Saucony ˈsɔːkəni is an American manufacturer of athletic shoe

Athletic shoe

Athletic shoe is a generic name for the footwear primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise but in recent years has come to be used for casual everyday activities....

s, best-known today for its premium running shoes and men's and women's apparel.

History

The company's first factory was founded in 1898 at Kutztown, Pennsylvania

Kutztown, Pennsylvania

Kutztown is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, southwest of Allentown and northeast of Reading. As of the 2000 census, the borough has a total population of 5,067. It is the site of Kutztown University.- History :...

, on the high banks of the Saucony Creek. In 1910, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n immigrant Abraham Hyde started a shoe company in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...

, called Hyde Athletic Industries. Over the years, Hyde became known for making atheltic footwear including brands such as SpotBilt and PF Flyers; Hyde Athletic Industries bought Saucony in the late 1960s, and moved it to Cambridge. By the late 1990s, when Saucony became Hyde's dominant brand, the name of the company was officially changed from Hyde Athletic Industries to Saucony.

In June 2005, the Stride Rite Corporation

Stride Rite Corporation

The Stride Rite Corporation is a marketer of children's footwear in the United States and is a major marketer of athletic and casual footwear for children and adults...

 (maker of Keds, Sperry Top-Sider

Sperry Top-Sider

Sperry Top-Sider is the original brand of boat shoe designed in 1935 by Paul Sperry, older brother of author/illustrator Armstrong Sperry. The Top-Siders were the first boat shoes introduced into the boating market.-History:...

 and other brands) announced an agreement to acquire Saucony. Both companies are based in the greater Boston, Massachusetts area: Lexington

Lexington, Massachusetts

Lexington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,399 at the 2010 census. This town is famous for being the site of the first shot of the American Revolution, in the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775.- History :...

. Stride Rite was acquired by Payless ShoeSource

Payless ShoeSource

Payless ShoeSource is a discount footwear retailer founded in Topeka, Kansas in 1956 that is owned by Collective Brands, Inc. In 1961, it became a public company as the Volume Shoe Corporation which merged with the May Department Stores Company in 1979. In the 1980s, Payless was widely known in the...

 in autumn 2007.

Saucony's shoe boxes once had the phrase "sock a knee" printed on them. The Saucony brand represents the Saucony Creek's constant flow, and the boulders lining its creek bed

Creek (tidal)

A tidal creek, tidal channel, or estuary is the portion of a stream that is affected by ebb and flow of ocean tides, in the case that the subject stream discharges to an ocean, sea or strait. Thus this portion of the stream has variable salinity and electrical conductivity over the tidal cycle...

.

The company is also a popular racing shoe producer, making track spikes

Track spikes

Track spikes, or just spikes, are pointed protrusions usually made of metal, ceramic or plastic that are screwed into the bottom of most track and field shoes to increase traction and minimize the likelihood of slipping. The term "spikes" can also refer to track shoes featuring such protrusions...

 and cross country

Cross country running

Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...

 racing flats

Racing flats

Racing flats, or simply flats, are lightweight athletic shoes designed for "long distance" track and field, cross country, and most often, road races. They differ from normal training shoes mainly by the lack of a substantial heel...

. Saucony also makes shoes for specific track and field athletics events.

Footwear

The company offers a variety of footwear choices, such as running, trail running, racing, walking, and a college collection. Each of these types of shoes utilizes specific technology relevant to the type of targeted activity. Shoes are also made by focusing on the runner's foot size, type of running, arch type, pronation, and running location.