Reebok's United Kingdom-based ancestor company was founded for one of the best reasons possible: athletes wanted to run faster. So, in the 1890s, Joseph William Foster made some of the first known running shoes with spikes in them. By 1895, he was in business making shoes by hand for top runners; and before long his fledgling company, J.W. Foster and Sons, developed an international clientele of distinguished athletes.

In 1958, two of the founder's grandsons started a companion company that came to be known as Reebok, named for an African gazelle.

In 1979, Paul Fireman, a partner in an outdoor sporting goods distributorship, spotted Reebok® shoes at an international trade show. He negotiated for the North American distribution license and introduced three running shoes in the U.S. that year. At $60, they were the most expensive running shoes on the market.

By 1981, Reebok's sales exceeded $1.5 million, but a dramatic move was planned for the next year. Reebok would introduce the first athletic shoe designed especially for women; a shoe for a hot new fitness exercise called aerobic dance. The shoe was called the Freestyle™, and with it Reebok anticipated and encouraged three major trends that transformed the athletic footwear industry: the aerobic exercise movement, the influx of women into sports and exercise and the acceptance of well-designed athletic footwear by adults for street and casual wear.
Explosive growth followed, which Reebok fueled with product extensions--new categories in which it also became a leader. The Freestyle is now a "Classic" and is the best selling athletic shoe of all time. Reebok's performance aerobic shoes have progressed through several generations.

In the midst of surging sales in 1985, Reebok completed its initial public offering.

In the late 1980's, Reebok began an aggressive expansion into overseas markets. Its products are now available in over 140 countries, sold through a network of independent and owned distributors.
Creating innovative products that generate excitement in the marketplace has been a central corporate strategy ever since Reebok introduced the Freestyle shoe. In the late 1980s, a particular fertile period began with The Pump® technology and continues today, with breakthrough concepts and technologies for a host of sports and fitness activities.

In 1992, Reebok began a transition from a Company identified principally with fitness and exercise to one equally involved in sports. It created a host of new footwear and apparel products for football, baseball, soccer, track and field and other sports. It signed hundreds of professional athletes, teams and federations to sponsorship contracts. The Company had established itself on the major playing fields of the world and is generating significant sales in all major sports categories.

Thus, Reebok, after 20 years of spectacular growth around the world, has focused on even greater accomplishments, continued innovation and boundless excitement.