Business history adidas is a name that stands for competence in all sectors of sport around the globe. In 1963 adidas started ball production, and ever since 1970 the official match ball at all major soccer events has been an adidas product. May 26, 2008 adidas is the largest sportswear manufacturer in germany and europe and the second biggest sportswear manufacturer in the world. The brothers were partners in a shoe company adi started, gebruder dassler schuhfabrik dassler brothers shoe factory. Adis father and mother were christoph and paulina dassler and he had two older brothers, fritz and rudolf, and one sister marie. Founder of adidas, he was known for his many innovations in sporting footwear, including the spiked track shoe. Adolf adi dassler 3 november 1900 6 december 1978 was a german cobbler, inventor and entrepreneur who founded the german sportswear company adidas. Hary hoped to cash in from both, but adi was so enraged he. For the 1962 world cup, adidas created a shoe that had ankle padding, a rear shoe tab, and side lace holders. Puma and adidas shoes are known and loved all over the world.
At the 1936 berlin olympics, the american trackandfield star jesse owens wore shoes that were reportedly a gift from adi dassler. His father christoph worked in a shoe factory and mother ran a laundry service. Today she is jobshadowing the motley fools editorial team. Jan 15, 2019 although urban legend has it that the word adidas is an anagram of the phrase all day i dream about sports, the athletic wear company gets its name from its founder, adolph adi dassler. Til adidas was founded by a former member of the nazi. Four years later adi and his brother rudolph rudi founded the german sports shoe company gebruder dassler ohglater known as adidas. Milestones in adi and kathe dasslers life and adidas. The dassler family began manufacturing shoes after world war i. In 2016 adidas achieved the best results in company history. The most dassler families were found in the usa in 1920. In the 1920s, adolf adi dassler, a softspoken sports fanatic who spent hours. In 1920, at the age of 20, avid soccer player adolph adi dassler, son of a cobbler, invented spiked shoes.
He created a company that is worshiped by many around the world. First used in 1949, the 3stripes would not stay confined to their birthplace herzogenaurach but started their victory lap around the world early on to become the most famous symbol and key identifier of adidas. This was about 24% of all the recorded dasslers in the usa. In july 1924, his older brother rudolf joined the business, which became dassler brothers shoe factory gebruder dassler schuhfabrik. Is is true that the founder of adidas adolf dazzler and.
The book also ably tells the broader story of the redhot global sneaker trade. His elder brother rudolf dassler would manufacture the. The dassler family name was found in the usa between 1880 and 1920. Adidas formed by adolf dassler after feud with brother rudolf who then went on to form puma. In 1920, at the age of 20, avid soccer player adolph adi dassler, son of a cobbler, invented spiked shoes for track and field. Adolf dassler was the founder of the worlds second biggest sportswear manufacturing company adidas. Rudolf later established puma, which was the early rival of adidas. Hary had worn adidas before and asked adolf for payment, but adidas rejected this request. The humble dassler family sold homemade slippers to put food on. Historys adidas com pany adolf adi dassler established a shoe factory along with his brother in 1924 and named it dassler brothers shoe factory. To lead a brand into the future one needs to understand its history. While adi concentrated on innovation and production, rudolf was busy selling. Adidas realized that the birth and history of the firm, when compared to american rivals, presented a rare marketing advantage because, unlike a manufactured product, the intriguing history of adidas could never be replicated.
Seemingly every new product that dassler would release had the backing of some the worlds greatest players, who lauded dassler for his innovations. But by the end of world war ii a vicious feud had torn the dasslers apart, dividing their company and their family and launching. Mar 12, 2011 adidas adolf dassler history tv sports 24. Adidas ag is a multinational corporation based in herzogenaurach, germany. Clutching a bulging duffel bag, a short young man walked confidently onto the berlin olympic training grounds.
Adolf also known as adi dassler is best known as the founder of the adidas company, whose threestripe logo was to become synonymous with athletic shoes. Wisconsin had the highest population of dassler families in 1880. See, they coowned dassler brothers, an athletic shoe enterprise before. His death sparked another family battle for control of the company, this time between his two children adi jr.
Adi and rudolf dassler were brothers, based in the town of. Adolf dassler was inspired by a single idea when he made his first shoes in 1920, at the age of just 20. Without the world yet knowing, it became one of the most critical moments in the history of sports. Especially when the brands history is so fascinating, iconic and vivid as that of germanys largest sport brand, adidas the story as told by those who lived and are living it bears interviews of sport greatest celebrities such as franz beckenbauer, reinhold messner, stefanie graf, edwin moses, darryl mcdaniels. He says that adidas were the first real running shoes and they were more than happy to sell their shoes to anyone.
Adi was an avid sportsman and had a passion to create a shoe specifically for athletes. Although urban legend has it that the word adidas is an anagram of the phrase all day i dream about sports, the athletic wear company gets its name from its founder, adolph adi dassler. Apr 05, 2017 historys adidas com pany adolf adi dassler established a shoe factory along with his brother in 1924 and named it dassler brothers shoe factory. This is the story of adi dassler, founder of adidas and one of the worlds most original thinkers. He was also the younger brother of rudolf dassler, founder of puma.
