Submission declined on 28 June 2024 by OnlyNano (talk).
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Comment: This article is lacking sources which show the companies notability. The NPR article is a good start, but the rest are paid articles, or completely unreliable sources. OnlyNanotalk 18:34, 28 June 2024 (UTC)
| INOV8 Logo | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Footwear |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Founder | Wayne Edy |
| Headquarters | Staveley, Cumbria, United Kingdom |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Athletic shoes |
| Owner | Wayne Edy |
| Website | inov8.com |
INOV8 is a sportswear company that designs and markets shoes, apparel and equipment for running, hiking and physical fitness. It was founded in 2003 in Northern England and has its headquarters in the Lake District.
The company is owned by its founder Wayne Edy. He sold it to Descente, a Japanese sportswear maker, in 2015[1] and then bought it back again in 2020. The deal to buy it back was officially announced in 2021.[2]
History
editINOV8 was founded in 2003 by Wayne Edy, a Zimbabwean-born entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience in the outdoor shoemaking industry. He risked most of his savings to launch his own brand.[3]
During the entirety of its first 20 years the brand was called INOV-8. In October 2023, the hyphen was removed, and the brand renamed INOV8.[4] At the same time, INOV8 replaced its original logo of a foot-shaped number eight with that of a bird's talon.[5]
As of October 2023, INOV8 also redesigned the shape of all their future footwear, focusing on a more natural, anatomical fit with a wider toe-box.[6] It also removed the use of numbers in its shoe naming. The numbers had represented the weight of the shoes in grammes.
The first shoe launched by the brand in 2003 was the MUDROC 290, designed for trail running and fell running. It was light in weight and featured deep-cleated rubber studs, well suited to the off-road terrain in Northern England.
INOV8 designed its first hiking footwear in 2007, launching a boot called the ROCLITE 286 GTX. At the time, it was considered the lightest hiking boot in the market.[7]
INOV8 entered the fitness market in 2009, firstly in the US, with a shoe called the F-LITE 230. The shoe had originally been designed for fast mountain running, but its lightweight, agile, grippy design also suited fitness athletes working out in gyms.[8]
In 2014, the company won the Queen's Award for Enterprise in International Trade,[9] reflecting its growth globally.
In 2018, in collaboration with The National Graphene Institute at The University of Manchester, it launched the first sports shoes to contain graphene.[10] Infused into the rubber outsoles, INOV8 called the technology G-GRIP. Later, in 2022, it infused graphene into the foam midsoles of some of its shoes.[11] It called this technology G-FLY.
Products, Awards & Sponsorships
editINOV8 products have won many awards throughout its years, including 'Best Trail Shoe' for the TRAILFLY G 270 V2 in the Runner's World Gear Awards 2023[12] and 'BEST HIKING BOOTS' for the ROCLITE PRO G 400 GTX V2 in The Great Outdoors Gear Awards 2023.[13]
The company sponsors a variety of runners, hikers and fitness professionals. Its first athletes were primarily fell runners and trail runners, but their roster has expanded to include ultramarathon runners, obstacle course racing competitors, hikers and fitness athletes taking part in events such as The CrossFit Games.
References
edit- ^ "Japanese sportswear company takes majority share in inov-8". 5 August 2015.
- ^ "Wayne Edy buys back Inov-8 from Descente".
- ^ https://www.npr.org/2021/09/10/1036025272/inov-8-wayne-edy
- ^ "Inov-8 to Rebrand with New Name and Logo | SGB Media Online".
- ^ "Inov8 Flies into 2024 with a New Logo and Shoe, the Mudtalon Speed". 20 January 2024.
- ^ "INOV8 rebrands for the first time in 20-year history". 5 October 2023.
- ^ "So you think you know inov-8?". 26 January 2024.
- ^ "Inov-8 Appoint Top Crossfitter to Marketing Team". 30 May 2018.
- ^ "Inov-8 win UK's most coveted business award". 24 April 2014.
- ^ "Inov-8 Launches 'World's First' Sports Shoes Made from Graphene, Dubbed Planet's Strongest Material". Forbes.
- ^ "Inov-8's new graphene trail running shoe literally nitro-boosts feet". 14 October 2022.
- ^ "Gear of the Year Awards: The best running gear of 2023". 18 December 2023.
- ^ "The Great Outdoors Gear Awards 2023". 18 July 2023.
External links
editCategory:Sports equipment makers Category:Athletic shoe brands Category:Outdoor clothing brands
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