摘要：The internationalization of sport and the resulting popularization of sport-related lifestyles,habits and preferences have an impact on business operations and economic performance of companies in the athletic apparel and accessories market,contributing to their further internationalization. The overall success of this industry can be traced back to the growing demand dictated by the decades-long trend of the cult of the body. The market leaders include companies whose origins date back to the 1930s,whose internationalization was of evolutionary nature,and the so-called latecomers,relative newcomers to the market who havegained the reputation of global players in a short time. The aim of this study is to present the world’s largest companies in the athletic apparel and accessories industry (global companies),and define the importance of their capital internationalization in building the international market position. To this end,a variety of sources were consulted,including the Statista,Macrotrends,EquityRT,periodical rankings published by organizations and consulting companies,such as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD),Interbrand,as well as lists of the largest companies presented in the Fortune journal. Our findings show that this group comprises several companies,with Nike Inc. and Adidas AG as its leaders. All the studied enterprises strengthened their economic position in the analyzed period. The analysis also shows that the internationalization of business operationscontributes to building the international market position.
