Etonic
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| Private | |
| ISIN | 🆔 |
| Industry | Sportswear |
| Founded 📆 | 1876 |
| Founder 👔 | Charles A. Eaton |
Area served 🗺️ | |
| Products 📟 | |
| Owner | Etonic Holdings, LLC |
| Members | |
Number of employees | |
| 🌐 Website | www |
| 📇 Address | |
| 📞 telephone | |
Etonic is an American company that produces a line of athletic shoes and apparel. Founded as the Charles A. Eaton Co., it was an army uniform supplier for the early part of its history.[1] After manufacturing many varieties of boots and uniform shoes during both World War I and II, the company shifted its focus to athletics, including making golf shoes, as well as basketball and running sneakers. Together with the 1984 NBA rookie of the year and later Hall of Famer, Akeem Olajuwon, Etonic released a signature shoe named Akeem the Dream. The company has since released several iterations of the limited-edition design.
History[edit]
Etonic traces its history to 1876 when the shoe manufacturing industrialist Charles A. Eaton (ca. 1856 – 1918) opened a shoe factory in Brockton, Massachusetts.[1][2] Eaton started another company with L. B. Terry in 1883. The partnership built its first factory in 1884 and grew by adding an expansion in 1888.[1] In 1892, Eaton left the partnership with Terry and about a year later founded his sole proprietorship, Charles A. Eaton Company. By 1912, his company had three factories in operation, two in Brockton and one in Augusta, Maine.[1] Eaton served as president of the company until his death in April 1918.[1][3] His son, C. Chester Eaton, took over as president of the company.[4] Charles left his estate valued at $2 million to his wife, Abbie Eaton.[5]
During both World War I and II, the Charles A. Eaton Company was one of the shoe suppliers for the United States military. The company first signed a deal in 1915 to become a supplier to the Kingdom of Belgium and later the Kingdom of Italy. When the United States entered World War I, the company became one of the first U.S. military contractors and the largest supplier in the shoe industry.[1] Much of the company's growth was attributed to contracts to supply more than 550,000 shoes to the army.[6] During World War II, the company was again contracted to manufacture several varieties of U.S. Army Footwear.[7]
Sports sponsorships[edit]
By the 1960s, the company began producing a line of golf shoes while adopting a new brand name, Etonic.[8] By 1979, the company was selling a running shoe, the Etonic Street Fighter, and was creating shoes named after the marathon runner Bill Rodgers.[9]
During the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Etonic was one of the shoe manufacturers, such as Puma, Nike, ASICS Tiger, and Adidas, who were all vying to outfit athletes with their shoes.[10]
Fresh out of the 1984 NBA draft, Akeem Olajuwon signed with Etonic to create his signature basketball shoe, Akeem the Dream.[11] Olajuwon was the brand ambassador for Etonic during his rookie year.[12]
In the 2006–07 and the 2007–08 seasons of the Professional Bowlers Association, the company sponsored the Etonic Championship, an event in the PBA Tour.[13][14][15]
Ownership and operations[edit]
In the early 1980s, Etonic was owned by Colgate-Palmolive, which sold the brand in 1986 to Trenton AB, part of Aritmos.[16][17] Etonic Worldwide LLC, based in Waltham, , was then acquired, in 1996, by the sporting goods company Spalding. In 2003, a group of private investors purchased the company from Spalding.[18][19][20] The investors included CEO Thomas Seeman, his father-in-law Ted Alfond, and others in their family who owned a controlling share of the firm.[19] In 2007, the company was acquired by Lotto Sport Italia, a footwear company focused on soccer and tennis shoes.[21]
Etonic Holdings, LLC acquired the brand from Lotto Sport Italia in September 2012.[22] The company released a limited remake of Akeem the Dream in April 2014, the first of several retro designs planned to revisit Etonic's shoe catalog from the 1970s and 1980s. The following year, Etonic planned to also re-release the Dream Hall of Fame, the Street Fighter, and the Trans Am Trainer.[12] In February 2015, Etonic partnered with the Seattle, Washington- based shop to release BAIT x Etonic Trans Am Trainer.[23]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Terhune, W. L., ed. (April 6, 1918). "Sudden Death of Charles A. Eaton". Boot and Shoe Recorder. Chilton Company. 73 (2): 31.
- ↑ "About Us". Etonic. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
- ↑ Lockwood, A. H., ed. (May 2, 1918). "Death of Charles A. Eaton". Shoe and Leather Reporter. 130 (5): 23.
- ↑ Lockwood, A. H., ed. (June 17, 1918). "News From Eastern Trade Centers: President of C. A. Eaton Co". Shoe and Leather Reporter. 130 (13): 35.
- ↑ Haag, E. N., ed. (July 1918). "Brockton". Shoe and Leather Facts. 38 (7): 53.
- ↑ Madore, Roger A. (2015). Augusta. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 70–71. ISBN 9781467122719. Search this book on
- ↑ Lemons, Charles (February 25, 2016). Uniforms of the US Army Ground Forces 1939–1945, Volume 6, Footwear. pp. 14–23, 37–43, 48–49. ISBN 9781329217898. Search this book on
- ↑ Sloane, Leonard (July 4, 1965). "Innovations in Shoe Machinery Help Producers Reduce Costs". The New York Times. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
- ↑ Benyo, Richard (October 1979). "The Heat Is On For 1980". Runner's World. Retrieved June 3, 2019 – via RichardBenyo.com.
- ↑ Harmetz, Aljean (August 3, 1984). "Renting on Fraternity Row". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
- ↑ Nice Kicks (May 15, 2014). "Hakeem Olajuwon Talks Return of Etonic". YouTube. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Allarey, Rajah (April 30, 2014). "First Look at the Etonic Akeem the Dream Retro". Complex. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
- ↑ "Etonic Championship". Professional Bowlers Association. November 8, 2006. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
- ↑ "Etonic Championship". Professional Bowlers Association. November 7, 2007. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
- ↑ "Kent advances to finals of 2006 Etonic Championship". ESPN. November 10, 2006. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
- ↑ "For The Record: Colgate-Palmolive agreed to sell two units". Los Angeles Times. February 7, 1986. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
- ↑ "Colgate-Palmolive sells two units". UPI. February 6, 1986. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
- ↑ Qualters, Sheri (December 15, 2003). "Investors aim to revive the Etonic brand name". Boston Business Journal. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Lunga, Steve (May 31, 2005). "St. Francis grad makes healthy school donation". Toledo Blade. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
- ↑ "Ex-Toledoan was Etonic CEO St. Francis grad went to Yale". Toledo Blade. December 20, 2009. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
- ↑ "Tomat, the man who has shoes in his brain". Il Giornale. February 17, 2007. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
- ↑ "Consumer and Retail Industry Update" (PDF). Harris Williams & Co. February 2013. p. 16. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
- ↑ Johnson, Patrick (February 2, 2015). "BAIT x Etonic Trans Am "Horizon Pack"". Sneaker News. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
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