From Armenian SSR With adidas
A history of licensed adidas factory in Soviet Armenia which still produces sneakers up to this day.
When in Armenia, you may often spot elderly men wearing a particular pair of sneakers with four stripes. But don’t be fooled, these are not yet another fake sneakers made at low cost in a no-name overseas factory.
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Four stripes are not a coincidence. It’s a hint. These sneakers were made in Armenia by a contract factory set up by adidas during the Soviet era. Some sources say that the Sports Committee of the USSR had collaborated with adidas since the 60s. The reason is trivial — the Soviets didn’t know how to manufacture proper sportswear.
Business relationships between the Soviets and adidas were officially established right before the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Already complex collaboration with a company from a capitalist country was put under even more pressure with the Soviet-Afghan War and was criticized by the Western world.
Somehow Soviets still managed to reach an agreement with adidas on two crucial terms: factories should be located inside the USSR, and they get rid of the original branding. This is how the adidas Moskva sneaker was born as a crossover between Samba, Gazelle, and Campus.
A factory in Yeghvard, 40 km from the capital city of Yerevan, was opened in 1987. Imported equipment cost reached almost $8 000 000. People from adidas came to Armenia to launch the factory. They hired only young women without experience in sewing to teach them from scratch according to adidas standards. Some employees even went on internships at adidas factories in Germany and Austria.
After the Soviet Union collapsed, the factory lost its license to produce adidas sneakers. Nevertheless, it continued its operations under a new brand — «Yechvard». This is how the fourth stripe on the sneaker came about.
Time proves quality. Looking at the Armenian men in Yechvard sneakers today, you can easily tell that these are some hard-wearing shoes. They wear them for ages so that a white sole turns yellow but still maintains its original function.
The founder of the contemporary Armenian brand Berq Studio Melo Sofoyan (who I’m honored to call a friend) had been trying to collaborate with Yechvard for years without any luck. Until one day his friend introduced him to her grandfather, owner of the factory.
The result of that encounter came in the form of two pairs of Yeghvard sneakers in suede: one in total black and another in blue on a white sole. Melo left only one stripe out of four, that’s why the shoe no longer reminds of adidas. Luckily the original sole remained the same, which means that the sneakers will still last for years to come.
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