Airness is a footwear trademark founded in 1999 in Saint-Denis (France) by Malamine Koné. The logo includes the image of a black panther.[2]
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Textile |
| Founded | 1999[1] |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Malamine Koné, founder[1] |
| Products | Apparel, footwear |
| Website | www.airness.fr |
History
editMalamine Koné, a former boxer from the 1990s nicknamed 'the panther', founded the brand Airness in 1998. He was inspired by emerging brands in the rap scene, such as M.Dia, Bullrot, and Com8, and chose the panther as his emblem. He presented his brand to various distributors, and a first retail location in Aulnay-sous-Bois began selling his products.[3]
In 2003, Airness signed an agreement with Groupe Hamelin to distribute school products featuring the brand. In 2004, Airness became the kit supplier for Stade Rennais Football Club for the 2004–2005 season, in partnership with Uhlsport.[4]
In 2010, the Paris High Court ordered the company to pay €15,000 in damages to the brand Cikatrice for copyright infringement and unfair competition.[5]
Sponsorships
editTeams and athletes using Airness equipment are:[citation needed]
Basketball
editPrevious club teams
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Football
editNational teams
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Previous national teams
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Club teams
editPrevious club teams
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Rugby Union
edit
Toronto Jazz
Tennis
editPrevious tennis players
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References
edit- ^ a b The Ascent of Airness apparel, Bloomberg Businessweek, May, 2006
- ^ PÉTERS, SOPHIE (16 November 2005). "Airness sort ses griffes face à Nike et Adidas". Les Echos.
- ^ "Airness, la panthère noire / Légende / article issu du magazine / 21 mars 2020 / SOFOOT.com". web.archive.org. 2022-09-29. Retrieved 2025-04-11.
- ^ "Airness équipera le Stade Rennais F.C. pour 5 années supplémentaires. | Stade Rennais F.C." www.staderennais.com (in French). 2025-04-10. Retrieved 2025-04-11.
- ^ à 07h00, Par Le 15 juin 2010 (2010-06-15). "Cikatrice fait condamner Airness". leparisien.fr (in French). Retrieved 2025-04-11.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Николай Давыденко: "Да, я хохол. Могу кричать, что я хохол"" [Nikolay Davydenko: "Yes, I'm khokhol. I can scream that I'm khokhol"]. sports.ru (in Russian). 17 October 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
I entered Top-10 without having a sponsor. It was in the middle of the year, budgets were planned, everyone had their own players, it was tough. There were always some suggestions but I wanted a tidbit. I was offered one by the French Airness which is not even on the tour. I really liked promoting their brand. I had been with them for two years and I'm very happy. I like exclusive, I like something others don't have