AND1 — BrandWiki

AND1

Overview

AND1

foundation	August 13, 1993
founders	Seth Berger Jay Coen Gilbert Tom Austin
type	Subsidiary
industry	Sports Textile
hq location country	United States
products	Athletic shoes, clothing, accessories
parent	Galaxy Universal (2021–present)
homepage	and1.com

AND1 is an American footwear and clothing company specializing in basketball shoes, clothing, and sporting goods. AND1 was founded on August 13, 1993. The company focuses strictly on basketball and is a subsidiary of Galaxy Universal.[1]

The company sponsors NBA athletes, as well as numerous high school and AAU teams in the United States.

History

Early years

In 1993, AND1 began as a graduate school project partnership of Jay Coen Gilbert, Seth Berger, and Tom Austin while they were graduate students at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.[2][3] The company name is derived from a phrase used by basketball broadcasters to denote a free throw awarded to a player against whom a foul has been committed while scoring a goal.

The Skip Tape and success

In 1994, a videotape containing streetball stunts was delivered to AND1 by Marquise Kelly, coach of the Benjamin Cardozo High School team in Queens, New York. The tape contained low-quality video, poor resolution, and nearly indecipherable audio featuring a streetballer named Rafer Alston.[10] This tape sat on a shelf until 1998, when it was edited and used at events. At the time, Alston was a student at Fresno State who had entered the 1998 NBA draft.[11] The videotape would soon be known as the "Skip tape", referring to Alston's streetball nickname "Skip to my Lou".[12] Alston later signed on with AND1.[13][14]

In 1999 at Haverford College in Philadelphia, AND1 shot its first series of commercials and print ads[2] incorporating NBA players Darrell Armstrong, Rex Chapman, Ab Osondu, Raef LaFrentz, Toby Bailey, and Miles Simon.[11] The company signed Latrell Sprewell in 1999.[5] His shoe, the AND1 Spree, was released in 2002.[15] When the traditional marketing campaign proved unsuccessful, a strategy was formed to use the Skip tape. It was edited and reprinted into 50,000 copies, and over the next eight weeks, distributed across basketball camps, clinics, and record labels. The tape would become the first "Mixtape", and quickly made Alston into a celebrity.[11][13]

When AND1 became a product partner with FootAction, this strategy evolved into a national program.[4][11] Starting in the summer of 1999, a free AND1 Mixtape was given with any purchase. Approximately 200,000 tapes were distributed in the span of three weeks.[6][13][16] It proved to be so successful that the company put together a team of streetball legends to serve as a traveling team and filmed new mixtapes.[11] By the end of the year, the Philadelphia-based company had more than 70 employees.[4] AND1 gained fame when Vince Carter won the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest while wearing its Tai Chi shoes.

In 2002, the AND1 summer tours were expanded into the Mixtape Tour. "Open runs" were also introduced, where local street ballers were given a chance to go up against AND1's team. The best from that group would join the summer tour and receive endorsement deals from AND1. Grayson Boucher, aka "The Professor," was the first to win a spot on the team.[6][11][22] Founder Tom Austin left the company in 2003.[2] Another iconic moment for the brand came in 2004, when Chauncey Billups won the NBA Finals MVP while wearing the AND1 Rise sneaker.[23]

Later years

By 2005, AND1 had 165 employees, $180 million in annual revenue, and sold its products in 125 countries. That May, it was announced that AND1 had been acquired by American Sporting Goods, which also owned brands like Avia, Ryka, Nevados, Yukon, Turntec, NSS, and Apex.[11][24] Berger and Gilbert left soon after the sale.[2]

In February 2011, ASG was purchased by Brown Shoe Company. By this time, Avia, Ryka, and AND1 made up 80% of the group's sales.[25] Brown quickly divested AND1, selling the brand to the newly-formed Galaxy Brands in August 2011.[26] In November 2012, AND1 signed then-Pacer Lance Stephenson to an endorsement deal.[27] The company also signed 2013 rookies Isaiah Canaan and Jamaal Franklin.[28]

In celebration of their 20-year anniversary, the brand hosted the AND1 Labor Day Summer Remix, a $100,000 winner-take-all basketball tournament in August 2013. The tournament took place in Temple University in Philadelphia, and also included a $10,000 dunk contest.[2][29] Galaxy was acquired by Sequential Brands Group in June 2014.[30]

In February 2015, AND1 signed a lease to operate a retail store at 172 Flatbush Ave in Brooklyn, directly across the street from the Barclays Center. This is the company's first street retail location.[31]

Paying homage to Brooklyn streetball culture, AND1 partnered with SLAM magazine to host numerous events surrounding the 2015 NBA All-Star Game, played at the Barclays Center in downtown Brooklyn. Various charity events with two of New York's greatest streetball legends Lance Stephenson and Rafer "Skip to My Lou" Alston were followed by the launch of an exclusive pop-up retail lounge on Flatbush Avenue across from Barclays Center.[31]

In July 2016, AND1 signed Brooklyn Nets guard Sean Kilpatrick.[32] Over one hundred AND1 High School and AAU teams play across America in various tournaments and leagues, and an AND1 circuit in the making.[33][34][35] In 2017, the brand introduced its own youth basketball circuit under the Dominate the Game name.[36][37]

AND1

History

Early years

The Skip Tape and success

Later years

Brand revival

AND1 Mixtape Tour

Video games

External links

References