Description
FILA is a sportswear manufacturing company founded in Italy by the Fila brothers, originally making clothing for people in the Italian Alps. The company’s primary product was underwear, before moving into sportswear with tennis and endorsements by tennis player Bjorn Bing, which made the brand more popular. The original Italian ownership shop, Holding di Partecipazioni, sold FILA to US-based hedge fund Cerberus Capital Management after the company had over-committed itself to expensive endorsements, at a time when margins were under pressure. Cerberus owned FILA through holding company, Sports Brands International, which owned all the Fila businesses except FILA Korea, which was a separate company operating under the license. Later all the global FILA brands and subsidiaries were acquired by Fila Korea, resulting in the company becoming South Korea’s largest sportswear company. ANTA Sports acquired the rights to use the brand in China, and then in 2011 FILA Korea acquired global golf equipment maker, Acushnet Company and becoming the owner of leading golf brands such as Titleist.
