FILA history

Fila was established in 1923 by eponymous brothers to manufacture knitwear, specifically underwear.

In 1942, the brand responds to this by merging with Fratelli Fila.

Wishing to further expand the company, Giansevero Fila hired Enrico Frachey as the managing director of the firm in 1968.

Frachey shared Fila's vision and it was his creativity and managerial resourcefulness that ultimately transformed Fila into a global sportswear brand.In the 1970’s, sports rose to international prominence with tennis leading the charge as a form of individual expression.

1973 proves to be an important year in the history of Fila.

1974: Enrico Frachey becomes managing director and begins the transformation of Fila into a maker of athletic apparel.

The 1975 signing of Swedish player Bjorn Borg helped launch the brand into tracksuits and other sportswear.

The most important of the licensees proved to be America's H. Altice Marketing Inc., which was established in 1984 by former Converse executive Homer Altice and was selling 75,000 pairs of Fila shoes annually by its second year in business.

By 1987, the United States licensee's sales totaled 55 million.

According to a 1988 piece in WWD, 15 million in Italian overstocks sold to a British liquidator ended up in the United States.

In 1990, footwear constituted only 14 percent of annual sales, with the remainder coming from clothing.

Fila completed a buyout of its United States license in 1991, thereby acquiring that company's $70 million in annual sales.

1993: In conjunction with an IPO that lists the company on the New York Stock Exchange, Fila Holding S.p.A. is created as a new holding company.

The original Grant Hill basketball shoes, introduced in 1995, were unique and sold out quickly.

The brand leapfrogged its second-tier competitors, growing from an eighth place ranking among the world's athletic shoe makers to number three by 1996.

Revenues fell another 13 percent in 1999, and Fila Holding posted another net loss, although the loss was much smaller than the preceding year.

With the U.K. market being one of the company's strongest, Fila in July 2000 acquired the 40 percent stake in subsidiary Fila U.K. Ltd. that it did not already own for EUR 19.5 million.

Fila is the only brand that can boast of being rocked by tennis different generations of tennis greats such as Bjorn Borg, Boris Becker, Jennifer Capriati, and Monica Seles.In 2006, Fila launched a golf collection named Fila Biella, including both shoes and apparel.

Cerberus sold most of the company at auction in March 2007 to Gene Yoon, who had been president of Fila Korea, and Fila USA President Jon Epstein.

Then growth took off, said Estabrook, who in 2015 became chief operating officer of the United States-based Fila, which maintains executive offices in New York in addition to its headquarters in Sparks.

They may no longer be the giants they used to be, but they’re a classic option that can never be written off a sneakerhead’s to-do list.On the 1st of December 2016, Shelflife will be exclusively releasing Fila sneakers in store and online.

“Love it or hate, 2018 was the year of the chunky sneaker, and the Fila Disruptor 2 was not just on-trend but a knockout version of it,” the publication said. “With its sawtooth sole and subtle detailing, it evolved the dad look.”