
Lincecum and Justin Verlander. Reebok has been a subsidiary of Adidas
since 2005.
Following
the disagreement between Adolf and Rudolf Dassler, Adolf formed Adidas
in 1948 while Rudolf countered with Ruda. He later changed it to Puma.
The brothers had hit a goldmine before the split when they convinced Jesse Owens to wear their shoes in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Afterwards, the brothers started to grow apart. Both became members of the Nazi party, but Rudolf blamed his brother for his arrest by American soldiers. The two brands became bitter rivals and divided their town. Even their sons got involved after Puma violated an agreement not to outdo each other in trying to get Pele’s endorsement in the 1970 World Cup. Its other endorsers included Eusebio, Johan Cruyff, Joe Namath and Walt Frazier.
Marquis
Mills Converse established the company in 1908 as the Converse Rubber
Shoe Company. In 1915, it began making tennis shoes. A company milestone
occurred in 1917 when a basketball player named Charles H. Taylor
walked into its office because of sore feet. He designed a high-top
sneaker that became the classic we know today as “Chuck Taylor.” It was
the shoe worn by Wilt Chamberlain when he scored 100 points in an NBA
game in 1962. Michael Jordan was also wearing a Converse when he
converted the winning basket in the 1982 NCAA finals. It was the
official shoes of the NBA for a long time, with legends like Magic
Johnson, Larry Bird and Julius Erving all wearing it. Sadly, it has now
disappeared from the league. The last player to wear a Converse on the
court was Udonis Haslem, but he switched to Li-Ning in November 2012.
Nike has owned Converse since 2003 after a $305 million buyout.
New
Balance was established in 1906 as the New Balance Arch Support
Company. It seldom goes on expensive advertising campaigns. Its shoes
are also typically more expensive than its rivals because it maintains
manufacturing plants in the U.S. and the U.K. Its shoes are known by its
model numbers as the company prefer not to give it names that would
distract from the emphasis on the New Balance name.
Fila
Ltd. was established in 1911 in Italy. It is known for its logo that
features its name in snakelike letters. It used to be endorsed by Boris
Becker and Bjorn Borg. It collapsed in 2003, however, forcing it to sell
to a hedge fund company. Fila Korea, however, was a distinct company
and it bought all the rights to the company in 2007.
The
brothers Art and Ernie Brunner of Switzerland founded k-Swiss in Los
Angeles in 1966. It was the first company to create leather tennis
shoes. The white stripe on white leather design was considered a
classic, so much so that Steven Nichols bought out the company in 1986.
Popularity further increased with their “Put Your Spin on It” campaign
that allowed users to customize the stripes’ color.
It
is an abbreviation for “anima sana in corpore sano,” which is Latin for
a healthy soul in a healthy body. It was established in Japan in 1949
as Panmure Co. Ltd. Endorsers include Newcastle, Sunderland, Leeds and
Aston Villa football teams.
Li-Ning
is a Chinese company established in 1990. It created ripples in the NBA
when it signed Shaquille O’Neal to a contract in 2006. In 2012, it made
its biggest score when Dwayne Wade of the Miami Heat agreed to endorse
its product. His teammate Udonis Haslem has since followed suit.
How many of us have bought our sports idol’s shoes hoping that we could replicate his moves, jump a little higher, run a little faster and control the ball a little better by gearing up with the same footwear brand? Here is a list of the top 10 most popular brands of sports shoes in the world.
1. Nike
2. Adidas
3. Reebok
4. Puma
The brothers had hit a goldmine before the split when they convinced Jesse Owens to wear their shoes in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Afterwards, the brothers started to grow apart. Both became members of the Nazi party, but Rudolf blamed his brother for his arrest by American soldiers. The two brands became bitter rivals and divided their town. Even their sons got involved after Puma violated an agreement not to outdo each other in trying to get Pele’s endorsement in the 1970 World Cup. Its other endorsers included Eusebio, Johan Cruyff, Joe Namath and Walt Frazier.
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