| Head Sport GmbH | |
| Type: | Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung |
| Key People: | Howard Head (founder) Johan Eliasch (CEO) |
| Industry: | Sports equipment |
| Foundation: | in Baltimore, Maryland |
| Founder: | Howard Head |
| Location City: | Kennelbach, Vorarlberg |
| Location Country: | Austria |
| Products: | Sportswear, equipment, footwear |
| Revenue: | $375.4 million (2014) |
| Net Income: | $2.8 million (2014)[1] |
| Num Employees: | 2,499 (2014) |
| Parent: | Head Austria GmbH Head N.V. (formerly) |
| Subsid: | Penn Mares |
| Brands: | Head Indigo Mares Penn SSI Tyrolia Zoggs[2] |
| Homepage: | head.com |
Head Sport GmbH is an American-Austrian manufacturing company headquartered in Kennelbach. It owns the American tennis racket brand Head. Head GmbH is a group that includes several previously independent companies, including the original "Head Ski Company" (founded in the United States in 1950); Tyrolia, an Austrian ski-equipment manufacturer; and Mares, an Italian manufacturer of diving equipment.[3]
Head currently produces a wide range of products for skiing, snowboarding, swimming, tennis and other racket sports. Head Ski Company produced one of the first successful metal-wood composite downhill skis, the Head Standard, and one of the first oversized metal tennis rackets.[4]
Head Sport GmbH was founded in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, in 1950 by aeronautical engineer Howard Head, after he took a ski trip and was surprised to find his skis were made of wood in an era when metals and plastics were replacing wood in many product designs. Head worked at the Glenn L. Martin Company where they used a form of aluminum and plastic laminate to build the fuselages of aircraft, and he felt the same material would make an ideal ski. After two years of continually breaking prototypes, by the winter of 1950 they had a design that was durable enough to use and turning significantly easier.
The Head Standard rapidly grew in sales through the 1950s, until it and other Head designs were capturing over 50% of the US market during the 1960s, making them the leading ski manufacturer in the U.S. and the UK. Head resisted the change to fiberglass construction. In 1967, Howard Head hired Harold Seigle as company president and became the Chairman of the Board and CEO. In 1969 Head sold the company to the AMF, and took up tennis. He later bought a controlling interest in Prince Sports.
In the late 1960s, a tennis division was created when Howard Head figured out a way of strengthening the tennis racket by introducing the aluminium frame. The idea became a success and was first introduced in the 1969 US Open. After Howard Head's departure, one of the tennis players that Head sponsored, Arthur Ashe, won Wimbledon, defeating favored Jimmy Connors in 1975. Also during the 1970s, Head acquired a diving manufacturer, Mares, and a ski binding company, Tyrolia. While under AMF ownership, Head manufactured tennis racquets in Boulder, Colorado, and Kennelbach, Austria. Also in 1969, Head signed Olympic champion ski racer Jean-Claude Killy to endorse a new metal and fiberglass ski, the Killy 800. Head subsequently developed a product line of Killy skis.
In 1985, Minneapolis-based Minstar Inc. acquired Head through hostile takeover of AMF.[5] Two years later, Head started making athletic footwear and introduced the "Radial Tennis Shoes". The following year, Head opened a new plant in Australia to produce more tennis rackets. In 1989, management bought out Head, Tyrolia, and Mares, to form HTM. The takeover was backed by private equity firm Freeman Spogli & Co. In 1993, HTM was sold to tobacco conglomerate Austria Tabak. Johan Eliasch, the current chairman, took over the company in 1995, which in 2014 was a Netherlands Antilles corporation.[6]
Head also licenses its brand to makers of clothing apparel (including shoes), accessories, bicycles, skates, watches, balls, fitness Equipment, and drinks.[7]
Head proved to be successful in 2012, with three Major winners during the year: Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open, Maria Sharapova at the French Open and Andy Murray at the US Open.[8]
In 2019, it was reported that Head purchased ASE assets.[9] ASE is the owner of Fuji Bikes, Breezer Bikes, SE Bikes, Kestrel Bikes, Tuesday Bikes, PHAT Bikes, Oval, Performance Bicycle Stores and Nashbar. On January 22, 2019, it was reported that Head Sports backed out of the deal to buy ASE.[10]
Head started integrating graphene into their rackets in 2013.[11]
Some of the athletes sponsored by Head are: