Karhu running shoes

Karhu is a storied athletic brand, originally founded in 1916 in Helsinki, Finland. The name 'Karhu' translates to 'bear' in Finnish, reflecting the brand's rugged and powerful heritage. In its early decades, the brand became legendary for providing the footwear used by the 'Flying Finns' during several Olympic Games. Notably, Karhu originally used the famous 'three stripes' trademark before selling it to Adidas in the 1950s for a small sum of money and two bottles of whiskey.

Today, while the brand maintains its deep Finnish roots and design philosophy, it is under international ownership and its manufacturing is distributed globally, primarily in Asian centers known for high-performance athletic footwear production. The brand is particularly renowned for its 'Fulcrum' technology, which uses a specialized midsole to encourage forward momentum, and its 'Ortix' fit, which uses 3D foot scanning data to optimize shoe shapes.

Since 2008, the brand has been under the stewardship of Karhu Holding B.V., an investor group that has successfully revived the brand's lifestyle and technical running categories. The ultimate headquarters is located in the Netherlands, though the brand continues to celebrate its Finnish identity through design and marketing.