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This might surprise some people, but Reebok cold probably laid rightful claim to being the oldest and most authentic of all trainer brands. Long associated with the birth of aerobics in the 1980s and its well-publicized trainer wars’ with Nike in the same era, Reebok is regarded as a brash, new upstart – something that could not be further from the truth. Among others, Dunlop lays claim to be the earliest sports shoes, and Converse jumps in with Keds. But these brands were primarily producing rubber for various industrial uses, which led on to the development of sport shoes (earliest examples being the Keds and Chuck Taylors). Reebok, however, began life as a dedicated sports firm making shoes for track athletics.

For the beginning of the Reebok story its necessary to go back to 1895, to Bolton in England. A local runner with Bolton Primrose Harriers want to develop a pair of running shoes that would improve his performance This runner was Joseph William foster. He developed spiked shoes and as word spread, demand grew, and the found himself producing shoes for fellow team member and, later, for those further afield. Foster soon realized he was onto something and turned his hobby into a full time occupation. The result was Foster Deluxe Spikes.

In addition to being a budding inventor, it’s transpired that Foster had yet more strings to his bow. He was quick to realize the potential of advertising and launched a marketing campaign that would have made Phil Knight, the co-founder of Nike, blush. By 1905, Foster was sending out free samples of his shoes to champion runners all over the world. If the replied in glowing terms he would then published their letters of satisfaction in their local countries’ press for all to see.

However, despite his initial success it was not until 1948 that Foster’s grandsons, Joseph and Jeffrey, launched the brand name we so familiar with today – Reebok. The inspiration for the name of the came from the fleet-footed African gazelle. The Reebok company eventually absorbed J. W. Foster & Sons, which been established by their entrepreneurial grandfather.

After years of steady but unremarkable growth and development, it was a decision taken by Reebok in the late 1970s that was to make people wake up and remember that the company existed. It seems strange for a company that is arguably the oldest of all the trainer brands to be associated with one of the newest and most ‘faddy’ of products in the market place today.

Its strategy was simple: even though Reebok’s range of sporting goods was being sold in 28 countries worldwide, it was when the company launched in the United States that sales really took off.

In 1979 Reebok gave a distribution license to Paul Fireman to take the Reebok range to the United States. He introduced three new running shoes and priced them all in excess of $60, making them the most expensive shoes then on the market. It was risky strategy, but results were spectacular for both Fireman and Reebok. Demand was so overwhelming with sales of $1.5 million in America alone in 1981 that Reebok’s Bolton plant could keep up with the clamor for its shoes. In order to increase capacity, Reebok took the decision to open a new plan overseas, in South Korea.

This was not all, however because Reebok – a company perceived as being a brash newcomer – was to change the face of the training-shoe industry forever. Just when it seemed that trainers were trainers were trainers, Reebok spotted a gap in the market and introduced the Freestyle, a woman’s shoe designed specifically for aerobics. The new, primarily female, health and fitness craze took off, and Reebok went along with it. Suddenly Reebok shot straight to the op of the trainer sales league.

The 1980s have been described as the era of the ‘trainer wars’ a battle fought mainly between Reebok and Nike for market dominance and fuelled by enormous advertising budgets. Suddenly, the emphasis was on staying on one step ahead by introducing gimmicks. Reebok pulled further away with its Pump Court Victory, forcing Nike to reply with the Air Max. It was at this stage that it seemed that everybody wanted into the market. British Knights appeared on the scene and even L.A. Gear raised its head, going from 1 per cent of market share in 1981 to over 40 per cent three years later (back down again by the mid 1990s)

However, its association with the trainer fads of the late 1980s came back to haunt Reebok. Unfortunately for Reebok, Nike released the Jordan and in terms of sales, very looked back. Reebok slipped down the sales charts and to this day, is trying to shed some of the ‘fashion’ associations it picked up on its way to the top during this era.

The Big brother of the original pump, the Pump Fury was released in 1990 and was (and, indeed, still is) a huge success for the brand. A technological breakthrough, the shoe was widely acclaimed, but the same features that brought the praise also brought criticism. The shoe was ‘loud’ and ‘futuristic’ – the ‘gimmick sneer was applied again.

Today, Reebok is a well-established company, and the Reebok Classic is the biggest selling shoe in the U.k> Perversely, however Reebok’s name has a greater following worldwide than it has is own country.

Whatever your thoughts, Reebok has had a major influence on training-shoe development and has a genuine claim to being the oldest of the sneaker brands.


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