Uhlsport
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.
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Type | Private |
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Industry | Sport, Textile |
Founded | 1948 |
Founder | Karl Uhl[1] |
Headquarters | , |
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 |
The company manufactures and distributes its products through the brands Uhlsport, Kempa, Spalding and BLK.
History
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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.
Copyright violation and using Nike designs
In 2019, Uhlsport used Nike designs for Iranian clubs' kit.[3] The company had previously announced that its designs were proprietary and special.[4][5]
Brands and products
The brand "uhlsport" specialises in football, especially goalkeeper equipment.[6] 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 mainly focuses on apparel for rugby union and league.[7]
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
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Uhlsport is the official equipment supplier to Fortuna Düsseldorf, TJK Legion, SSV Reutlingen 05,[8] 1. FC Magdeburg,[9] Corona Braşov, FC Avanhard Kramatorsk, Chernomorets Odessa and the Women's Bundesliga team VfL Sindelfingen.[10] As official ball sponsor uhlsport supports the French Ligue 1 and the French Ligue 2.[11] The goalkeepers Édouard Mendy, Danijel Subasic, Eeri-Clyde Arro, Lukas Hradecky, Ron-Robert Zieler and others play with uhlsport gloves.[12]
Europe
Africa
Asia
Manama
Chennai City
Persepolis
Shahin Shahrdari Bushehr
Padideh
Pars Jonoubi Jam
Al-Minaa
Al-Salmiya
Al-Shabab
FELCRA
Fanja
Al-Nahda
Al-Oruba
Sur
Al-Suwaiq
Najran
Dibba Al Fujairah
Emirates
Hatta
Europe
Bylis
Dinamo Tirana
Laçi
Kastrioti
Kamza
Teuta
Tirana
Vllaznia
Royal Excel Mouscron
Beroe Stara Zagora
Botev Plovdiv
Cherno More Varna
Lokomotiv Plovdiv
Viktoria Žižkov
Silkeborg
Chippenham Town
Sillamäe Kalev
TJK Legion
Fortuna Düsseldorf (Until 2021)
FC Köln
FC Magdeburg
SSV Reutlingen
SSV Ulm
Stuttgarter Kickers
Stjarnan
Galway United
Trepça'89
Liria
Ballymena United
Dungannon Swifts
Warrenpoint Town
Whitehead Eagles
Chernomorets Novorossiysk
Clyde
Stenhousemuir
AFC Nové Mesto nad Váhom
Spartak Myjava
UE Sant Andreu
Åtvidabergs
Erzurumspor
Alanyaspor
Altay
Boluspor
Erbaaspor
Orduspor
Merthyr Town
Associations
Uhlsport is the official supplier for the following leagues and associations:
Ligue 1
Ligue 2
Girabola (Referees)
BFRA (Referees)
Kenyan Premier League
NIFL Premiership
Persian Gulf Pro League
Volleyball
Al Ain
Al Shorta
Zahra Club
Aluminium Al-Mahdi Hormozgan
Club teams
SC Magdeburg
HC Leipzig
Buxtehuder SV
TuS Metzingen
RK Metalurg Skopje
Vive Targi Kielce
CSM București (women's)
SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea (women's)
SCM Craiova (women's)
Corona Brașov (women's)
Gloria Bistrița (women's)
Dunărea Brăila (women's)
Gloria Buzău (women's)
Dinamo București
CSM București
HC Dobrogea Sud Constanța
Politehnica Timișoara
CSM Bacău
HC Buzău
CSM Făgăraș
BM Granollers
Alingsås HK
Bibliography
- Ralf Schmeckenbecher: Die Fussballmarke Uhlsport: Markenpositionierung in Deutschland (English: "The uhlsport football brand. Brand positioning in Germany"). 1998
References
- Uhlsport history
- Ulhsport products
- نیوز, اخبار روز ایران و جهان | آفتاب (2019-08-22). "لباس جدید پرسپولیس کپی از لباس تاتنهام؟+عکس". AftabNews (in Persian). Retrieved 2019-08-22.
- "بیانیه آل اشپورت در مورد لباس تیمها؛وقت نداشتیم طراحی کنیم!". خبرآنلاین (in Persian). 2019-08-22. Retrieved 2019-08-22.
- "پیراهن جدید پرسپولیس کپی از لباس تاتنهام؟/عکس". پایگاه خبری جماران - امام خمینی - انقلاب اسلامی (in Persian). Retrieved 2019-08-22.
- Maarten Arts: The Soccer Goalkeeper Coach. Reedswain Inc., 2004, p. 213
- Our story on BLK website
- uhlsport GmbH: Sponsoring SSV Reutlingen. 2013
- uhlsport GmbH: Sponsoring 1. FC Magdeburg. 2013
- "Sponsoren : Offizieller Sportausstatter". VfL Sindelfingen 1862 e.V. Abteilung Frauenfußball. o.J. Retrieved 2013-09-24. Check date values in:
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(help) - uhlsport GmbH: Official Matchball Ligue 2 Archived 2013-11-11 at the Wayback Machine. 2013
- uhlsport GmbH Sponsoring goalkeepers. 2018