K-Swiss

A wise man once said, build a better mouse trap and the world will beat a path to your door.' However, nowadays, it seems that building a mediocre mouse trap and spending over a hundred million bucks on advertising will do the trick. Well, call us crazy, but we'd rather build better shoes. That's why we don't pay high ticket athletes to wear K-Swiss. That's why we don't change our color schemes every six weeks. And that's why we don't have a planet named after us. We have more important things to worry about. Like making athletic shoes that help you win. Help you excel. Help you get to that would-be ace and pound it back across the court. There's only one reason to wear K-Swiss. They're the best. If you don't believe us, just ask someone who wears them, or a try a pair on for yourself. Key Dates: K-Swiss was founded by two Swiss brothers, Art and Earnest Brunner, who moved to California in 1966 and promptly started their business venture. The Brunners were both avid skiers and tennis players, and together the two decided to design a shoe that would respond to and support the specific needs of the tennis player. The Brunners focused particularly on cushioning for the soles of the feet, as well as the construction of a firm upper that wouldn't easily give way to the pressure of forceful lateral movement. Calling their shoe 'the Classic,' the Brunners introduced their design at Wimbledon in 1966 to instant success. The shoe's design was intended for intense use, but its appearance was pointedly austere: three sturdy leather pieces constituted the shoe's upper, which was held in place by five narrow leather strips. The shoe's sole was a thin but strong strip of lightly treaded rubber, which allowed it to be light and relatively frictionless. Outside of a small Swiss flag on the heel of the shoe, K-Swiss's design was entirely white in color, and thus gave the shoe a timeless, preppy appearance. Tennis players and upscale consumers took to the shoe immediately, and soon K-Swiss was enjoying a small but growing popularity in the United States. Because K-Swiss was located in California, the company's products were particularly visible along the West Coast, an area that attracted a great number of Japanese residents and tourists. In the 1970s, K-Swiss's shoes began to gain an almost cult-like status in Japan, and during the course of that decade the company opened up dozens of accounts in that country. As the company's U.S. market grew, it began to have its shoes produced in Southeast Asia, where labor costs were low, thus making K-Swiss products even more readily available to Asian markets. Much of K-Swiss's success was paradoxically based on what the company did not do: it didn't advertise on radio, in magazines, or on television; it didn't put out new styles of shoes every season, and it made no attempt to create consumer interest through eye-catching logos or colorful designs. The shoes were worn by athletes, and gained their popularity primarily through a reputation for durability and reliability. K-Swiss's quiet but steady presence kept the company small, but also allowed it to maintain a stable niche in the growing athletic footwear industry. Such a strategy held the young company in good stead throughout the 1970s, when athleticwear was reserved exclusively for the courts and the track, but when trends began to change in the next decade, K-Swiss found itself faltering. In the 1980s the athletic apparel industry exploded, with companies such as Nike, Reebok, and Adidas popularizing everything from sweatshirts to basketball shoes. Athletic gear was no longer just for working out: it became a fashion statement. The simple sneaker was no more, as footwear became increasingly specialized, as styles for cross-training, running, walking, basketball, and aerobics took the place of what was once a relatively generic design. Simplicity gave way to flashy and colorful styles, with companies like L.A. Gear becoming more popular than t