. for north american licensee speedo usa see warnaco group . for other uses see speedo disambiguation . speedo international limited the speedo boomerang logo type private industry textiles apparel luxury goods fate acquired predecessor danomic investments ltd. founded bondi beach new south wales australia 1914 1914 founder alexander macrae headquarters nottingham uk area served worldwide key people andrew rubin chief executive officer david robinson president products swimwear accessories sportswear parent pentland group plc. website speedo.com en footnotes references 1 speedo international ltd. is a manufacturer and distributor of swimwear and swim related accessories based in nottingham england . founded in sydney australia in 1914 the industry leading company is now a subsidiary of the british pentland group . today the speedo brand can be found on products ranging from swimsuits and goggles to wrist watches and mp3 players . 2 the speedo brand is manufactured for and marketed in north america as speedo usa by pvh under an exclusive perpetual licence 3 who acquired prior licencee warnaco group in 2013 . in accordance with its australian roots speedo uses a boomerang as their symbol . due to their success in the swimwear industry the word speedo has become synonymous with racing bathing suits . contents 1 history 1.1 speedo knitting mills 1.2 post war expansion 1.3 modern technology 2 products 2.1 accessories 2.2 footwear 2.3 speedo digital 3 swimwear 3.1 controversial technology 3.1.1 fastskin 3.1.2 lzr racer 3.1.2.1 post fina surplus 4 sponsorships 4.1 olympic committees 4.2 national teams 5 sponsored athletes 6 see also 7 references 8 external links history edit australian swimmers bonnie mealing clare dennis frances bult with chaperone and sprinters eileen wearne aus and thelma kench nz at the 1932 los angeles olympics speedo knitting mills edit company founder alexander macrae emigrated from loch kishorn in the western highlands of scotland to sydney australia in 1910 . originally working as a milkman he founded macrae and company hosiery four years later manufacturing underwear under the brand name fortitude taken from his family crest . 4 the australian army s need for socks during the first world war provided macrae with enough business to expand and in 1927 his first line of swimwear called a racer back costume was introduced . the following year a naming contest held among the macrae staff yielded the slogan speed on in your speedos . the brand name was born . the contest winner captain parsonson was awarded 5 for his slogan and the company was renamed speedo knitting mills . 4 the controversial yet revolutionary racerback style s open shoulder and exposed back allowed greater range of motion in water and was quickly adopted by competitive swimmers despite being banned by some beaches . 5 in 1932 speedo made its olympic debut when 16 year old australian clare dennis won the women s 200 meter breaststroke at the los angeles olympic games . after nearly being disqualified for showing too much shoulder in her regulation silk speedo brand swimsuit dennis went on to set a world record time of 3 06.3 . 6 the 1936 berlin summer games also saw some controversy as the men s australian swim team featured shirtless swim trunks for the first time . also in 1936 alexander macrae became involved in the surf life saving association . to this day speedo continues to support the australian volunteer organisation . 7 two years later company founder alexander macrae died at the age of 50 . 4 post war expansion edit after devoting most of its resources to the war effort during world war ii speedo enjoyed a great post war demand for swimsuits specifically the recently invented bikini style . the company quickly reestablished itself as a leader in swimwear manufacturing and once again drew controversy when its two piece was banned by australian beach inspectors . 7 in 1951 speedo knitting mills holdings ltd. incorporated and went public selling its stock on the sydney stock exchange . 7 in 1955 nylon was used for the first time in the company s swimsuits 8 and the next year the increasingly popular swimsuit brand returned to the olympics when its home country hosted the melbourne summer games . 4 the speedo sponsored australian men s swim team took home eight gold medals 9 and brought a new worldwide level of notoriety to the company which debuted the swim briefs that would become synonymous with the brand name . by 1957 speedo had the exclusive licence to manufacture and distribute jockey brand men s underwear in australia . 10 the company finished off the 1950s by exporting to the united states and exploring potential opportunities in south america europe new zealand and japan . 7 the end of the 1950s also saw the beginning of a long lasting business partnership which continues to this day . in 1958 speedo began the manufacture of american warnaco s white stag ski wear line . in exchange in 1961 white stag became the exclusive us distributor of speedo swimwear . through white stag speedo s product line expanded to include men s and women s sportswear . 11 by the middle of the 1960s speedo had acquired 30 % of nottingham uk textile manufacturer robert shaw and company ltd. and had established a european subsidiary . licences were also granted to japanese and south american corporations . 7 the 1968 mexico city summer olympics saw 27 of the 29 gold medalists 22 of which set world records wearing speedo brand swimsuits . 7 speedo began the next decade by completing its acquisition of robert shaw and company in 1971 . 12 the 1970s also saw the company pioneer the use of elastane spandex and the brand s use in olympic record breaking continued at the 1972 munich and 1976 montreal games the latter of which speedo was an official swimwear licensee . 