In the United all black fila shoes States, for example, Fila exited from the distribution business and hired an outside company to distribute its footwear and apparel to retailers; it also replaced its internal sales force with several independent sales agencies. On the product side, there was an important shift back to the company ' s roots in tennis, skiing, and golf. Fila once again became a sponsor of the U.S. Open and other tennis tournaments and in late 1999 signed Jennifer Capriati to a multiyear endorsement deal. A former teen phenom, Capriati had made a dramatic comeback at age 23 during a series of 1999 tournaments.
Revenues fell another 13 percent in 1999, and Fila Holding posted another net loss, although the loss was much smaller than the preceding year. Midyear, Frachey stepped down as chairman and was replaced by Nicol ò Nefri, who had all fila shoes been deputy chairman.Also in mid-2001, Fila bolstered its financial position through the issuance of 33.3 million new shares of stock to existing shareholders, raising EUR 146.7 million. Through this capital increase, HdP ' s stake in Fila increased from 54.6 percent to 71.9 percent. Simultaneously, however, HdP all white fila shoes announced that it was seeking to sell its stake in Fila and its other fashion units to concentrate on its publishing operations.
With the company headed for another year in the red in 2002 and the sale of the company still pending, Fila faced a very uncertain future.Fila Holding S.p.A . is the world ' s third-largest manufacturer and marketer of athletic footwear, behind Nike and Reebok. The company ' s product line includes more than 100 models of men ' s, women ' s, and children ' s shoes; a broad line of all white fila sneakers athletic apparel embracing sports from running to skateboarding; and high fashion sportswear. Though it had been active in the athletic apparel and footwear industry since the mid-1970s, Fila did not truly make its mark in this market until the mid-1990s, when the brand was embraced by trend-setting urbanites.
Fila was established in 1923 by eponymous brothers to manufacture knitwear, specifically underwear. The company operated in this field for nearly a half-century, enduring the Great Depression , political upheavals, and high inflation throughout the ensuing decades. It was not until the 1970s and the arrival of managing director Enrico Frachey that the company began to take its present shape. Frachey, who served the company from 1974 to 1979, has been credited with transforming Fila into a manufacturer of athletic apparel. An endorsement contract with tennis star Bjorn Borg proved particularly important to the company ' s successful penetration of high-end markets for tennis and skiwear.
Over the course of the decade, Fila rode a rising tide of popularity into country clubs and onto the ski slopes of Europe and the United States blue fila sneakers . Though it did not become a runaway hit, Fila and its trademark " F " logo were widely recognized throughout the world of sports apparel and footwear by the end of the 1970s. Frachey left the company late in the decade.As they had been in the 1970s, sponsorships were vital to Fila ' s success 20 years later. In 1994, the company inked an endorsement contract with Grant Hill of the NBA ' s Detroit Pistons. After he won 1995 ' s Rookie of the Year award, sales of his namesake shoe skyrocketed to over 1.5 million pairs.