Page 2 - Reebok History File - Copy

It’s fascinating to know

where this brand came

from…

 Reebok was founded in Bolton, in 1890.

 Joseph William Foster, a sports enthusiast, had the idea of adding spikes to
shoes to help with running faster (and traction).

 Recognizing the immense untapped potential of the sportswear industry he

founded the JW Foster and Sons Incorporated 5 years later.

COUPLE OF FACTS:
The family-owned business made the running shoes worn in the 1924 Summer
Games by the athletes celebrated in the film “Chariots of Fire”. In 2006 they
became part of the Adidas group.

Why‘Reebok’?

J W Foster and Sons, as a name, had outlived its vibe. In 1958, two of the
founder’s grandsons got thinking and found ‘rhebok’ in a South African dictionary
which basically was a local name for a species of antelope that roamed the African
continent. Inspired by the word, they changed the name of the company to
“Reebok” in 1958.

A Company on the Move

In 1979, Paul Fireman spotted Reebok shoes at an international trade show. He
negotiated for the North American distribution license and introduced three running
shoes in the U.S. that year. At $60, they were the most expensive running shoes
on the market.

The Reebok Classic

In 1982, Reebok introduced the first athletic shoe designed especially for women; a
shoe for a hot new fitness exercise called aerobic dance. The shoe was called the
Freestyle™, and with it Reebok anticipated and encouraged major trends that
transformed the athletic footwear industry.