Uhlsport

uhlsport GmbH
Private
Industry Sport, Textile
Founded 1948 (1948)
Founder Karl Uhl[1]
Headquarters Balingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
 Dominik Solleder, Melanie Steinhilber (Managing Directors)
Products
Brands
Revenue ca.67 million euros (2017)
Number of employees
 243 (2018)
Website uhlsportcompany.com

uhlsport GmbH is a German sporting goods manufacturer. Originally established in 1948 as "Haase & Uhl OHG" and later renamed "Karl Uhl GmbH", the company became "uhlsport GmbH" in 1994. It is an international company which has its permanent headquarters in Balingen in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

The company manufactures and distributes its products through the brands uhlsport, Kempa, Spalding and BLK.

History

Headquarters of uhlsport GmbH in Balingen

The company was founded in 1948 by Karl Uhl. Early production focussed on the manufacture of leather studs for football boots, and in 1953 uhlsport also began to produce football boot soles for sports shoe manufacturers.[1] In the years which followed more products were added, including shin guards, sports bandages, footballs and goalkeeper gloves, until finally uhlsport GmbH had developed a full range of football equipment. Since 2002, the company has been operating a multi-brand strategy for football, handball, and basketball.

Brands and products

The brand "uhlsport" specialises in football, especially goalkeeper equipment.[3] Since 2002, handball equipment has been marketed through the company's own "Kempa" brand, and uhlsport GmbH also owns the European distribution rights to the American basketball brand Spalding, a division of Russell Brands, LLC which produces balls for a wide range of sports such as association and American football, basketball, baseball, volleyball.

Another brand of the group is BLK, an Australian company that focuses mainly focuses on apparel for rugby union and league.[4]

The German company operates an indirect distribution strategy with subsidiaries in France, Spain, and Sweden and with country managers in UK, Benelux, and Switzerland. Uhlsport has a further 80 distribution partners across the world. In 1998, the company was sold by the Uhl family to the Daiss family.

Sponsorship

uhlsport Teamwear

Uhlsport is the official equipment supplier to Tunisia national football team, 1. FC Kaiserslautern,[5] Fortuna Düsseldorf, SSV Reutlingen 05,[6] 1. FC Magdeburg,[7] Corona Braşov, FC Avanhard Kramatorsk, Chernomorets Odessa and the Women's Bundesliga team VfL Sindelfingen.[8] As official ball sponsor uhlsport supports the French Ligue 1 and the French Ligue 2.[9] The goalkeepers Hugo Lloris, Danijel Subasic, Lukas Hradecky, Ron-Robert Zieler, and others play with uhlsport gloves.[10]

Football

National teams

Europe
Africa

Associations

  • Bahrain BFRA

Club teams

Africa

Americas

Asia

Europe

Volleyball

Handball

National teams

Club teams

Rugby union

Bahrain Bahrain (since 2019-2024)

References

  1. 1 2 Uhlsport history
  2. ↑ Ulhsport products
  3. ↑ Maarten Arts: The Soccer Goalkeeper Coach. Reedswain Inc., 2004, p. 213
  4. ↑ Our story on BLK website
  5. ↑ 1. FC Kaiserslautern: UHLSPORT ab Juli 2011 neuer FCK-Ausrüster. 2011
  6. ↑ uhlsport GmbH: Sponsoring SSV Reutlingen. 2013
  7. ↑ uhlsport GmbH: Sponsoring 1. FC Magdeburg. 2013
  8. ↑ "Sponsoren : Offizieller Sportausstatter". VfL Sindelfingen 1862 e.V. Abteilung Frauenfußball. o.J. Retrieved 2013-09-24. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ↑ uhlsport GmbH: Official Matchball Ligue 2 Archived 2013-11-11 at the Wayback Machine.. 2013
  10. ↑ uhlsport GmbH Sponsoring goalkeepers. 2018

Literature

  • Ralf Schmeckenbecher: Die Fussballmarke Uhlsport: Markenpositionierung in Deutschland (The uhlsport football brand. Brand positioning in Germany). 1998
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