Fila (company)
- This article refers to the clothing corporation, for other uses see FILA.
Fila is an Italian sportswear manufacturing company, founded in 1911. It now has offices in 11 countries worldwide.
History
Fila was created in Biella, Piedmont, by the Fila brothers in 1911. It originally started by making clothing for the people of the Italian Alps. It is now a company that makes high end quality sportswear apparel and footwear.
The company's primary product was originally underwear, before moving into sportswear in the 1970s, initially with the endorsement of tennis player Björn Borg.
The original Italian ownership Holding di Partecipazioni sold the company to US hedge fund Cerberus Capital Management in 2003, after the company over-committed itself to expensive athletic endorsements, at a time when margins were under pressure. Cerberus owned Fila through holding company Sports Brands International, which owned and operated all Fila businesses around the world with the exception of Fila Korea, which was a separate company operating the brand under licence.
In January 2007, the global Fila brand was acquired by Fila Korea, Ltd. from SBI. Fila Korea currently holds the rights to the worldwide use of footwear and apparel brands of the parent firm.
Apparel
Men
The men's Fila line of sportswear include apparel for such sports as tennis, running, men's training, basketball, golf, and Fila's own line of vintage apparel.
Women
The women's Fila line of sportswear include apparel for such sports as tennis, running, cross training, golf, and Fila's own line of vintage apparel.
Kids
Fila has everyday day footwear for children of all ages, from infants to youth.
Athletes
Athletes that have used, or are currently using, Fila apparel include:
Individuals
- Kim Clijsters
- Björn Borg
- Svetlana Kuznetsova
- Rainer Schüttler
- Akiko Morigami
- Barry Bonds
- Grant Hill
- Jerry Stackhouse
- Lars Burgsmüller
- Tatiana Perebiynis
- Andreas Seppi
- Michael Schumacher
- Thierry Ascione
- Michael Green
- Liza Galvan
- Reinhold Messner
- Alberto Tomba
- Tom Watson
- Mark Philippoussis
- Ryoma Echizen
External links
- http://www.fila.com
- http://www.howdoyoufila.com
- http://shop.fila.com
- http://www.hoovers.com/fila-usa/--ID__47983--/free-co-factsheet.xhtml