K-Swiss, Inc. is an American

athletic shoe Sneakers ( US) or trainers ( UK), also known by a wide variety of other names, are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but are also widely used for everyday casual wear. They were popularized by compani ...

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

based in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024, Glendale ha ...

, founded in 1966.

History

K-Swiss was founded in 1966 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

brothers Art and Ernie Brunner. They became interested in

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

after emigrating to the United States. They imported leather tennis shoes from the Swiss shoe manufacturer Kuenzli. K-Swiss is the pairing of "K" in Kuenzli and "Swiss". K-Swiss purchased the majority stake of Australian brand Royal Elastics in 2001. It sold Royal Elastics to a management-led investment group in 2009, recording a gain of $1.4 million in the second quarter. In January 2013, the company — which posted $195 million in losses between 2009 and 2012 — was sold to Korean firm E-Land World Limited for $170 million. The following May, E-Land named a new executive team to oversee the newly formed K-Swiss Inc., including Truman Kim as chairman and Larry Remington as president and CEO. On June 1, 2015, K-Swiss acquired Supra Footwear. It moved its headquarters from

Westlake Village Westlake Village is a city in Los Angeles County, California, on its western border with Ventura County. Upon its incorporation in 1981, Westlake Village became the 82nd municipality of Los Angeles County.Baker, Pam (2002). ''Thousand Oaks We ...

to Downtown Los Angeles in 2016. In August 2019, E-Land Footwear USA Holdings Inc. and consequently K-Swiss was acquired by Xtep International Holdings Limited, a Chinese sports equipment manufacturer. In 2024, K-Swiss was sold and privatized under KP Global for $151 million, and moved its headquarters to

Marketing

In the 1990s, Steven Nichols boosted K-Swiss's marketing budget, and hired a number of key individuals from large companies, such as

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/con ...

. Award-winning Creative Director Mindy Gale led her NY based agency team in developing and producing K-Swiss advertising and publicity campaigns from 1997 until 2008. The "I Wear My K-Swiss" multi-media campaign ran for five consecutive years, targeting young urban consumers in print and on TV. A re-branding campaign featuring

Anna Kournikova Anna Sergeyevna Kournikova Iglesias (née Kournikova; ; ; born 7 June 1981) is a Russian model and television personality, and former professional tennis player. Her appearance and celebrity status made her one of the best known tennis stars ...

rolled out in 2007. A 2011 advertisement, featuring

Danny McBride Daniel Richard McBride (born December 29, 1976) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter and producer. Known for his unique acting and writing style, the accolades he has received include nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and four Sat ...

as fictional character Kenny Powers, drew attention for its use of profanity. In September 2014, the company unveiled a new marque. The new identity was created by a recently appointed internal creative team and plays up the company's heritage as an American tennis brand. All aspects of the new brand's design, including its 1966 typeface and tennis court color palette, hark back to this identity. The company has been sponsoring events that appeal to their market as well as events which are likely to shape buying attitudes and help generate a positive reaction. One example is the sponsorship of Ireland's first sneaker convention run by Dub City Sneakz in

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in County Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built up alongside a small existing settlement following 1816 legislation th ...

which K-Swiss sponsored. In 2016, K-Swiss president Barney Waters made it the brand's mission to "make sneakers for entrepreneurs." The brand furthered this marketing angle by launching a collaboration with entrepreneur

Gary Vaynerchuk Gary Vaynerchuk (born Gennady Alexandrovich Vaynerchuk, November 14, 1975; commonly known by his alias Gary Vee) is an American businessman, author, speaker, and internet personality. He is a co-founder of the restaurant reservation software ...

in 2017. The company has since launched campaigns with other entrepreneurs, including Karen Civil, Ben Baller, and Natalie Ellis. In 2019, K-Swiss debuted a shoe collaboration with TV series ''

Breaking Bad ''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan for AMC (TV channel), AMC. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Breaking Bad), Walter White (Bryan Cran ...

''.

References

External links

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Kuenzli Schuhe (Swiss) History
{{Running Shoe Brands American companies established in 1966 Clothing companies established in 1966 Manufacturing companies based in Greater Los Angeles Companies based in Westlake Village, California Sporting goods manufacturers of the United States Athletic shoe brands Shoe brands Shoe companies of the United States Sportswear brands Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq 1966 establishments in California 1990 initial public offerings 2013 mergers and acquisitions American subsidiaries of foreign companies Companies based in Glendale, California