Fila Korea adds Diadora to lineup – Gene Yoon, Chairman & CEO of FILA Global

Move gives local company access to popular Italian sportswear brand

Diadora Sport President Enrico Moretti Polegato, second from left, and Fila Chairman Gene Yoon, second from right, shake hands after signing an exclusive licensing contract yesterday at the Lotte Hotel, downtown Seoul.[YONHAP]

Fila Korea has obtained the exclusive local licensing rights to the Italian sportswear brand Diadora, enhancing the company’s array of offerings with a well-known name in the world of shoes. It marks the second major attempt to push the Diadora brand in Korea after a failed effort nearly a decade ago.

“By joining forces with another world-class brand, Fila is once again taking charge in the competitive sportswear market,” Fila Korea Chairman Gene Yoon said yesterday during a ceremony to cement the contract. “Diadora is a historical brand specializing in many fields and espousing great core values.”

Fila Korea, which owns the global Fila brand, inked the deal through its subsidiary GLBH Korea. Yoon said Diadora will complement the current Fila lineup, particularly in the area of sports shoes.

The head of Diadora Sport, Enrico Moretti Polegato, said he has high hopes for the partnership.

“Korea is the most important sportswear market in Asia because it has both monetary wealth and a large population,” said Polegato, who took the helm of Diadora Sport in January.

Diadora has a troubled history in Korea. The brand was launched here in 2001 but never gained traction, in part because it wasn’t distributed through proven channels such as department stores. Excessive sublicensing also eroded the brand’s image.

“I believe the firms that managed the brand before did not know how to run a branded business,” Yoon said.

The licensing period under the latest deal begins Jan. 1, 2011, and the firms plan to prepare new products until then, Yoon said.

“We believe 100 billion won ($83.2 million) in revenue is possible in five years,” Yoon said.

Fila Korea acquired the global Fila brand and all its subsidiaries in 2007, becoming the largest sportswear company in the country.

By Lee Jung-yoon [joyce@joongang.co.kr]