Speedo

Speedo International Limited

Type	Private
Founded	Bondi Beach, New South Wales, Australia (1914 (1914))
Founder(s)	Alexander MacRae
Headquarters	Nottingham, England
Products	Swimwear
Parent	Pentland Group
Website	www.speedo.com

Speedo is a manufacturer of swimwear and accessories. The company was started by Alexander MacRae under the name of MacRae Hosiery Manufacturers in Bondi Beach, an eastern suburb of Sydney, Australia.

Today the company is headquartered in Nottingham, England, and is owned by the London-based Pentland Group. The company is currently the world's largest-selling swimwear brand and manufactures products for both recreational and competitive swimming.

History

The company was founded in 1914 by hosiery manufacturer Alexander MacRae, who migrated from Scotland to Australia in 1910, as McRae Hosiery Manufacturers, then MacRae Knitting Mills^[1] in an effort to expand his company into swimwear. In 1928, the name Speedo was first adopted after the firm developed its Racerback design of swimwear,^[2] making it one of the first manufacturers to specifically produce athletic designs. The name was made up by a Captain Jim Parsons who won a company competition with the slogan "Speed on in your Speedos".^[2]

During World War II the manufacturer shifted nearly all of its production to war materials such as mosquito nets. Speedo resumed production after the war and became a publicly traded corporation in 1951. In 1955, Speedo introduced nylon into its fabric for competitive swimwear. The 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne saw the widespread debut of the new fabric and the introduction of the style of mens briefs that has become associated with the brand. The company quickly expanded into the international arena from there until the present, boasting that 70 percent of swimming medals were won by athletes wearing its products in the Olympic Games of 1968, 1972, 1976, and 2008.

Australian Peter Travis was recognised in 2008 for his invention of the Speedo bathing costume — or as the Sydney Morning Herald puts it, for creating the nation's best-loved stretch of nylon. Travis became a Member of the Order of Australia for his Speedo invention. He was also recognised for his work as a designer, sculptor, ceramicist, kite-maker and teacher. Travis invented the skimpy bathing costume while working for Speedo in 1961.

Travis says the crucial thing was to position the briefs on the hips, not the waist. He also cut the fabric on the side of the hips to just 5 cm deep. The report in the Sydney Morning Herald says the costume was an immediate hit, but did not go down well with the prudish.

'Bondi's beach inspector arrested the first man to wear the briefs on the beach, but Travis recalls that the magistrate did not pursue charges, because there was no pubic hair showing.'

During the 1970s and 1980s, new fabrics such as lycra were incorporated into the company's swimwear design. During the late 1990s, the company turned its attention to its Aquablade and Fastskin lines of competitive swimwear. The designs employ new fabrics that the company claims will reduce resistance in the water by replicating biological skin characteristics of various marine animals such as sharks.

In March 2007 in an attempt to appeal to a younger audience, Speedo's collaboration with Japanese brand Comme des Garçons hit UK fashion store Topshop with a collection of classic women's Speedos decorated with quirky Comme des Garçons designs.^[3]

Products

Though it still manufactures the traditional briefs, jammers, and racerback designs that made the company famous, Speedo's latest competitive swimwear designs incorporate suits that provide greater coverage to the arms, legs, and even full body for their top end lineup. Their high-end suits often sell for in excess of US$300 for the Fastskin II and FS Pro series. The company also continues to manufacture recreational swimwear, goggles, earplugs, swim caps, swimfins, towels, robes, sportswear and other logo clothing, watches, sandals, beach volleyball and triathlon products, lifeguard gear, and training supplies for competitive and recreational swimmers.

On January 12, 2008, the company launched the LZR Racer suit, made of a new high-technology swimwear fabric they call LZR Pulse fabric and composed of a light weight woven fabric with polyurethane panels to reduce drag.^[4][5] This suit has been developed in association with NASA and the Australian Institute of Sport as well as the support of Speedo's sponsored athletes, and it is claimed once again to be the world's fastest swimsuit.^[6] This was the focus of Speedo's campaign for the Beijing Olympics, spearheaded by Michael Phelps of the U.S., recent winner of eight Olympic Gold Medals. It also continues the collaboration with Comme des Garçons introducing an element of fashion to a performance suit for the first time. As of June 7, 2009 (2009-06-07), 182 world records have been broken by swimmers wearing a LZR Racer.^[7]

Competition

Other sportswear and designer fashion companies, such as TYR, Nike and Adidas have expanded their merchandise to reflect recent trends in water sport (and present direct competition to Speedo), offering multiple lines of sports swimwear and fashion-based swimwear. Other direct rivals of Speedo include Kiefer and Zoggs, a company that specializes in goggles.

Athletes

Athletes who have been sponsored by Speedo include Grant Hackett, Michael Klim, Libby Trickett, Megan Jendrick, Greg Louganis, Janet Evans, Liam Tancock, Michael Phelps,^[8] Lewis Gordon Pugh, Natalie Coughlin, Ryan Lochte, Ian Crocker, Erica Morningstar, Amanda Beard, Dawn Fraser, Wu Peng, and Kosuke Kitajima.

See also

• Swim jammer

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Speedo

External links

• Speedo.com
• Speedo USA
• Speedo 80th Birthday Website
• [1]