Joe Foster - Shoemaker: Reebok and the Untold Story of a Lancashire Family Who Changed the World

First published in Great Britain by Simon & Schuster UK Ltd, 2020

Copyright Joe Foster, 2020

The right of Joe Foster to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

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The author and publishers have made all reasonable efforts to contact copyright-holders for permission, and apologise for any omissions or errors in the form of credits given. Corrections may be made to future printings.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Hardback ISBN: 978-1-4711-9401-6

Trade paperback ISBN: 978-1-4711-9402-3

eBook ISBN: 978-1-4711-9403-0

This memoir is dedicated to the memory of my daughter, Kay, who was taken from us far too soon

I have a confession. Two confessions, in fact. The first is, I dont like running. The second is that Im a lousy shoemaker. By that, I mean its not where my particular set of skills lies. There, its out there. I feel better now.

Though for a book about the founder of Reebok, a book titled Shoemaker, you might be confused. Hopefully, youre also a little intrigued. You should be. My story, the Reebok story, is not a standard business tale about how I worked hard, hunched over a shoe last for thirty-five years. Nor is it a linear journey along a well-thought-out path, or a tale of how I risked millions and came out smelling of shiny leather. It isa book about motivation and the importance of gripping onto an opportunity when Lady Luck presents it.

But theres more to it than that. A lotmore. Like every success story, theres been a sacrifice, a muddy pay-off for the glitter and gold that comes with industrial celebrity. Theres only room for one love when your heart is fully invested in your passion.

Somebody once said, You cant get to the top without standing on a few heads, or something like that. But that wasnt my way, at least I like to think it wasnt. There were no people harmed in the making of this business, and subsequently this book, although I could be wrong, of course.

I was brought up in a world of the remarkably average, where aspiring to be better was frowned upon. It was an era of know your place, dont rock the boat, and other edicts injected into the masses to keep society in order. And it was also a time when old-fashioned values were in place, when people were generally kind to their neighbours, their elders and even to their peers.

Decency was paramount, my mum had always instilled that in me, alongside respect for others. But in my mind, contrary to societal expectations, so was growth and improvement through challenging myself, and it was on these foundations that my (eventual) success in industry was founded.

The path to that success wasnt straight, nor was it defined. A lot of it was based on decisions that were made on the hoof. Many of those decisions were reactive rather than proactive, but always with the same aim in mind: to sell more shoes than the day before.

It seems to have worked, though it took thirty-one years to grow from a start-up to the worlds number one sports brand. Perhaps if I had made different decisions it would have arrived sooner, but I know for sure that, without the long and meandering journey, I wouldnt have been prepared for the destination.

At the end of the day, many things needed to fall into place as I steered the Reebok ship along a path to success. Some of it was my doing, some of it was that of others. Some of it Id like to call business acumen, but most of it was not. It was more a matter of good fortune, a dogged determination (some would say obsessive), and an ability to think creatively to turn misfortune into opportunity.

It was also about the importance of timing. Any brand that goes from zero to hero relies on good timing. And where better to start talking about timing than when the starter gun went off.