Airness, a little known sportswear brand in the Anglophone world, has risen spectacularly from its home base in France, punching above its weight against established sportswear giants such as Nike, adidas, Puma and Umbro.
The likes of Mali and Guinea can bee seen in Airness kits at this year’s Afcon finals.
Airness’ remarkable rise began when founder Malamine Koné, who arrived in France in 1981 as a 10-year-old village boy without knowing a word of French, took the plunge into the fashion business after a promising boxing career was cut short due to injury.
Founded in 1999 with its signature Panther logo (not to be confused with PUMA) Airness has attracted the likes of Djibril Cissé, Didier Drogba, Sylvain Wiltord who have helped catapult the brand’s status in the intensely competitive sports apparel market.
Koné has built an impressive €120 million empire selling footwear and apparel in Europe and West Africa while securing exclusive supplier contracts to a host of clubs and national teams across popular sporting codes such as soccer, rugby and basketball.
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