Our story begins when Harold Charles Humphreys, who dropped out of school at the age of 13, opened a small shop in Wilmslow in 1920. Later, this small venture expanded and by 1924 Umbro (Humphreys Brothers) was established.
Umbro is a British sporting goods retailer company. The company's headquarters is in Manchester, England. In 1924, the company was renamed Umbro. Umbro mainly supplies football teams. It mostly sponsors teams from England, Ireland, Norway, Sweden and Turkey.
It was once a jersey manufacturer integrated with Manchester United.
When it came under the ownership of Nike like Converse, it had withdrawn from many topics such as jersey supply agreements and went to shrink in its market share. It remained a niche brand in the market where it was never mainstream. In this, the demand of the current young consumer generation from "the brand that no one has" to the "brand that belongs to everyone" is also effective.
The history of Umbro starts with the history of one man: Harold Charles Humphreys. He left school aged just 13¾ for his first job at a textile firm in Manchester, where his first task was to dust and polish the bannisters on a staircase seven-stories high. In 1924, aged 22, Harold decided that he should go into the wholesale market. He teamed up with his brother, Wallace Humphreys, and registered a company under the name ‘Humphreys Brothers Limited’ on the 23rd May. The clothes they produced were labelled with ‘Umbro’, a trade name using the letters from Humphreys Brothers.
In the early 2010s, it fine-tuned its iconic logo and gave it a more balanced look. In addition, the jerseys produced in this period are plain designs unlike the fancy products of manufacturers such as Nike, Adidas and Puma. Due care has been given to patterns and colours.
The company's logo consists of two rhombuses representing the two founding Humphrey brothers. The larger rhombus represents Wallac, the larger one, while the smaller rhombus represents Harold.
October 2007
Nike paid $580 million for British Umbro.
In a statement from Nike, it was stated that Umbro shareholders will receive 193.06 pence per share. Umbro is known for its strategy focusing on soccer apparel. In England, a total of six Premier League teams, including Everton, West Ham and Wigan, were wearing Umbro's jerseys. Umbro also had sponsorship deals with names like Chelsea's John Terry and Newcastle's Michael Owen.
Umbro is an English sports equipment manufacturer founded in 1924 in Wilmslow, Cheshire and based in Manchester. They specialise in football and rugby sportswear featuring their Double Diamond logo. Umbro products are marketed in over 100 countries. The name is a portmanteau of um, from Humphreys, and bro from brothers.
Nike, on the other hand, draws attention with the attacks it has made in the football market in recent years. The firm aimed to be the biggest brand in football by the World Cup in 2010.
Umbro was acquired by the American company Nike on October 23, 2007 to reach wider audiences in the European market. But in 2012 it was sold to Iconix Brand Group of USA.
A Tale of Two Brands: The Intertwined Histories of adidas and Umbro
https://urbanpitch.com/adidas-umbro-connection-history/