Spyder is a Colorado based Colorado based skiwear manufacturer. According to the company's website, this is the world's largest ski-specialty brand.
Video Spyder (ski apparel brand)
History
David Jacobs, founder and Spyder chairman was born in Montreal, Canada, and started skiing at the age of 13. At the age of 21, he won Quebec Kandahar, and from 1957 to 1961 was a member of the Canadian National Ski Team. In 1957 he won the Canadian Downhill Ski Champion title, and became a top-ranked member of the Canadian FIS Team the following season. He was the first full-time head coach and full-time program administrator for Canada's National Ski Team from 1964 to 1966.
In 1978, while the sons of Jacobs were on the ski race circuit, he noted that there was only one brand of racing sweaters available. He believes he can make better products and sell them to a tight racial community. This business, named David L Jacobs, Incorporated, started as a small mail order business in the Boulder, Colorado kitchen.
After a successful introduction of racing sweaters, Jacobs added ski pants to the catalog offerings. One of the earliest creations was a dark blue racing pants with yellow striped pads extending from knee to hip. His son Billy mentions that the skiers call them "spider" pants, because they look like the spider's legs. Jacobs recognizes this as an opportunity to have a strong and lasting name and logo associated with his product, and change his name to the company. Enthusiastic sports car enthusiast, he borrowed a spelling with "y" from Ferrari Spyder. The initial postal order catalog includes racing pants, a padded sweater, Vuarnet sunglasses, downhill bent poles, and other racing accessories. For two years, Spyder operated in Jacobs kitchen. At the end of two years, sales are in six figures and the kitchen is too crowded.
To finance the expansion in 1980, Jacobs sold the brand to Boulder-based Hanson Industries, a manufacturer of ski boots. Eighteen months later, he bought Spyder back before Hanson went bankrupt.
In 1994 Jacobs was granted a patent at SpeedWyre, a technology that enhances the performance of racing suits. A "travel wire" formed by a narrow layer on the surface of the legs and arms simplifies the surrounding airflow, significantly reducing wind resistance by up to 40% in laboratory tests. US Ski Team members dressed in Spyder suits were upgraded with SPEEDWYRE winning gold, bronze and fifth place in the world championships over the next two years, including two World Championships Down by Hilary Lindh and Picabo Street. The FIS banned SpeedWyre in 1997, claiming that it gave the skier an unfair advantage.
Spyder is the official supplier to the US Ski Team, a relationship that began in 1989. The Canadian Alpine Ski Team has been completed by Spyder since 2002, and Jamaica Ski Team since 2009.
The Olympic podium provides a worldwide brand presence. Diann Roffe-Steinrotter and Hillary Lindh scored silver in Albertville in 1992. In 1994 Lillehammer Games, Tommy Moe, Picabo Street, and Roffe-Steinrotter each won gold; Moe and Street also won silver. Bode Miller brought home two silver medals from Salt Lake City in 2002. At the 2006 Games in Turin, Austrian and US Alpine teams collectively won 16 medals, while Jennifer Heil Canada won gold in the mogul.
In the late nineties, a new genre of skiing was formed, named Freeski. In 1998 introduced the Kreitler line, eponymous to pro skier Kent Kreitler. The collection became Venom, a collection of clothing that targets features, functions, and modes attached to freeski-style mountain-driven and mountain-based lifestyles.
Spyder is the largest ski-specialization brand in the world. In 2004, Apax Partners, a global private equity group, acquired Spyder. Jacobs continues to direct the company as Chairman of the Board. Jake, his eldest son who wrote the spider trade mark, served on Spyder's board of directors.
The company acquired Cloudveil Mountain Works in 2008. Founded in 1997, Cloudveil manufactures clothing for the snowsports market, outdoor fishing and casual wear.
In August 2013, Authentic Brands Group acquired Spyder and licensed it to Li & amp; Fung.
Maps Spyder (ski apparel brand)
References
External links
- Company Website
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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