Arena S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturing company of competitive swimwear created in 1973 by Horst Dassler. The company is currently headquartered in Tolentino, Italy. In 1990, Arena was sold by Adidas to Japanese corporation Descente Ltd., which still commercialises its products.
It has subsidiaries in France, Germany, and the United States, and also operates through a global network of distributors and licensees, with presence in over 100 countries around the world. in order to manufacture competitive swimwear. The idea of producing sportswear came up to Dassler after the astounding performance of swimmer Mark Spitz at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, where he won seven gold medals.
In 1973 the brand launched its first swimwear line, the "Skinfit", made of an ultra-light fabric only weighed 18 grams. One year later, Arena signed its first sponsorship agreement with Australian swimmer Shane Gould, who had won 5 Olympic medals at Munich. Arena released a swimsuit collection with her name.