Russell Athletic is an American athletic brand, a major US corporate brand and its manufacturer and marketer, Russell Brands, LLC. Founded in 1902, the company produces uniforms for various sports, such as American football, basketball, baseball, softball, and volleyball. The company provides jersey and clothing uniforms for many professional sports teams from major leagues in the United States, as well as colleges, universities and small league teams to close its team uniform division by 2017. Today, the company mainly focuses on activewear for the consumer market.
Video Russell Athletic (brand)
History
Establishment
The company was founded by Benjamin Russell in Alexander City, Alabama, in 1902. The original factory produces women's underwear and children's underwear. The factory's initial capacity is 150 garments every day. During the 1910s, Russell Manufacturing Co. into an established business. In 1920 Russell Sr. & amp; Jr. created the first cotton shirt now known as sweatshirt. In 1925 long underwear, sweaters, athletic shirts, and women's pof were added to the production of women's vests, creating a more complete product line.
1932 saw how Russell acquired Southern Manufacturing Company, which gave the company access to athletic team clothes. This was the beginning of cutting and sewing operations of Russell Athletic's division. Then in 1938, Russell began making woven athletic clothing, including basketball, baseball, and football pants and jackets.
Expansion
In 1941, founder Benjamin Russell died on December 16 and the company's control was given to his son Benjamin C. Russell. During World War II, Russell's 'Athletic' division was sold primarily to the military. Shirts, drawers, T-shirts, sportswear, and special outfits made for the Army and Navy. Benjamin C. Russell died in 1945 and was succeeded as president by his brother, Thomas D. Russell. After the War, the company began further expansion and development throughout the departments of knitting, weaving, coloring, finishing, and cutting.
During the 1960s, the 'Athletic' division was the largest marketer and manufacturer of clothing and athletic uniforms in the country. In 1962, the name Russell Manufacturing Company was changed to Russell Mills, Inc. In 1973, the name Russell Mills was changed to "Russell Corporation", and the company expanded its plant in the Southern United States, as well as to Latin America and Scotland.
In 1992, Russell Athletic handled a five-year contract to serve as an exclusive manufacturer and marketer of athletic uniforms for most Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. The contract also stipulates that the company has the exclusive right to manufacture and market replicas of major league uniforms, T-shirts, and shorts. The contract was extended after that period until 1999; thereafter there was no exclusive uniform supplier for MLB, but continued to supply uniforms to several MLB teams until the end of the 2004 season, when Majestic Athletic became the exclusive supplier for the uniforms to MLB, which will continue until 2019, when Under Armor takes on MLB uniform contracts.
Acquisitions
On April 17, 2006, Berkshire Hathaway agreed to buy 100% of Russell. Finally on August 1, 2006, Russell's shareholders approved the sale of their company to Berkshire Hathaway for $ 18.00 per share in cash. This acquisition was successfully completed the next day. The Russell brand joins the Fruit of the Loom in the Berkshire Hathaway family of products.
International operations
Over the last decade Russell Athletic has grown under the license of Russell Brands to a number of markets around the world that focus on their authentic American sports signature and the story behind the discovery of the T-shirt. The largest market outside the United States is Russell Athletic Europe operated by Future Brands Ltd in London, a subsidiary of Batra Group. After their success in Europe, Russell Athletic also operates in Australia, Japan, and South Africa under license of Russell Brands. Currently Russell Athletic has a well-known brand ambassador team representing the brand in their local market, from Olympic swimmers Stephanie Rice and Ellie Faulkner to a number of professional Rugby Union and Rugby League players in England and South Africa such as Sailosi Tagicakibau, Cheslin Kolbe, Shaun Lunt, Ryan Atkins, and Stevie Ward and professional health ambassadors and ambassadors of Yoga like Samantha Laura Kaye. In early 2015 Russell Athletic Europe visited one of their factories and filmed the shirt making process, from this recording they made a successful time-lapse video called The T-Shirt How It's Made
Globetrotters
In October 2010, Russell Athletic signed a contract with the famous Harlem Globetrotters team and entertainment show to give them official uniforms, exercises and travel gear. The deal will last until the end of 2013.
Refocus on Consumer Clothing
On September 28, 2017, Russell Athletic said it would quit the team's manufacturing business after 115 years, and the company would refocus on activewear for the consumer apparel market. The company mentioned that companies like Nike, Adidas, and Under Armor (who all started athletic shoes) started their own team uniform units, and as a result undermined Russell's market share in the department were factors contributing to the discontinuing Russell team's uniform manufacturing business.
Maps Russell Athletic (brand)
Sponsors
Previous sponsors
American football
Many NFL teams wore uniforms provided by Russell Athletic during the 1970s to the 1990s, they were:
American football
- Arena Football League
Australian football
- Adelaide Crows
- Brisbane Lions
- Fremantle Docker
- North Melbourne Kangaroos
Baseball
- MLB - all teams
- Little League Baseball - all teams
Basket
- Harlem Globetrotters
Formula One
- MTV Simtek-Ford
Colleges
References
External links
- the USA website
- The European website
- South African website
- The Australian website
- Japanese website
- Batra Group website
- Brand Russell, LLC.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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