Where was shoe manufacturer Reebok founded?

Reebok was founded in Bolton, England. The brand grew from a family shoemaking tradition in the Lancashire town, where Joseph William Foster began making athletic shoes in 1895.

Foster’s company, J.W. Foster and Sons, became known for lightweight running shoes and track spikes. In 1958, Foster’s grandsons, Joe and Jeff Foster, formed a companion company and named it Reebok, taking the name from the African antelope. The business retained its Bolton roots while developing footwear for athletes and runners.

A common mix-up is to answer Boston, Massachusetts, because Reebok later established its U.S. headquarters there and became strongly associated with the American sportswear market. That describes an important later corporate base, not the brand’s birthplace. Reebok’s original identity and manufacturing history are firmly tied to Bolton, England; the company’s family footwear lineage reaches back to 1895, while the Reebok name itself dates from 1958.