Karhu
In the 1920s, the name was changed to Karhu, which is the Finnish word for bear.
Karhu - From Finland to the world
They produced mainly discuses and spears, but Karhu's product range also included running shoes. In the 1930s the product range was changed and expanded. During World War II, the company produced mainly for the Finnish army, but then concentrated again on sports shoes and was one of the most important brands represented at the 1952 Olympic Games. The typical three stripes, which adorned the products at that time, were ceded to the competitor adidas for 1600€ and two bottles of whisky, according to the company's own information. Since then, the shoes are adorned with an "M" on the side, a reference to the Mäntylä brothers, who were both designers of Karhu shoes.
Karhu - The sneaker with the bear
Various athletes in the 60s wanted more color for their sports shoes. The designers of Karhu took care of these wishes and created the "Iconic Karhu Colors" which are still valid today. But not only in design Karhu could convince, they experimented and tested new materials to achieve the best possible result. Already in 1970 they developed an "Air Cushioning System", which was processed in the midsole of the Karhu running shoes. The first Karhu sneaker to be equipped with this system was the "Albatross" model, which immediately sold 1 million pairs worldwide. This development was later taken up by Nike with the "Air System" and the rest is history. Karhu continued to work on innovative technologies and with "Fulcrum", "Ortix" and "Synchron" succeeded exceptionally well, some of these technical advances can still be found in Karhu sneakers today. Even though Karhu was and is mostly known for performance running shoes, lifestyle sneakers like the "Fusion 2.0" or the "Aria" are very popular sneaker models from the traditional Finnish brand.