7 on australia day 26 january 1981 the australian institute of sport opened in canberra with speedo as its first official sponsor . 7 also early in the decade speedo provided equipment and training to china 7 to aid the communist country s return to the olympics for first time since 1958 . 13 throughout the decade the brand expanded its reach in europe by licensing production in italy spain sweden and other nations bringing its total distribution to 112 countries . 7 modern technology edit in 1990 british sportswear firm pentland group which had just sold its shares of sneaker company reebok acquired a significant stake in warnaco offshoot authentic fitness which was the exclusive north american licensee of speedo . pentland followed this move with the purchase of 80 % of speedo europe ltd. early the next year pentland completed its aggressive entrance into the global swimwear market by wholly acquiring speedo australia and speedo international . 14 under pentland s ownership speedo expanded its line of swimwear to include more fashion oriented beachwear as well as triathlon accessories . michael phelps centre unveils the speedo lzr racer suit . even under the new corporate command speedo continued its winning tradition of utilising cutting edge technology to decrease drag in the water and increase speed into the 1990s . the decade saw the creation of the low drag s2000 suit the chlorine resistant endurance line as well as the aquablade series which was worn by more than three fourths of medal winners at the 1996 atlanta summer games . 7 speedo began the 21st century with the introduction of its fastskin swimsuit and again broke world records when the summer games returned to the swimwear leader s home town . the company website boasts that 13 out of the 15 swimming records broken in the 2000 sydney olympics were by athletes wearing speedo . three years later speedo celebrated its 75th anniversary with special limited edition lines endorsed by jerry hall naomi campbell and others . in 2004 michael phelps wore the latest evolution of the fastskin series 7 in athens to become the first swimmer to earn eight medals . 15 phelps followed up this performance four years later earning eight golds 15 at beijing while wearing speedo s lzr racer suit 7 in 2010 the company launched speedo sculpture shapeline a new line of body shaping swimsuits for women . 16 products edit speedo shop neal street covent garden london although the brand name speedo is often genericised to refer to any style of men s swim briefs these account for less than 2 % of the company s sales . 17 the speedo name can be found on a wide range of swimsuit styles for men women and children focusing on performance and style . speedo also offers a range of sportswear footwear and accessories ranging from swim goggles to electronics . additionally speedo international offers a line of men s underwear and speedo australia features a line of underwear called speedo underbody for men and women sold only in select david jones retail stores . 18 accessories edit speedo offers a broad range of swim accessories including more than seventy models of goggles 19 several models of watches sunglasses and towels . in addition speedo offers several lines of aquatic fitness aids and swim aids for children and adults as well as scuba masks snorkels and swimfins . speedo international offers a line of beach games equipment not offered on the speedousa website . footwear edit the speedo brand can be found on a wide variety of footwear including sandals flip flops and water shoes . speedo usa offers waterproof sneakers for aqua fitness training . 20 speedo digital edit the speedo digital line of accessories includes the waterproof aquabeat and lzr racer aquabeat digital music players and related accessories which are manufactured by south korean consumer electronics company iriver . 21 speedo s electronics offerings also include the auquashot waterproof digital camera . swimwear edit speedo usa s men s collections are categorised as competition racing boardshorts and swim trunks fashion and lifeguard . 22 speedo international s men s offerings also include wetsuits . 23 both speedo usa and speedo international also offer a wide range of children s styles including performance racing fashion and beginner lines . 22 23 controversial technology edit swim records were broken in speedo brand silk suits in the 1930s and the company was the first to introduce the use of nylon in the 1950s 8 and later nylon elastane in the 1970s . 7 speedo s most recent technological advances are found in the fastskin fastskin fs ii series and the lzr racer suit . throughout the company s history though it seemed each design innovation was met with great controversy . clare dennis was nearly disqualified from her record breaking olympic meet because her suit showed too much skin ; 6 early speedo bikinis were banned from some australian beaches ; 7 more recently the nasa technology in the lzr racer suit michael phelps wore at the beijing olympics was the subject of great media scrutiny . fastskin edit in 2000 british designer and former competitive swimmer fiona fairhurst was named as a finalist for european inventor of the year . 24 fairhurst helped speedo s aqualab design team invent the first of its kind fastskin swimsuit . inspired by the varying skin texture of a shark fairhurst told the bbc that she was looking to develop a fabric that mimics nature . 25 both the fastskin and fastkskin fs ii are textured with bumps and ridges in key places similar to those on a shark s skin . these ridges serve to channel the water over the swimmer s body in a more efficient manner than traditional material suits . 26 in addition the suits are custom designed for the type of stroke the swimmer will use as well as being engineered differently for women and for men . these high tech suits make use of elastic compression materials to limit muscle