Pearl Izumi
PEARL iZUMi (パールイズミ) is a company that produces sports apparel, primarily focusing on road cycling, track cycling, mountain biking, and triathlon.
It was founded in 1950 in Tokyo by Kinji Shimizu who crafted the first jersey.
Ownership and distribution
DASH America (trading as PEARL iZUMi USA) purchased the trademark from Dave Jacobs (founder of Spyder, and the original distributor of PEARL iZUMi in the USA). Purchased in 1989 by a group of private investors - Davis Phinney, Andy Hampsten, Stan Mavis, and Hugh Walton - the company was eventually sold to Nautilus Inc. in 2005, who then sold it to Shimano in 2008. Shimano sold the company to United Sports Brands in 2022. USB holds the rights to distribute the product everywhere in the world except Asia.
Sponsorships
PEARL iZUMi has sponsored many cycling teams, including the 1984 USA Olympic team. Other sponsored athletes include:
- Mark Matthews (Mountain Bike)
- Marley Blonsky (Road & Gravel)
- Lael Wilcox (Ultra-distance)
- Jeff Lenosky (Mountain Bike)
- Brice Shirbach (Mountain Bike)
- Macky Franklin (Mountain Bike)
- Syd Schulz (Mountain Bike)
- Dillon Caldwell (Gravel)
- Angela Naeth (Triathlete & Gravel)
- Hannah Shell (Road & Gravel)
- Jake Magee (Road & Gravel)