Reebok, a leading designer, marketer and distributor of sports, fitness and casual footwear, has announced the extension of the local distribution contract for the Gulf region with its distributor RBK Middle East.

Roland Auschel, chief sales officer of Adidas Group, and David Reilly, CEO, RBK Middle East signed the contract extension on Wednesday at the Armani Hotel in Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

With this, RBK Middle East will continue as the exclusive distributor for Reebok products in the Gulf region (GCC) until the end of 2014.

Commenting on the extension, Auschel said the team of RBK Middle East and the Reebok brand have proven to be a natural fit over the last decade.

'The combination of RBK Middle East’s local network, strong distribution and retail skills together with the compelling and innovative Reebok product pipeline holds a lot of potential for future growth,' he added.

Reilly said the RBK Middle East had a large Reebok distribution business in form of presence in multi-brand stores and Reebok mono-branded stores in GCC.

'We operate 14 Reebok mono-branded stores in the region and plan to take this number to 40 by the end of 2014. In partnership with our regional multi-brand retailers we plan to have over 200 retail points,' he added.

At the signing ceremony, Reebok launched two special collections - the Armani EA7 collection and an extension line to the Toning Category.

'Consumers in the Gulf Region are very brand conscious. This collaboration offers a new perspective for the design and fashion-minded, active consumer,' said Osman Ayaz, managing director of Adidas Group Emerging Markets.

'The global style credentials of the Emporio Armani EA7 brand, combined with Reebok’s fitness and training heritage, and focus going forward, fit together perfectly to provide a compelling new offering in the sports-style marketplace,' he added.

Reebok is also extending its Toning Category, since EasyTone, the walking shoe for Women, has taken a leading position in the emerging toning shoe market and has made fitness fun and easy for consumers.

The new Autumn/Winter Toning collection adds EasyTones for Men, RunTones for Running and TrainTone for Training for both men and women. 
 
The EA7/Reebok collection will be limited to Emporio Armani boutiques, select Reebok concept stores and preferred retailers worldwide, starting from July, while Toning line up will be available across all RBK stores starting from July.-TradeArabia News Service