Reebok is an international athletic apparel and footwear brand. Established in 1895 by J.W. Foster and Sons, and headquartered in Canton, Ohio, the company manufactures and sells fitness, running and CrossFit sportwear to the athletic consumer. Reebok operates worldwide with locations and services in Africa, Asia, North America, Europe, and the Middle East. Selling primarily athletic and leisure shoes, athletic equipment and clothing and accessories, Reebok was, at one point, a largely recognizable brand for consumers. However, the past decades have seen a steep decline in Reebok’s sales and reputation thanks to the likes of other global powerhouse sportswear and gear manufacturers like Nike, Adidas, UnderArmour and Puma. This has created the need for Reebok to rebrand itself, especially in this nostalgic culture, in order to appeal to a consumer base with ever-changing wants and preferences as well as consistent expectations of companies.
Reebok’s strengths include its longevity, diversified products, and celebrity endorsements and sponsorships. The footwear sector in which it operates is diverse in and of itself, covering a wide range of physical materials with which products are made such as leather, rubber, plastics and textiles. Combined with innovative technology, Reebok expertly blends that with fitness as people who are active, especially, amp up their workouts and look to get more out of expensive sportswear in hopes that it is functional enough to be worn as casual and leisure wear. Against its competition, Reebok has faltered in awareness, reputation and market share; recently, its sales have fallen by 3 percent due to declines in training and running categories, both primary for its product line (Jahns, 2018). Even after being acquired by its strong competitor Adidas in 2006, its own sales have still faltered, creating several opportunities for improvement. In this age, as mentioned, of nostalgia and old cultural icons and symbols making their way into the mainstream, Reebok can target the consumers who are enabling this and bringing the heyday of the 1990s and early 2000s back into the forefront. The brand was especially dominant not only in the footwear industry, but in the pop and hip-hop and sports landscapes; the 1980s ended with Reebok as the nation’s best-selling sneaker brand (Boudway, 2015) until Nike entered the market. Its rebranding efforts can serve customers and its bottom line in several ways: by reigniting the brand to meet consumers where they are in an era where history reigns supreme and by making its apparel and gear functional enough for everyday life. This is how Reebok can work its way back into the cultural and everyday consciousness of consumers just as Nike and Adidas have, with a renewed focus on lifestyle instead of just fitness and sports. Increased awareness within the health and fitness field should remain a guiding light for Reebok, but in order to be culturally relevant in this day and age, the company will need to address the younger population who is widespread in numbers. While the company is already a known entity, it must become something new in a technology and culture-driven age. The “tough fitness” and “no pain, no gain” mentality that Reebok has positioned itself towards has not worked in the context of its continual state of losing ground. It can and must reemerge as a challenger brand that also reinforces the brand as a part of a ubiquitous and unique lifestyle, no matter whether a person is physically active or not. The foray into sportswear and apparel as fashion creates a significant opportunity for Reebok to stand out amongst the competition without being extreme and alienating a large consumer base that does not engage in CrossFit or any other physically strenuous activity.
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- Boudway, I. (2015, March 06). Why Can’t Reebok Get Fit? Retrieved May 5, 2018, from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-06/why-can-t-reebok-get-fit-
- Jahns, M. (2018, May 03). Adidas grows rapidly in 2018 – but Reebok still declines. Retrieved May 5, 2018, from https://www.ispo.com/en/companies/adidas-grows-rapidly-2018-reebok-still-declines
