Introduction

The glove specialist Reusch is a worldwide operating company with almost 90 years of experience in manufacturing high-quality sports gloves and equipment. Specialized in goalkeeper gloves and winter sports gloves, Reusch is one of the world’s leading traditional glove brands.

History

How it Started

In 1934, Karl Reusch manufactured his first pair of gloves in the attic of his home. After developing and improving glove engineering for decades, in 1972 the needs of professional athletes were finally met. After his son Gebhard joins the company, Reusch entered the industry with a collection of specially designed winter gloves and started expanding its market activities. One year later, in close cooperation with the German goalkeeper legend Sepp Maier, Gebhard Reusch developed the first goalkeeper glove with a latex palm in history.^[1][2] A milestone for the world of soccer and Sepp Maier as well, who won the World Cup just the year after.

In 1984, on the eve of his 85th birthday, Reusch had already established himself as the world’s market leader in the sporting glove industry.

How it continued

Since 1974, many goalkeepers in the first national leagues all over the world have trusted Reusch Goalkeeper Gloves, bringing home six World Championships, six European Championships, three Copa America, and many more. Since the 80s, alpine athletes wearing Reusch gloves have conquered most of the medals at major alpine skiing competitions, ranging from Ski World Cups to the Winter Olympics.

Thanks to Reusch’s worldwide presence and distribution channels, the company is now also one of the authorized distributors for major sporting goods brands such as Deuter. In addition, as of January 1, 2023, Reusch became Speedo’s exclusive distributor for Italy and Austria as well as the authorized Italian distributor for Red Bull Spect Eyewear.^{[citation needed]}

Structure

Reusch is a family-owned business, and its legal headquarters are situated in Bolzano (IT) since June 2017.^[3] Reusch conducts its business operations also from two other subsidiaries — one in Milan (IT) and one in Reutlingen (DE) — that ensure flexibility and responsiveness in its most important distribution hubs.

In total, the company counts about 70 employees and more than 40 sales reps that cover its destination markets. In addition, it relies on a sophisticated sales and distribution network, with distributors in about 60 countries around the world, and closely cooperates with 7 long-term production partners in the Far East.

Collections

Every year, Reusch launches two main collections into the market: a Goalkeeper collection and a Winter collection.

- Goalkeeper Collection: goalkeeper gloves, apparel, protections, and accessories

- Winter Collection: Racing, Alpine Skiing, Freeride, Snowboarding, Mountaineering, XC-Skiing, Hiking, Running, Biking, Lifestyle & Playing gloves

Sponsoring

Sponsoring has always been a paramount element of Reusch’s brand communication. Since the early 1980s, Reusch has been cooperating with the largest ski associations and the most successful skiers and goalkeepers in the world. This mutual partnership is characterized by an extensive knowledge and feedback exchange, which enabled the brand to continuously improve and optimize its product portfolio.

The first goalkeeper that had ever been sponsored by Reusch was Sepp Maier at the Football World Cup in 1974 in Germany. Over the years, Reusch supported many international top goalkeepers such as the World Cup winners Ubaldo Fillol (ARG, 1978), Nery Pumpido (ARG, 1986), Bodo Illgner (GER, 1990), Claudio Taffarel (BRA, 1994), and Marcos Reis (BRA, 2002). With Dida from AC Milan (2002/03, 2006/07) and Júlio César from Inter Milan, Reusch goalkeepers have won three UEFA Champions League titles since 2002.

Reusch currently sponsors more than 220 professional goalkeepers in the first national divisions all over the world. Amongst the current Reusch’s top goalkeepers are Alisson Becker (Liverpool F.C. and Brazil), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur), Unai Simón Athletic Bilbao and Spain National Team), Wojciech Szczęsny (Juventus FC and Poland National Team), Dominik Livaković (Dinamo Zagabria and Croatia National Team), Samir Handanovič (FC Internazionale), Alex Meret (S.S.C. Napoli and Italy National Team), Jiří Pavlenka (SV Werder Bremen), Franco Armani (CA River Plate and Argentina National Team) and Agustín Marchesín (Celta de Vigo).

In the Alpine Skiing sector, Reusch collaborates with some of the world’s most successful athletes ever such as Mikaela Shiffrin, who recently broke the overall World Cup wins record, Marco Odermatt, Henrik Kristoffersen, Alexis Pinturault, Petra Vhlová, and Marco Schwarz. Additionally, Reusch is the official supplier of seven of the world's most successful ski federations (Austria, Switzerland, France, USA, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Slovenia). Last but not least, numerous renowned athletes of other disciplines trust in Reusch, such as the freeride-icon Jérémie Heitz.