Karhu (sports brand)

Karhu is a Finnish sports brand. Karhu, meaning bear in Finnish, was first used as a sporting goods brand in 1916 by the Finnish company Ab Sport Artiklar. The brand is currently owned by Karhu Holding B.V., which purchased it in 2008, and is used to market running shoes, sportswear, and skiing and other sports equipment in Finland and abroad.

Karhu
Product typeSportswear, sporting goods
OwnerKarhu Holding B.V.
CountryFinland
Introduced1916
Websitewww.karhu.com
www.karhuski.fi
www.karhusportswear.fi
www.karhupesis.fi

History

The Karhu brand was established in Finland in 1916 by the company Ab Sport Artiklar, which used a bear as its logo. In 1920, Ab Sport Artiklar changed its name to Karhu. In addition to the discuses and javelins that were Karhu's main products, the company also produced running shoes and track spikes.[1]

The Karhu brand featured prominently at the 1920 Antwerp Olympic Games, where Finnish athletes took all three medals in javelin using Karhu javelins,[2] and the "Flying Finns" took five gold medals on the track wearing Karhu spikes. Four years later, at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, Paavo Nurmi won five gold medals in track events "wearing a conspicuous pair of white Karhu running spikes".[2]

In the 1930s Karhu's production expanded to include cross-country and ski jumping skis. During the Winter War and Continuation War, from 1939–1945, Karhu produced snow-camouflage suits, tents and skis for the Finnish military.[1]

In 1952, Karhu sold the three stripes trademark it had been using to a then little known German brand called Adidas for the equivalent of 1600 euros and two bottles of whiskey.[2][3] In the 1960s Karhu began to use the M-logo,[1] which is still in use on Karhu shoes.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Karhu's innovations included the first use of nylon and air cushioning in running shoes. The 1960s also saw the development of Karhu's line of pesäpallo (Finnish baseball) equipment. In 1966, the Karhu company changed its name to Oy Urheilu Karhu Sport Ab, and in 1972 to Karhu-Titan, reflecting its strong ice hockey equipment brands Titan (sticks), Koho (protective and goaltender equipment) and Jofa (helmets).[1]

By the 1980s the brand had started to struggle and sold off its outdoor shoe division to Merrell and its hockey division to The Hockey Company. However, a collaboration of research and design with the University of Jyväskylä led to the development of "Fulcrum technology".

In 1997, Karhu-Titan's name changed to Karhu Sporting Goods.[1] In 2008, Karhu Sporting Goods sold the Karhu brand to Karhu Holding B.V., a Dutch holding company led by Huub Valkenburg and Jay Duke.[4][5]

Current use of the brand

The Karhu brand is owned by Karhu Holding B.V. and is licensed to several different manufacturers. Karhu Holding B.V. itself produces Karhu branded running shoes. Karhu skis brand is owned by Karhu Holding B.V. The brand name ownership dispute had several phases and along the road, the Kitee ski maker changed its name from Karhu Ski to Kitee Ski in 2012 and later restarted as KSF Sport Oy.[6] Karhu sportswear, including the official apparel of the Finnish national track and field team, is produced by the Naantali, Finland based Appleby Finland Oy. L-Tec Sports, based in Porvoo, Finland, produces Karhu branded pesäpallo (a derivative of baseball) and floorball equipment. Products branded as Karhu Fitness Equipment are produced by Truebell Finland Oy, located in Vantaa, Finland.[1] More recentally Karhu signed an important Ethical partnership with CIP for dress the Italian Paralympic Committee at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Rio 2016.

Karhu shoes

Karhu's main line of running shoes is based on their "Fulcrum Technology", which has been developed in cooperation with the University of Jyväskylä since the 1980s. The line includes several models for both men and women, intended to suit different types of pronation and training, off-road or trail running shoes and racing needs.

In 2009, the Karhu Fulcrum Strong model of running shoe was awarded "Best Debut" by Runner's World magazine.[7]

The Karhu brand has also been used for a line of casual shoes called Karhu Originals. Karhu Originals are a range of retro inspired footwear, which were nominated for "Sneaker of the Year 2005" at the Global Sports Style Awards in Munich in 2005.[8]

Karhu shoes are made in the People's Republic of China.

Karhu skis

Maket share of Karhu branded skis are sold in Finland each year is greatly reduced over past two decades by the fact the same factory also supplies Yoko and Järvinen branded skis and overall ski production in Kitee has gone down to about 1/10th due to national and global demand decline. The major export markets for Karhu skis are Sweden, Japan, Estonia and Germany. Production of Karhu skis was briefly leased and Sporten (Cz, Now Kästle Cz) made the Karhu skis between 2013 and 2015, but the license agreement was resigned with Kitee Ski oy (known until 2012 as Karhu Ski oy) in Kitee, now KSF Sport Oy, Finland.[9]

References
  1. Vehmanen, Jukka (18 December 2010). "Karhu kirmaisee juoksuun". Turun Sanomat (in Finnish). Turku, Finland. p. 12.
  2. Smit, Barbara (2007). Pitch Invasion, Adidas, Puma and the making of modern sport. Penguin. p. 44. ISBN 0-14-102368-6.
  3. Simon Chadwick, Dave Arthur (2007). International cases in the business of sport. Butterworth-Heinemann. p. 438. ISBN 0-7506-8543-3.
  4. "Industry Veterans Acquire Finnish Running Brand, KARHU". PRNewswire. 25 June 2008.
  5. "Karhu-merkki tallustaa ulkomaille". Taloussanomat. 25 June 2008.
  6. "Karhun lisenssioikeus vaihtoi omistajaa". Kauppalehti. 13 September 2012.
  7. http://www.runnersworld.com/cda/shoefinder_detail/1,,s6-240-325-329-0-0-0-0-1599,00.html
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-09-07. Retrieved 2009-08-27.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. Itkonen, Anja (18 December 2010). "Hiihtobuumi ja pitopohja vahvistavat suksiyhtiöitä". Turun Sanomat (in Finnish). Turku, Finland. p. 12.

Further reading
  • Hannu Teider (2006). Karhun aika 90-vuotis juhlakirja 1916-2006 (in Finnish). Karhu. ISBN 952-92-1206-2.
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