It also established a joint venture with Italian eyewear manufacturer De balenciaga knit sneakers Rigo S.p.A. to produce a branded line of sunglasses. Fila even created a skin care line including sun lotions and bath products. The company hired a slew of endorsers to support its new sports lines, including beach volleyball player Randy Stoklos, marathon runner German Silva, soccer players Claudio Reyna and Franco Baresi, and tennis player Marc Philippoussis.The diversification also re-emphasized high-end sportswear and casual footwear with a particular focus on the long-neglected women ' s market. In 1995 Fila bought market share and expertise in women ' s and children ' s clothing via the acquisition of French sportswear manufacturer Dorotennis S.A.
The parent company hoped to expand this new subsidiary from its European base into the United States and Asia . New endorsement contracts with top-ranked female athletes, including tennis player Gabriela Sabatini and skier Deborah Compagnoni, supported the drive for balenciaga loafers the female consumer.Fila fought the perception that it was a " fashionable but low-tech " brand by establishing a research and development center in Portland, Oregon, and staffing it with engineers hired away from Nike. Fila ' s 1996 annual report stressed the strategic shift, asserting, " Style is our heritage. balenciaga locations
With the company headed for another year in the red in 2002 and the sale of the company still pending, Fila faced a very uncertain future.Fila Holding S.p.A . is the world ' s third-largest manufacturer and marketer of athletic footwear, behind Nike and Reebok. The company ' s product line includes more than 100 models of men ' s, women ' s, and children ' s shoes; a broad line of athletic apparel embracing sports from running to skateboarding; and high fashion sportswear. Though it had been active in the athletic apparel and footwear industry since the mid-1970s, Fila did not balenciaga mid top truly make its mark in this market until the mid-1990s, when the brand was embraced by trend-setting urbanites.
Over the course of the decade, Fila rode a rising tide of popularity into country clubs and onto the ski slopes of Europe and the United States . Though it did not become a runaway hit, Fila and its trademark " F " logo were widely recognized throughout the world of sports apparel and footwear by the end of the 1970s. Frachey left the company late in the decade.As they had been in the 1970s, sponsorships were vital to Fila ' s success 20 years later. In 1994, the company inked an endorsement contract with Grant Hill of the NBA ' s Detroit Pistons. After he won 1995 ' s Rookie of the Year award, sales of his namesake shoe skyrocketed to over 1.5 million pairs.
Controlled by Gemina S.p.A. since 1988, Fila ' s corporate ownership came under question in the mid-1990s. Stock offerings from 1993 on had reduced Gemina ' s stake in Fila to just over 50 percent by 1997. Following an aborted attempt to merge Gemina ' s ultimate parent company, HPI, with Italian textile and apparel giant Marzotto S.p.A . in 1996, balenciaga motorcycle boots many analysts speculated that a union between Gemina and Marzotto could yet occur. If completed, the deal stood to form a multibillion-dollar amalgamation of upscale clothing and footwear brands.
And we are able to anodize the entire table, which further heightens the quality. We have created a system that makes further applications possible. The word "Fila" means "the series" in Italian and our "Fila" table is not just more precise, flexible and higher quality than previous simple tables. It is a system that holds great potential, be this in the outdoor segment or as a piece of office furniture.