In footwear, hiking boots are popular, but are bought and worn interchangeably with industrial boots. Multinational brands like Reebok, Nike and Adidas are now synonymous with both footwear and clothing, and have been largely responsible for bringing branding into High Street fashion. This market is extremely fragmented, but a British company, Dunlop Slazenger International, is the overall market leader with significant interests in several sports. Other multisport brands include Wilson, Spalding, Head and Pro Kennex. Otherwise, market leadership depends on the sport and even on the type of equipment or accessory needed.
Imports dominate the equipment supply.
The retail giant, Sears, took the initiative in the 1980s, but has been bought by Sports Division recently. The famous Lillywhites store has also changed hands, and the largest of a number of growing independent multiples is JJB Sports. Over 300 companies are members of the international buying group, Intersport. Much more important is media coverage, important in the press, but increasingly dominated by television. Within television sport, a series of running battles for control of major events and tournaments has been the characteristic of the 1990s.