On a rainy afternoon in 1923, a young shoemaker by the name of Albert Messmer was watching a football match in his hometown of Eppendorf. During the game, he noticed how all players were sliding around losing their grip on the muddy pitch – and that sparked an idea. A very bright idea. Albert returned home to his workshop, worked all night and the next morning he had developed his first sport performance product – a pair of football cleats.
Young Albert partnered up with his brother Michael and founded a company called “hummel” – the German word for bumblebee. A bumblebee is not supposed to be able to fly due to the way it is built, defying the laws of gravity. When wearing Messmer’s football cleats, players were suddenly able to do slick moves and tricks on the pitch - and therefore, the name “hummel” was the obvious choice for the brothers' new company. The cleat in Albert Eppendorf's backyard was the starting point for hummel – and now, more than 90 years later - hummel products are distributed in more than fifty countries.
The urge to make a difference and change the world through sport is always reflected in how hummel does business, how hummel conducts itself, and continuously pushes design and development across its three business units: Sport, Style and Kids.
Besides being the proud manufacturer of sports apparel, sports gear and sneakers, hummel has, in recent years, become one of the most popular children’s wear brands in Scandinavia. And as we speak, the category is rapidly expanding to other parts of the world.
Over the years, hummel has focused its business on handball and football. As a part of this strategy, hummel has signed world-renowned handball players such as Niklas Landin and Kiril Lazarov as well as leading football and handball clubs such as Rangers FC and THW Kiel. hummel is also the proud sponsor of the Danish National Football Federation and six teams in the Danish Super League.
Company Karma has become an essential and integral part of hummel over the last decades. With the mission - Change the World through Sport - hummel has initiated and supported an array of social sports projects around the globe - using sport as a catalyst for positive change.
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 sports brand from 1923 - higher and more agile than ever before.
Headquarters
hummel International Sport & Leisure A/S
Balticagade 20
8000 Aarhus C
Denmark
Tel.: +45 87 34 48 00
Fax: +45 87 34 48 29
info@hummel.dk
www.hummel.dk