FILA. Legacy & Tendencies.
Today we will talk about the Fila brand and its history. We are going to discover how this brand made the leap from a brand on the verge of disappearing to one of the biggest trends of the last few years.
We usually link this brand with Italy, and we are not wrong at all.
More than 100 years ago, the Fila brand was born in Piedmont, Italy. Its founder is Giansevero Fila, hence the name of the brand. His first star product was underwear, but soon after he managed to carve a niche for himself in the sportswear manufacturing industry.
Fila first appeared on the tennis courts in the 70s through the tennis player Björn Borg. It stood out for its comfort, the quality of its garments and its daring designs.
In the 2000s, the brand came under the ownership of the American Cerberus Capital Management. The time that the Americans have managed the brand has been very short (due to the financial problems that arose a few years later, and the drop in sales suffered by Fila).
The brand that was known for fathers' sportswear was now on the verge of collapse.
The rescue came from Fila Korea, an independent subsidiary of the brand. Fila Korea's business director, Yoon Yoon-soo bought the brand for $400 million.
The Korean who never wanted to own or manage a clothing brand, but rather be a doctor, came to resurrect the Fila brand with the revival strategy. His plan was to bring back in trends the iconic products of the 90s and focus more on sneakers.
He got his strategy right, arriving in 2017 one of the best-selling brands in women's sneakers worldwide. It is true that celebrities like Kendall Jenner or Rihanna wearing Fila clothes on several occasions have helped the brand to impose itself in the trends, .
If before and in the early 2000s the public of this brand was 30, 40 years old, the new strategy aimed at a younger audience. A public that was won over with original and high quality designs.
Today Fila operates in more than 70 countries and is a globally recognized brand.
If for Yoon this brand is ''the baby he had at the age of 45'' for us it is a star brand in our catalog. In the section dedicated to this brand we have prepared a selection of iconic Fila items for men and women, from sweatshirts, t-shirts, backpacks, shoulder bags or fanny packs. Here you can check out the collection.
We hope you find this post interesting, as it continues the series dedicated to getting to know the brands and their stories better. We invite you to subscribe to our weekly newsletter to be the first to know about our offers and news.
See you next week,
Top Hats Team