Reebok Beat Nike in the 80s. Then It Got Sold Twice

Reebok Beat Nike in the 80s. Then It Got Sold Twice Subscribe to Parallel Fates for new business duels every week: two companies, one storm, different endings. Chapters 00:00 Reebok beat Nike 01:39 Nike: the runner's company 03:16 Reebok: from Bolton to America 04:13 The aerobics shoe that changed everything 05:30 The scoreboard: 1986 06:25 The storm: when sneakers stopped being equipment 08:00 Reebok chases every trend 11:31 Sold twice 13:03 Nike bets on a story 16:10 Final scoreboard Nike vs Reebok is the story of two sneaker giants caught in the same storm: in the mid 1980s Reebok passed Nike, by many counts, as the best selling athletic shoe brand in America, then lost the lead and was sold twice, while Nike became the largest sportswear company in the world. Reebok International started as a small British running brand. In 1982 it launched the Freestyle, an aerobics shoe often called the first athletic shoe designed for women. Sales went from around $13 million in 1983 to around $920 million in 1986. Nike, Inc., built on serious running shoes for serious runners, was suddenly in second place. Then the sneaker changed meaning. It stopped being sports equipment and became something people wore to be someone. Both companies had to answer the same question: what is a sneaker when nobody needs it for sport? Reebok answered with whatever people wanted that season: more brands, the Pump, the Dan and Dave campaign. Nike answered with a story: Michael Jordan, the Air Max and Just Do It. The result: Adidas bought Reebok in 2006 for about $3.8 billion and sold it in 2021 to Authentic Brands Group for up to €2.1 billion. Nike never gave up the top spot again. Did you own a pair of Reeboks or Nikes in the 80s or 90s? Tell us in the comments. More business duels: Nintendo vs Sega:    • How Sega Beat Nintendo, Then Quit Making C...   Fujifilm vs Kodak:    • Kodak Invented the Digital Camera. Fujifil...   Instax vs Polaroid:    • How Fujifilm Won the Instant Camera Polaro...   McDonald's vs Burger Chef:    • Burger Chef Invented the Kids’ Meal. McDon...   Parallel Fates. Two companies. One storm. Different endings. #Nike #Reebok #BusinessHistory