The era of late 18th and early 19th century assumes tremendous importance in history. And there are no prizes for guessing why. For it was during this period that the great Industrial Revolution kicked off in North America and Europe, especially Britain. It all started with James Watt inventing the famous Steam Engine in 1781. The manual-labor-driven economy gradually started making way to a machinery-automation-driven one. The change was not very fast but was effectual nevertheless. A few prominent inventions in this era include the Electric generator by Michael Faraday, Steel Plough by John Deere, Lead Acid Battery by Gaston Plante, Cathode Ray Tube by William Crookes, Wireless Telecommunication by Nicolas Tesla and many more. What makes it interesting to observe that these inventions were the results of improvisation of scientists and engineers on various new discoveries of effects and properties. Engineers then designed methods for large-scale manufacture of products and the upshot of this was the emerging of new factories and industries and thus, business companies.
And to introduce you all into this, this is something about the advent of a shoe industry. The first known shoes date back to 7000 to 8000 years before this. But it was not before the year 1895, a new industry called Mercury Sports was found by Joseph William Foster. 63 years thereafter, it was renamed as Reebok by siblings Joe and Jesse Foster, derived from the word (which Joe found in a dictionary won in a race), 'rhebok', an African word for an antelope. Later, it took special efforts from Paul Fireman to procure distribution rights in North America.
It was in the year 1982, when people started taking interests in fitness and aerobics. As a popular American actress and political activist, Jane Fonda, in her set of well known fitness videos, of the Workout Series and in the much-famed Workout Book, released in 1982, acknowledges that fitness craze was in the air and it was the same force which resulted in a record sale of more than 17 million copies of her book. Jobs became more sedentary and there was an increasing awareness to catch up with the missing fitness. Games like Baseball and Basketball started garnering enthusiasm among the stay-fit-folk and their rapid accretion appeared imminent. Throngs of people crowded gymnasiums and fitness centers to keep themselves in good shape. Who doesn't want to have a supple and flexible body, after all?
Reebok grew famous in this generation, especially with its Free-Style Athletic series, designed for women. Being a prominent player in the industry of its kind, Reebok dishes out several sport accessories, apparel and athletic footwear. Another particular series of footwear was The Reebok 'Pump' Series which was designed for comfort of ankle. It was incorporated with a special air bladder, capable of being inflated using an internal mechanism. And the tag line was more interesting, "Pump Up, Air Out". Initially used by basketball players, this brand grew more in demand and it wasn't long before 'Pump' hit the tennis and soccer arena. Some zealots used it to flaunt and at the same time, improve their gait. And few others displayed a penchant to wear wrist-bands with the famous vector logo on them.
In as many as 14 countries, we can find Reebok's factories. It's China which tops the list with 51% of the Reebok products being manufactured, followed by US, Indonesia and Vietnam. The workforce employed is close to 76000. The assessment of production, marketing and operating costs have been carefully carried out and set-up accordingly. Customers and users from Asia and Europe have welcomed Reebok products well, looking at the consumers statistics displayed on a geographical basis.
One can see that Reebok covers many international sportsmen from a host of games when it came to endorsements. Talking of cricket, Indian skipper MS Dhoni, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Gautham Gambhir and many other players like Shoaib Malik and Chris Gayle have been roped in. Come to soccer, French striker Thierry Henry and Ukraine champ Andriy Shevchenko have been great ambassadors. As many as 5 teams in the Australian Football League have been sponsored of late. This apart, Reebok has sponsored many singers, Rapper Jay-Z and 50 Cent to name a few. Not to forget the "Lost in Translation" beauty and Golden Globe Award winning American actress Scarlett Johannson.
Reebok is what Reebok is. Much in reflection with its special unique selling proposition "I Am What I Am"....
It was in the year 1982, when people started taking interests in fitness and aerobics. As a popular American actress and political activist, Jane Fonda, in her set of well known fitness videos, of the Workout Series and in the much-famed Workout Book, released in 1982, acknowledges that fitness craze was in the air and it was the same force which resulted in a record sale of more than 17 million copies of her book. Jobs became more sedentary and there was an increasing awareness to catch up with the missing fitness. Games like Baseball and Basketball started garnering enthusiasm among the stay-fit-folk and their rapid accretion appeared imminent. Throngs of people crowded gymnasiums and fitness centers to keep themselves in good shape. Who doesn't want to have a supple and flexible body, after all?
Reebok grew famous in this generation, especially with its Free-Style Athletic series, designed for women. Being a prominent player in the industry of its kind, Reebok dishes out several sport accessories, apparel and athletic footwear. Another particular series of footwear was The Reebok 'Pump' Series which was designed for comfort of ankle. It was incorporated with a special air bladder, capable of being inflated using an internal mechanism. And the tag line was more interesting, "Pump Up, Air Out". Initially used by basketball players, this brand grew more in demand and it wasn't long before 'Pump' hit the tennis and soccer arena. Some zealots used it to flaunt and at the same time, improve their gait. And few others displayed a penchant to wear wrist-bands with the famous vector logo on them.
In as many as 14 countries, we can find Reebok's factories. It's China which tops the list with 51% of the Reebok products being manufactured, followed by US, Indonesia and Vietnam. The workforce employed is close to 76000. The assessment of production, marketing and operating costs have been carefully carried out and set-up accordingly. Customers and users from Asia and Europe have welcomed Reebok products well, looking at the consumers statistics displayed on a geographical basis.
One can see that Reebok covers many international sportsmen from a host of games when it came to endorsements. Talking of cricket, Indian skipper MS Dhoni, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Gautham Gambhir and many other players like Shoaib Malik and Chris Gayle have been roped in. Come to soccer, French striker Thierry Henry and Ukraine champ Andriy Shevchenko have been great ambassadors. As many as 5 teams in the Australian Football League have been sponsored of late. This apart, Reebok has sponsored many singers, Rapper Jay-Z and 50 Cent to name a few. Not to forget the "Lost in Translation" beauty and Golden Globe Award winning American actress Scarlett Johannson.
Reebok is what Reebok is. Much in reflection with its special unique selling proposition "I Am What I Am"....
1 comment:
reebok goods are always famous and carry a heavy brand weight....
the article above was informative of the industry....
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