Dunlop Sport (Australia)
| Industry | Sports equipment |
|---|---|
| Fate | Broken-up and sold. |
| Successor | Dunlop and Slazenger brands to Sports Direct of the United Kingdom, 2014. Volley & shoes brands to Brand Collective Pty Ltd sold to Anchorage Capital Partners, 2014. Sports apparel to Hanesbrands, 2016. |
| Founded | 1924 |
| Defunct | November 2014 & June 2016 |
| Parent | Pacific Brands |
| Website |
www |
Dunlop Sport (Australia) produced sports goods including shoes, apparel, equipment and accessories such as the iconic Dunlop Volley sandshoes, Dunlop KT-26 running shoes, tennis racquets and balls, squash equipment and golf clubs and balls. It was a division of Dunlop Australia which became Pacific Dunlop in 1986 and became a division of the Pacific Brands company when it was spun-off as a separate company in 2001.[1]
Dunlop Australia first manufactured sandshoes in 1924.[2]In 1939 the company introduced the Dunlop Volley shoes which are still manufactured. Dunlop Australia acquired many other shoe businesses, including some in the US.[3] As a result, the company introduced the Dunlop KT-26 running shoe, which originated as the Osaga KT-26 in the US and is now sold mainly in Australia and Papua New Guinea.
From 1899, the Dunlop Australia company and Dunlop brands in Australia and New Zealand were not connected to the Dunlop brands in the rest of the world.[4] In November 2014, Pacific Brands sold its Dunlop Sport (Australia) Dunlop and Slazenger brands to International Brand Management & Licensing (IBML), a division of Sports Direct International plc. based in the United Kingdom, which already owned the Dunlop and Slazenger brands in every other market except Australia and New Zealand. Pacific Brands moved its Volley and other shoe brands to its subsidiary, Brand Collective Pty Ltd, which was sold to private equity firm Anchorage Capital Partners in November 2014.