The K-Swiss History

In the mid 1960s two brothers and avid skiers from Switzerland, moved to southern California and developed an interest in tennis. At that time, most tennis players were wearing canvas shoes, but the brothers found the lack of quality in these shoes to be highly disappointing. So they decided to make a tennis shoe.

They founded K-Swiss, and that year at Wimbledon the two unveiled their first shoe: In 1966, the K-Swiss classic was introduced as the first all-leather tennis shoes using shock-absorbing insoles. The Classic was all white save for a tiny Swiss flag stitched on the heel. It was advertised as the world's best tennis shoe and it sold for an unheard of $20 a pair at time when most players only paid about $8 for their tennis shoes.

 
The characteristic K-Swiss 5 stripes were meant to keep the shoes from stretching, and the d-ring lacing system, directly inspired by mountain hiking boots, was meant to provide a secure anchor for the laces.

 
K-Swiss didn’t do any advertise. They had no TV spots, radio or magazine ads. They did not put out new models every season. Instead, K-Swiss built its following on reputation and word of mouth. In the 1960s and 1970s this worked well for the company, however in the 1980s the athletic footwear industry exploded into a full blown fashion trend and K-Swiss found itself competing with newer and flashier companies with millions of dollars for marketing and advertising. Companies like Nike, Reebok, Adidas, and even L.A. Gear pushed K-Swiss to the background and sales began to drop.

In the mid-1980's, Steven Nichols, the president of Strike Rite company, makers of Keds, fell in love with K-Swiss shoes on first sight. Nichols immediately tried to sell his boss on the idea of buying the company, and when that didn't work, he put together a group of investors and raised $20 million dollars to buy the company in 1986. Nichols knew that the timeless, clean look of the Classic would be a "50-year shoe" and would sell long term so he undertook a massive overhaul of the marketing plan.

 
Taking advantage of the sneaker’s country club appeal, Nichols began to advertise accordingly. In the late 1990's the company stopped advertising it as the No. 1 tennis shoe and began advertising on cable networks like MTV. A series of ads in 2002 feature trendy youths in urban settings rapping lines like, "I wear my K-Swiss, at my place with my crew, I like them white and new."

 
Inspite some following models failed they launched very successful models like the K-Swiss „Ramli“ and the „Gorzell“. K-Swiss shoes are durable, original, and performance oriented, and they are considered some of the best shoes on the market.