Reebok International Limited (NYSE: RBK) is an Anglo-American Fortune 500 company, subsidiary of adidas AG, and producer of athletic footwear, apparel, and accessories.

The name is the South African spelling of the word rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle. The company, founded in 1895, was originally called Mercury Sports, but was renamed as Reebok in 1960. The company's founders Joe and Jeff Foster found the name in a dictionary won in a race by Joe Foster as a boy. The dictionary was a South African edition, hence the spelling. Reebok is now owned by the German footwear giant adidas, which completed acquisition in early 2006.

Early history

Reebok was founded in 1895, in Bolton, Lancashire by Joseph William Foster under a company called J.W. Foster and Sons Limited. The family-owned business proudly made the running shoes worn in the 1924 Summer Olympics by the athletes, Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell celebrated in the film Chariots of Fire.

In 1958, two of the founder's grandsons Jeffrey and Joseph left the family business and started a rival company that came to be known as Reebok. In 1979, Paul Fireman, a partner in an outdoor sporting goods distributorship, spotted Reebok shoes at an international trade show. He negotiated for the North American distribution license and introduced three running shoes in the United States that year. At $60, they were the most expensive running shoes on the market.