 | On 5 January 1905 Quick was officially registered as a shoe designer, producer and shoe store. Mr. Herman Jansen developed a taste for functional though elegant sportswear. In 1905 he opened a shop in Hengelo, a town situated in the province of Gelderland.
The shop was stocked with six pairs of sports shoes and 150 empty shoe boxes. In his first year the local soccer club had him make three pairs of soccer boots, and that was just the beginning....
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In the cold winters the Dutch used to wear wooden shoes.
Quick designed, produced and sold many Quicks, wooden clogs which quickly made Quick a household name
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On the eve of WWI leather was hard to get and so was labour.
The Jansen family had to work hard to keep the business running, with only the repair shop open in order to survive these difficult times.
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Many companies did not survive WWI, but with tremendous effort Quick managed to do better and grew against all odds.
In the early 30’s Quick concentrated on making top quality footwear, ranging from tennis shoes, hockey shoes, rugby boots, cycling shoes to soccer boots for the national and international market.
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The Olympic Games came to the Netherlands, to Amsterdam.
For these games Quick provided the official running shoe, a shoe re-introduced in the spring/summer collection of 2003.
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‘My name is Polly Pil and I have been Quick’s mascot since the thirties’. A pair of Quicks could be yours at ƒ 2.25 and an even less expensive version could be had at ƒ 0.88. About 400 pairs of Quickies were produced each week in the simple factory.
Shortly before WWII production was stopped, to be restarted soon after.
Jansen’s eldest son went to the Waterlooplein market in Amsterdam to buy old felt hats. Another brother bought old bike tyres.
Quick soon started producing slippers instead of soccer boots, using recycled hats and tyres.
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The famous Captain model kept Quick in the lead. Besides the usual optimal quality and optimal fit, the Captain was sought after for its width, its soft top quality leather and its design.
Great soccer players such as Lenstra, Rijvers, Wilkes, Keijzer, Moulijn, Muller, Swart, Rensebrink, Van Gaal, Suurbier, Van Duivenbode, Wery, Laseroms, Pronk, Notte, Geels, Nanninga, Ophof , Blind, father and sons Koeman and even Cruyff played on Quick soccer shoes and wore the growing company’s sportswear troughout time (1940 - 1990).
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Immediately after WWII Quick restarted the production of leather soccer shoes. Demand rose and the factory was relocated.
Production was increased to 1600 pairs a week. In this year the founder Herman Jansen retired at 75 and left a sound company to his four sons.
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With steadily rising demand the factory was again relocated. Lots of professional soccer clubs adopted Quick’s functional footwear.
Sparta, GVAV, Den Bosch, Ajax, De Graafschap, NEC, DS’79, ADO and even the Dutch National Team were supplied by Quick.
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In the glory days of Dutch football Quick was superior to all foreign brands trying to get a foothold in the Netherlands. No brand could hold a candle to quality and price of the famous Quick soccer boots.
The factory by then produced a wide range of both men’s and ladies’ shoes, from soccer boots, hockey shoes, cycling shoes, ice skating boots and basketball shoes to casual shoes.
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Quick celebrated its sixtieth birthday. Commercial spirit and hard work had seen the factory through difficult periods and war. The distinctive block stripes soon turned every new shoe into a unique piece of work that was hard to imitate.
Innovative development in both shoes and sportswear guaranteed Quick’s leading position in the market of functional sportswear and special soccer boots. The Smash, Sprint and Typhoon models were proof that Quick was leading the world of football.
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Quick introduced Europe’s lightest soccer boot, the Supercup. Supercup, Starfighter and Typhoon were top of the range and resulted from 65 years of hard work and craftsmanship.
Coral was the most popular model, tailor-made for indoor sports like indoor soccer and handball. Coral was reintroduced in the 2003 spring/ summer collection.
The first Dutch soccer club to win the Cup of Europe was Feyenoord of Rotterdam.
The final was decided by three leading Feyenoord players, Theo Laseroms, Theo van Duivenbode and Henk Wery..all on Quick shoes.
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Sports shoes found their way into casual clothing.. sports shoes and jeans were trendy and have been trendy ever since. Kids would simply die for a pair of Sprinters or Saffiers.
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The 70s and 80s saw the introduction of Topstar.
Topstar easily found its place besides the other great soccer boots, and even outshone them. It meant pleasure and success. Wearing the Topstar, some players even believed its fame would rub off.
Topstar was the first all-black soccer boot with optimal touch and super fit. Some players claimed soccer would never be the same without Topstar.
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Foreign sports brands discovered the fashion market and started producing casual shoes. The conversion was quick but due to mismanagement Quick was slow to follow.
Consequently a big market share was lost, not to be regained for a long time.
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However much professional players still liked Quicks, management errors and diminishing returns kept Quick from regaining its rightful place among leading sports brands.
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In 1991 eleven of twenty-eight employees had to be made redundant and, unavoidably, Quick’s fate was sealed.
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Two real Quick fans put Quick back in the picture. In July and September 2001 limited editions of Quick shoes were introduced at Seventy-Five’s in Amsterdam. Quick heritage shoes were suddenly hot.
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Q becomes the official teamwear supplier of Dutch Football club AZ Alkmaar. AZ and coach Louis van Gaal play at the top of the Dutch premier league. |
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The characteristic Q appears on the Spyker Formula 1 cars. Q provides the race shoes for all team members including the fire-proof versions for the pilots.
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Q re-launches the “Flexible and Strong” collections which originate back from the 8-ties. Mixed with style elements and material mixes without compromising the integrity and pureness of the original products.
Our story will continue…
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