In January, the brand was acquired by Global Leading Brands House (GLBH), a new company established to purchase the company. Fila's former owner, Sport Brands International, tried to position it as a luxury Italian brand, but GLBH is keen to reiterate Fila's athletic heritage with extensions into the lifestyle clothing market.
The brand already offers a 'Vintage' lifestyle clothing range inspired by Fila lines in the 70s. It will continue to produce original dedicated lines for sports including tennis, golf and skiing, and intends to expand its athletic footwear offering with lines targeting 18- to 34-year-olds who 'aspire to urban culture'.
It also plans to maintain and expand its affiliations with sports events and world-class athletes, including tennis players Kim Clijsters and Mark Philippoussis.
GLBH's acquisition of Fila was led by Yoon-Soo Yoon, who has become chairman of GLBH and Fila, and Jon Epstein, president of Fila USA, who has global responsibility for product development, sales and marketing. In November, Fila promoted Stefano di Martino, former managing director for EMEA, to chief product and marketing officer in the UK.
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