Royal Elastics is a brand of athletic and leisure shoes that fastens with velcro and elasticated cord instead of laces.

History

The company was founded in 1996 by two Australians who realised there was no need for laces in sneakers, and produced shoes fastened using

velcro Velcro, officially known as Velcro IP Holdings LLC and trading as Velcro Companies, is a British privately held company, founded by Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral in the 1950s. It is the original manufacturer of hook-and-loop fast ...

or elasticated cord. It was acquired by American footwear company,

K-Swiss K-Swiss, Inc. is an American athletic shoe brand based in Downtown Los Angeles and currently owned by Xtep. History K-Swiss was founded in 1966 in Los Angeles by Swiss brothers, Art and Ernie Brunner. They became interested in tennis after em ...

in 2001 for an undisclosed amount in an effort to expand its share of the athletic and leisure shoe market. The founders, Rodney Adler and Tull Price, relocated to K-Swiss headquarters at

Westlake Village, California Westlake Village is a city in Los Angeles County on its western border with Ventura County. The City of Westlake Village incorporated in 1981 becoming the 82nd municipality of Los Angeles County.Baker, Pam (2002). ''Thousand Oaks Westlake Vil ...

. Tull Price left the company in 2002 and went on to form

FEIT FEIT (pronounced ''fight'') is an Australian shoe and accessories brand based in New York City. Founded in 2005. Feit is owned and operated by brothers Tull and Josh Price. FEIT products are handmade using natural materials. History Tull Price ...

in 2005. The brand has collaborated with various artists, such as Gwen Stefani for her L.A.M.B series in 2005. By 2008, the company had 10 stores in Asia and opened its first store in the United States. K-Swiss later sold Royal Elastics to a management led investment group in 2009, recording a gain of $1.4 million in the second quarter. Till 2016, Royal Elastics has owned nearly a hundred of physical and on-line stores in Japan, Asia pacific, Australia and North America territories. Royal Elastics also runs an online store that offers worldwide shipping.

References

{{reflist Clothing companies established in 1996 Australian companies established in 1996 Shoe companies of Australia