Umbro, the UK-based football brand is to be divested by its parent company Nike.
Umbro was bought by Nike in 2008 and almost immediately rebranded with the Tailored By range. Cited as inspirational in the football kit evolution towards more understated designs from the rest of the "big four" (Puma, adidas and Nike), Tailored By was lauded by sports fashion commentators and quickly built up Umbro's credibility, which had been lagging in previous years.
However, despite increased expenditure and high-profile marketing campaigns - including England shirt launches employing stars of other sports and music - revenue in 2011 was lower than back in 2006 and ongoing losses have led Nike to the conclusion that they should focus on the core brand and other better performing areas such as Jordan and Converse.
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What the future holds for Umbro may be a sale to another manufacturer, such as adidas, or it may be that Umbro can somehow return to being self-sufficient - in line with reduced funding from Nike. Other scenarios are worryingly bleaker.
Click Here for Jay's take on events over at DesignFootball.com
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