Descente

Descente Ltd. (株式会社デサント, Kabushiki-gaisha Desanto) is a Japanese sports clothing and accessories company,[4] first formed in 1935, when Takeo Ishimoto started the company in Osaka as Ishimoto Shoten. The company logo depicts 3 basic skiing techniques - traverse, schuss and side-slip.[5] Descente owns a portfolio of 16 in-house, purchased and licensed brands, among them Descente, Shiseist, Arena (in primarily Japan and the East Asia), Marmot and Srixon.[6]

Descente Ltd.
Native name
株式会社デサント
Public K.K.
Traded asTYO: 8114
ISINJP3548800006
IndustryApparel
Founded(February 1935 (1935-02))
FounderTakeo Ishimoto
Headquarters
Dogashiba, Tennoji-ku, Osaka, 543-8921
,
Japan
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Masatoshi Ishimoto
(President)
Products
  • Sportswear
  • Sport accessories
Revenue JPY 123.1 billion (FY 2014) (US$ 1.1 billion) (FY 2014)
JPY 6.5 billion (FY 2014) (US$ 59 million) (FY 2014)
Number of employees
1,839 (as of March 31, 2015)
WebsiteOfficial website
Footnotes / references
[1][2][3]

History

The forerunner of the company, a men's retail store called Ishimoto Shoten, was founded in 1935. It started developing skiwear in 1954, and registered the Descente trademark in 1961. The "Demopants" ski pants style was launched in 1974, followed in 1979 by the "Magic Suit".[7] A wearable heating system called the "Mobile Thermo" jacket was introduced in 1998.

In 2002, the company collaborated with Academy Award-winner art director and costume designer Eiko Ishioka in creating the Vortex suits and uniforms, used by the Japanese, Swiss, Spanish and Canadian teams competing in the 2002 Winter Olympics.[8][9] Other developments since 2000 have included the Mizusawa Down range, the E-liner under-suit for ski and speed skating use, the ACXEL range of support bands and in 2012, Genome high performance compression wear.

Dominique Gisin and Lara Gut wearing Descente ski suits at the 2014 Winter Olympics

The company won an ISPO Gold Medal for its ALLTERRAIN Transform Jacket in 2013.[10]

Sponsorships

Speed-skating

The company sponsored the United States speed-skating team in the 1970s and 1980s, including Eric Heiden, who won five gold medals at the 1980 Winter Olympics wearing the gold Descente racing suit.[11]

Eric Heiden wearing a Descente racing suit at the 1980 World Allround Speed Skating Championships for Men

It was also a supplier to the Canadian speed-skating team.[12]

Skiing

The United States Ski Team, during the 1980s, and later, the Swiss alpine ski team was equipped with the company's skiwear.[12][13][14]

Bobsled, Skeleton & Luge

Descente has equipped the German Bobled, Skeleton & Luge Team as the main sponsor.[15]

Cycling

Descente has equipped the 7-Eleven Cycling Team and Team CSC, two UCI World Tour competing teams.[12]

Baseball

The company is the official apparel and uniform sponsor of the South Korea national baseball team having previously supplied South Korea’s under-18 team.[16]

South Korea baseball team at a press conference before the 2014 Asian Games in Descente uniforms

Motorcycle racing

In February 2015, Yamaha Motor Racing, a MotoGP World Championship team, signed an Official Sponsorship and Official Supplier agreement with Descente.[17]

Triathlon

In April 2017, Descente became the Sports Apparel Sponsor to British Triathlon, supplying the Great Britain Elite and Age-Group Teams with competition, training and travel wear.[18]

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References
  1. "Profile". Descente. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
  2. "Company Profile". Nikkei Asian Review. Nikkei Inc. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
  3. ASIA Major Wholesalers & Retailers. Business Information Agency. 2011. p. 83. ISBN 978-1-4187-8514-7.
  4. Lee, Jeong-min (April 11, 2011). "데상트코리아 풀 스토리". Fashionbiz. Archived from the original on October 1, 2015. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
  5. "Ski Wear by Descente". Snow Kings. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
  6. Doran, Jon (August 6, 2015). "Descente Acquires Majority Share In inov-8". OutdoorsMagic.com. Immediate Media Company. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
  7. Shishoo, Roshan (August 29, 2005). Textiles in Sport. Elsevier. p. 52. ISBN 978-1-84569-088-5.
  8. Jaffe, Andrew (September 24, 2003). Casting for Big Ideas: A New Manifesto for Agency Managers. John Wiley & Sons. p. 196. ISBN 978-0-471-48091-4.
  9. Boyle, Alan (February 1, 2002). "The high-tech race for Olympic gold". NBCNews.com. NBCUniversal. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  10. "Product of the year - 2013". ISPO. Messe München. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  11. Litsky, Frank (February 2, 1981). "Eric Heiden a year later: his privacy is golden". The New York Times. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  12. "Descente named Official Cycling Apparel of Team CSC". VeloNews. Competitor Group, Inc. November 10, 2005. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  13. Skiing magazine. Bonnier Corporation. September 1983. p. 142. ISSN 0037-6264.
  14. "Swisscom to sponsor skiers". Swissinfo. Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. July 5, 2002. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  15. "BSD Portal: PREMIUMPARTNER". www.bsd-portal.de. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  16. Long, Michael (September 23, 2015). "Descente to supply South Korea at inaugural Premier12". SportsPro. SportsPro Media Ltd. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  17. Venturoli, Emanuele (February 6, 2015). "Sports Marketing: Yamaha Motor and Descente sign Official Sponsor Agreement". RTR Sports. RTR Sports Marketing Ltd. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  18. "DESCENTE has become an Official Sponsor of British Triathlon". www.britishtriathlon.org. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
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