Arena (swimwear)
Company type | S.p.A. |
---|---|
Industry | Textile |
Founded | 1973 |
Founder | Horst Dassler |
Headquarters | , |
Area served | Worldwide |
Products | Swimwear |
Owner | Descente Ltd.[2] |
Website | arenawaterinstinct.com |
Arena S.p.A. is an Italian-French
It has subsidiaries in France, Germany, and the United States, and also operates through a global network of distributors and licensees, with presence in over 100 countries around the world.[3]
History
Arena was created in 1973 by
In 1973 the brand launched its first swimwear line, the "Skinfit", made of an ultra-light fabric only weighed 18 grams. One year later, Arena signed its first sponsorship agreement with Australian swimmer Shane Gould, who had won 5 Olympic medals at Munich. Arena released a swimsuit collection with her name.[4]
Having realised that sponsorship was a key to his brand's success, Arena signed other individual athletes for the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. Some athletes sponsored were Mark Spitz, Novella Calligaris, Steve Furniss, David Wilke, Shirley Babashoff, Gary Hall, Klaus Dibiasi, and Ulrika Knape, among others.[4]
During the 1980s, Arena introduced the "Flyback" suit, designed to thin straps to create larger shoulder openings. Other swimsuits launched were the "AquaRacer" (1990) and the "X-Flat" (1997), while the brand continued to recruit new talents to add to its list of sponsorships. Some of the athletes signed were
In 2019, Arena bought the global brand rights to Italian swimswear brand, Diana.[5]
References
- ^ Capvis powers off the blocks with arena on Capvis, 23 Dec 2013
- ^ Arena on Descente Ltd. website
- ^ a b ARENA, LEADING SWIMWEAR COMPANY, ACQUIRED BY CAPVIS by Morgan Priestley, 23 Dec 2013
- ^ a b c d About us on Arena website
- ^ "Arena Buys Diana Brand Rights To Bring Top Two Italian Swim Brands Together In One Pool". September 18, 2019.