Bata Heritage Relaunches John Wooden Sneaker With Wilson

CHICAGO, July 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Bata Heritage is proud to relaunch with Wilson the John Wooden sneaker, one of the most iconic products that the brand has carried in its 124-year history. Wilson and Bata partnered in the early 1970s to develop sports shoes, including the John Wooden sneaker. It was a tribute to one of America's greatest basketball coaches and the only person to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame both as a player (1960) and a coach (1973). John Wooden won 10 NCAA national championships between 1964 and 1975 as head coach at UCLA—including a record seven in a row. Wooden retired at the age of 64 after a 27-year UCLA coaching career, and in 2009 was voted the "Greatest Coach of All Time" by The Sporting News magazine.

Launched in 1977, the Bata x Wilson John Wooden sneaker featured a revolutionary polyurethane sole that was exceptionally lightweight. It was famously worn by Magic Johnson on and off the court and is one of the most sought-after sneakers among collectors.

This relaunch includes a John Wooden lo-top sneaker in white leather and rubber sole with contrasting side logo and back detailing in pink, burgundy and yellow, as well as a hi-top, also in white, with contrasting black, blue and green side logo and back detailing.

Also included in the relaunch is a limited-edition hi-top and lo-top John Wooden sneaker crafted from the orange grained composite leather used to make the official Wilson NCAA basketball. White rubber sole and eyelets contrast the black laces, side logo and detailing at the back. On the left heel, 1977—year the shoe was created—is embossed in gold, while the serial number is featured on the right heel. To commemorate John Wooden's 620 wins during his coaching at UCLA, only 620 pairs of lo-tops and 620 pairs of hi-tops in this limited-edition series will be produced.

The Bata x Wilson John Wooden sneakers are available at Dover Street Market New York, London and Ginza Tokyo, Footshop in Prague, De Bijenkorf, as well as on www.bataheritage.com.  The John Wooden limited-edition sneakers are available at Dover Street Market New York, The Webster New York and Miami Beach, Beams International Gallery Tokyo, De Bijenkorf Amsterdam, as well as on www.bataheritage.com.

ABOUT BATA HERITAGE

Bata was founded by Tomas Bata in 1894 in the village of Zlin, in what is now the Czech Republic. To fulfill his objective to "shoe mankind", Bata developed many shoe-making techniques and pioneered responsible capitalism, as he believed that the purpose of business was to serve customers, employees, and communities. Company towns called "Batavilles", which featured employee housing, schools and other facilities, were built across the world as the company expanded. Today Bata remains a family business that serves one million customers a day around the world and maintains its focus on corporate responsibility. Even though it is a global company now headquartered in Switzerland, the brand caters to the unique local needs of customers in countries across Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America, where it is honored to be considered a trusted local brand. In 2014, to celebrate its 120th anniversary, Bata launched its Bata Heritage collection to showcase heritage products from its vast archives of shoes that had a real impact in many different countries.

SOURCE Wilson