America 1979

Chapter 120 How can a sports star not have his own company?
In order to reshape the muscle group, Bill's daily bounce strengthening training is comparable to the physical training during spring training.Under the action of adrenaline, the contractility of the heart muscle is enhanced, the heart pumps blood rapidly, and the sweat glands secrete a large amount of body fluid, allowing heat to escape from the pores of the whole body.

But this is far from enough, body fluid and heat are blocked by the clothing on the body surface.

The downside of cotton short sleeves is that the sweat is absorbed directly until it soaks through the clothing-covered parts of his body, which makes Bill really want to run to the bathroom to take a shower.

"Why don't we football players have short sleeves that are tight and dry quickly?"

In the equipment gym, Bill, who had temporarily finished training, chatted with physical coach Frank and several teammates.

"Sports brands don't pay much attention to these things. Professional and expensive shoes are what Adidas and Nike focus on. As far as our football equipment is concerned, Douglas and Adidas are mainly competing for the national market, and small factories also serve local and nearby ones. Elementary school, high school teams, college teams and professional teams generally work with big brands."

Frank explained to the players.

Mr. Ferrari suddenly became interested, "If I start a sports brand, the main product is tight and quick-drying, will anyone buy it?"

According to his observations in the past two years, Nike has not yet come out of the track and field, and there are not many items of sporting goods and trendy sneakers for street teenagers.The number one thing for young people—sneakers—has yet to become a cultural trend.

In the American society in the 80s, the cultural trend of expressing individuality through brand positioning was popular, and the street culture's interest in sneakers was consistent with this trend.Different sneaker brands, styles, and colors can express different personalities, because sneakers can provide more possibilities for the wearer, so this street style quickly became commercialized.

Use quick-drying clothes to quickly open up the NFL market, then develop trendy sneakers, take advantage of the rise of the 80s sneaker culture, and sign some endorsement products by some big stars that Bill knows.

Mr. Ferrari paints a very clear vision for the company he envisions.

Since you want to play for several years, you might as well take advantage of your own sports star and start your own sporting goods company.

"If there is such a kind of T-shirt that is not sticky and fit after strenuous exercise, even if the style is single, I will stock up some at home. The cotton underwear on the market is too uncomfortable."

Cade Hill hopes to have such a short-sleeve. He is a newly recruited close-end substitute this year. He is a freshman at the beginning of school. He is currently following the old-timer Bill Ferrari to familiarize himself with the training rhythm of the team and the close-end. .

Frank shook his head and smiled, "As far as the current situation is concerned, big brands probably won't design such training clothes for us. This is where the magic of our football players lies. In the 60s, the annual salary of the top players in the NFL has reached 70 US dollars. There were millions of players in the [-]s, but today, the sports companies that provide us with equipment still don’t consider these details. Maybe only the brands created by our own people will think about us and design some to meet our needs. undergarments."

The magical reality made him a little bit emotional. In the eyes of ordinary fans, NFL stars are the emperors on the baking sheet.But from the perspective of capitalists, the degree of commercialization of rugby-related products is not high. Only professional players and youth rugby players will have demand. The market outside the stadium is not large, so there is no need to invest huge sums of money in research and development of new products.

"If Bill really founded such a company and designed products that can take our needs into consideration, I will definitely promote it to you in the circle." Frank still hopes that someone can change this situation.

The demand is there. Mr. Ferrari decided to start a sporting goods company recently. "Maybe there will be good news within this year. As you know, the influence of our football game is not low."

In fact, since the 60s, rugby has become the most popular sport in the United States, and has a very high B status in the hearts of young people.

During the day's training, Bill has been thinking about it.After driving his Volvo [-] down Kings Row to his new home in Mountain View, he decided to convene the family to discuss the matter.

"Starting a sporting goods company? Bill, none of us understand that, running a business is too far away."

In the big living room of the new home, the uncle sat slumped on the sofa, listening to the new ideas of his nephew.

Of course, Mr. Ferrari would not expect his uncle, who had been a security guard for half his life, to understand the sporting goods market and run the company. He just wanted his family members to participate in the process of negotiating the name, so as to promote the corporate culture later.

He had already figured out which company to copy the real name and trademark.

"I need you to think of a name for this company, which sounds professional."

Neo pushed his eldest cousin who was in a wheelchair to the living room area. Except for Dorothy, the whole family was present.

"After our last name? Ferrari-Conte would be nice."

Little brother Neo suggested.

"I remember that Bill wanted to open a sports car factory, so let's leave the name to the car factory!" Anthony, with a sad face, disagreed with his little cousin's suggestion.

"Indeed, with the word Ferrari, any brand sounds like a car factory, a sporting goods company or a sportswear company." Bill covered his mouth and pretended to think for a while, "Well, our brand is called under armor, which means "under armor". The close-fitting armor, the name also matches the quality of the tight sweat-absorbing short sleeves I designed."

The serious Under Armor was founded in the 90s, and its founder Kevin Plank is still a kid and has not become a football star.

"Under armor... I don't think it's as easy as Nike and Adidas. What about the logo, what are you going to use?" The big cousin doesn't like this name very much.

For a certain period of time, his quality of life was quite good, and he had a fairly good understanding of clothing brands.

"The two half-circles overlap, and the opening faces up and down." Under Armour's ability to escape from the siege of Nike and Adidas in the 90s naturally has its reasons, and Bill decided to copy the whole set.

"Sounds like Chanel's logo turned around, this one is not bad." Anthony approved of his cousin's eyes.

In the background sound of the TV, the worried aunt listened to the nephew's plan, "Then who will run the company? This is a big investment, and the family members don't understand this, and you are busy with training and playing football."

"Let's do it step by step! I'll call Sophia Moritti first, and ask her to inquire about the manufacturers and find some professional managers with experience in the clothing industry."

Bill once promised Sofia Moritti to be his agent, but this matter fell through later. He didn't need a full-time assistant before, so after graduation, Sophia took advantage of her own advantages and entered the office on Powell Street in San Francisco. The American Academy of Drama as a clerk.

This drama academy is also a place where Italians gather together. Bad movie king Nicolas Cage came to take classes in middle school to improve his acting skills.

"Is she reliable? I think we should look for managers, factory directors, etc. from our family members." The uncle turned his eyes from the TV to his nephew, "For example, your sister Dorothy, after she went to college, she has With a degree, he is much better than outsiders."

Bill thought about it, and let the girl go to further studies honestly.

"Our family is not short of money now, so there is no need for Dorothy to give up the opportunity to continue studying and come out to work. This Sophia is quite reliable. During college, apart from my rugby player friends, she and I had the best relationship."

This wooden "big villa" in Mountain View is what Sophia found. Compared with Palo Alto, where Stanford faculty and staff gather together, the housing price in Mountain View, east of Stanford University, is much lower, and it is only ten miles away from the school. It's a 10-minute drive to [-], and the local public transportation is not well developed, which meets Bill's expectations.

PS: Ask for a recommendation ticket and ask for a monthly ticket.

(End of this chapter)