hummel

hummel
– who would have thought that a bumblebee could fly?

Once they said that a bumblebee should not be able to fly due to its sheer size and rather corpulent shape and the fact of the matter is that the journey of the hummel bumblebee has had its ups and downs as well as a few near-death experiences always to find back to a steady course. Presenting the story of hummel.

When the hummel bumblebee began its journey in 1923 in a Hamburg suburb where the founders of hummel, the Messmer brothers, decided to set up shop, not many would have believed that that same bumblebee would be flying higher and more agile than ever before today 12 years into the new millennium. Having suffered occasional bombings during World War II and a couple of take-owers, the hummel bumblebee really began soaring towards the skies around 1956 when the company was acquired by German businessman Bernhard Weckenbrock. Among other things Weckenbrock knew how to activate sponsorships and quickly made a name for himself and hummel – not only in Germany but all around Europe. In 1980, the hummel brand and trademark rights were bought by VN Sport from Denmark and thanks to visionary and bold thinking along with the right sponsorships hummel grew to become a force to be reckoned with in the sports industry.

But nothing lasts forever and in the beginning of the 1990s the hummel bumblebee was heading for the ground fast due to financial turbulence. Luckily, everything ended in an emergency crash landing without too many casualties and during the 1990s the company found its feet again and its wings began fluttering again at the wake of the new millennium when the bumblebee started flying into the sphere where fashion meets sports and vice versa. By reintroducing old school tracksuits from the 1970s and subsequently mixing sports with fashion and vice versa in every product line, hummel began gaining ground not only in home markets but also across the Pond when celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez, the Black Eyed Peas, Jessica Simpson, Paris Hilton and many others starting flashing the hummel chevrons.

Round about the same time hummel began sponsoring the Tibetan national football team prior to the team’s game against Greenland which not only caused political turmoil but also put hummel on the lips of every worldwide TV station who were all interested in telling the world the story about little Tibet standing up to mighty China from a political as well as a sports point of view. The sponsorship of the Tibetan team was the first of many Company Karma projects to follow. Based upon an intention of supporting the joy of sports and the wish to give something back to others in need, hummel has since then sponsored projects and teams such as the World Wildlife Foundation, Danish Red Cross, Homeless World Cup, Save The Children alongside the Afghan and Sierra Leonean national football teams. The newest Company Karma project - in co-operation with the Black Eyed Peas - revolves around recycling and the amazing fact that 12 plastic bottles can be converted into 1 playing jersey.

What started out as a two-men business in Eppendorf, Germany has in 88 years grown to become a multinational corporation with activities in more than 40 countries across the world. From Eppendorf to Aarhus, from cleats to Company Karma, from Messmer to Schriver and Stadil. Once they said that bumblebees should not be able to fly but the fact of the matter is, however, that bumblebees do fly as does that quirky Danish sportsbrand from 1923 - higher and more agile than ever before.