In 1966, K-Swiss was created by two brothers, Swiss immigrants who came to Los Angeles, California, in pursuit of a dream to strike it rich. The “Classic,” the first leather tennis shoe with white stripes ever made, debuted at Wimbledon in the same year. At a time when traditional tennis shoes were made of canvas and plastic, they caused a great stir in the athletic community.
Actor Ed Westwick in K-Swiss Classic white leather shoes
Twenty years later, however, the company was struggling financially but their product was so good that Steven Nichols, who represented Stride Rite at that time, first tried to convince his bosses to buy out the company. Nichols saw the potential of what he calls a “50-year old shoe” because he believes that the footwear will stand the test of time. When they refused, he gathered investors together and purchased it for $20 million. His belief in the company proved to be well-founded and he was able to turn in around in only three years, raking in global sales of over $500 million. K-Swiss lives up to its credo of only producing footwear that oozed innovation, quality, performance, and style and the many people that have purchased the sneakers swear that it’s true.
Christian Serratos of the Twilight series in the K-Swiss variation Surf&Sand Hi
With a loyal customer base in hand, the 1990s wes a busy decade for the company, with Nichols heading tremendous advertising campaigns around the trademark stripes of the shoe, particularly using the slogan “Put Your Spin on It” which encourages the consumer to personalize their shoes. The successful marketing campaign boosted the shoes’ popularity and also allowed some variations, starting with a successful color change in K-Swiss Tongue Twister in 2003, Strip Shifter, and the Band Em styles.
The new color variations were brought about by a sharp drop in revenue during 2000 and 2001 because the slow economy put a lot of retailers – many of them K-Swiss customers – out of business. Again, Nichol’s belief in his product paid off and the company is reporting record earnings yet again.
Anna Kournikova in K-Swiss Pro C sneakers
The company has gone into designing successful high performance shoes and released the 7.0 line of footwear for the serious tennis player. Keeping quality at the forefront, 100% of the leather K-Swiss uses comes from Argentina’s top tannery and the D-rings for the laces are specially made for the company. This strategy has definitely served to strengthen customer loyalty even more.
Many serious athletes partner with K-Swiss since it’s never deviated from its production of world-class athletic footwear. Sebastien, Anna Kournikova, Alona Bondarenko, Michaella Krajicek, Chris Lieto, Katja Mayer, Leanda Cave, Liezel Huber, Cara Black, Vera Zvonareva, Tommy Haas, Mardy Fish, Sam Querrey, and Bob and Mike Bryan are some of the athletes that have signed on with the company to date.
Champion Martial Artist and actor Mark Dacasos using the K-Swiss Accomplish Shorts
On April 5, 2010, wellness expert Jillian Michaels announced her endorsement deal with K-Swiss for the year. The celebrity personal trainer, most famous for her work with popular TV series, “The Biggest Loser”, will be promoting the sneakers during her personal appearances and programs and will also be collaborating with K-Swiss on a future product line.
This is the first formal endorsement deal for Michaels, and only because of her personal experience and belief in K-Swiss Tubes. The unique sole technology cushions the feet where it is needed and adjusts with the body type of the wearer. The cylinders give responsive heel-to-toe transition and strategically-placed smaller cylinders in the middle of the sole provide stability to the wearer.
Currently, the company has expanded from tennis shoes to lifestyle, running, training, nautical, and free-running footwear and also has a small part of the business producing caps and T-shirts. Their California Sports umbrella brand covers several lines: Tennis Heritage, California Fit for runners, triathlon enthusiasts, and fitness practitioners, and California Youth.
Larry Gilliard, Jr. of "The Wire" and "Friday Night Lights in his K-Swiss sneakers
Through its solid business strengths, upright practices, and commitment to maintaining its status as a premium brand through its dedication to quality, K-Swiss has definitely built up a loyal base that will ensure the company will hit its 50-year mark and will continue beyond that.
K-Swiss, Inc. is publicly traded on NASDAQ as KSWS and owns subsidiary Royal Elastics, Inc., which also produces shoes for L.A.M.B., a clothing company that has singer/designer Gwen Stefani at the forefront. Another K-Swiss/Royal Elastics project is a line of footwear for DCMA Collective, a clothing line founded by brothers Joel and Benji Madden of rock group Good Charlotte fame. They’ve also acquired a footwear company licensed by National Geographic to make shoes for world explorers.
K-Swiss shoes can be found at selected major retailers Nordstrom, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Hibbets, and Sports Chalet, on the net at various distributors, and at www.kswiss.com.
Inquiries about K-Swiss can be forwarded to:
K-Swiss Customer Service
31248 Oak Crest Drive
Westlake Village, CA 91361
kscs@k-swiss.com
We hope you enjoyed this K-Swiss article!