Adidas is the largest sportswear manufacturer in germany and europe and the second biggest sportswear manufacturer in the world. Adidas, adidas shoes history, footwear company history. After first steps in his mothers wash kitchen, adi dassler registered the. Adidas and puma end bitter feud after 60 years daily. The enemy brothers who founded adidas and puma and the family feud that forever changed the business of sports. Son of a shoemaker, he and his brother rudolf founded their own shoe company, gebruder dassler schuhfabrik, in 1924. In 1924, adi dassler, a cobbler by training and a keen sportsman, started a shoe company with his brother rudolf. In 1947, two brothers, adolf and rudolf dassler separated and went their separate ways. The son of christoph dassler, a shoe factory worker made his foray into the shoe making business when he was 20 years old.
Adi and rudi dassler started their shoe business in their mothers laundry room and achieved almost instantaneous success. Adidas has developed immensely over the years and has expanded globally. Adidas inspiring stories 60 years of adidas, the stories that still inspire us today, adidas, a name that stands for competence in all sectors of sport around the globe, company founder adolf dassler has long become reality and his corporate philosophy the guiding principle for successor generations and many more at fibre2fashion. Mar 11, 20 adolf dassler was the founder of the worlds second biggest sportswear manufacturing company adidas.
He wanted to provide athletes the best equipment as possible. Founding of adolf dassler adidas sport shoe company with 47 employees. Especially when the brands history is so fascinating, iconic and vivid as t read more. We love when fashion collides with seemingly nonrelated topics like history and politics. Adidas project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks read. They both founded the company gebruder dassler schuhfabrik dassler brothers shoe factory in 1924 but the two agreed to split in 1948, forming two separate entities, adidas and puma. Adidas, inspiring stories, adidas 60 years stories, founder. Thanks marco for the question about pumaadidas rivalry. He observed athletes, talked to them about their needs, and then experimented with novel ways of solving their problems. The name created by combination of the name and surname adi dassler, who started producing shoes in 1920s with the help of his brother rudolf dassler. Both of the brothers looked to rename their companies and differentiate themselves in the market. Perennial duel brothers adidaspuma it was a boon to buyers, because it contributed to the development of both firms.
On september 6, 1978 adolf adi dassler passed away, leaving his widow and son to carry on the tradition he started nearly sixty years earlier. He started the sportswear company adidas references. The fascinating family feud that led to adidas and puma. The german won gold in pumas, but then laced up adidas for the medals ceremony, to the shock of the two dassler brothers. The unbelievable story of the two brothers who started adidas and. Success story of adolf dassler, the founder of adidas. In the 1920s, adolf adi dassler, a softspoken sports fanatic who spent hours working on shoe designs in his workshop, and rudolf dassler, a gregarious salesman, started a small shoemaking. Missing out on jordan wasand still isone of the biggest missteps in adidas history, but the company had. The young adi dassler in his shoe factory adi dassler in his early years adi dassler, founder of adidas, in his shoe factory. This was about 24% of all the recorded dassler s in the usa. A history of adidas soccer cleats by dominic habjan 24 october 2014 1 comment from the early days, it seems that adolf dassler was destined to make shoes. In the same year, he registered a shoe that included the registration of the soontobecomefamous adidas 3stripes. The confrontation of famous brands adidas vs puma an interesting and unusual story, because the company was created by brothers.
However, his initial occupation was baking pastries berger. Born in 1900, in bavarian mill town, in the germany, adolf adi dassler founded the germany sportswear firm known as adidas. He brought the company to international prominence by equipping athletes with adidas gear during the olympic games, beginning in the 1920s. Since then, adidas is again closely connected with its founder, adi dassler. Aug 28, 2012 business history adidas is a name that stands for competence in all sectors of sport around the globe. Barrett spoke with barbara smit, author of the new book sneaker wars ecco. Adolf and rudolf dassler, the founders of the legendary companies, were born in the german town of herzogenaurach. The adidas story is the main focus of the book particularly the life of horst dassler, the son of the adolf the founder of adidas. Adolf adi dassler 19001978 rose from being a shoemaker to the founder of sportswear giant adidas. This one started in a small town in bavaria, germany. While he was in his teenage years, he learnt how to make sport shoes immediately he returned from the first world war. As one of her assignments, she put together the following article about adidas.
Rudolf rudi dassler 26 march 1898 in herzogenaurach, germany 27 october 1974 in herzogenaurach was the german founder of the sportswear company puma and the older brother of adidas founder, adolf adi dassler. Being an avid athlete himself, adi dassler understood athletes and their needs. At the age of 20, he began designing and producing soccer, tennis and athletic shoes by taking suggestions from trainers, doctors, coaches and other athletes. The dassler brothers adolf dassler and rudolf dassler. I also always was a firm believer in the quality of adidas products, because i only ever had positive experience with them myself.
While, adolf, also known as adi, went onto form adidas in 1949. In fact, even in the early days of the brand, dassler would refer to his brand as the 3stripes company, foreshadowing how synonymous with adidas those three straight lines would eventually. Adi dassler was always convinced that only quality would get adidas to the top and he firmly anchored this principle in the adidas mindset. In 1920, adi made a small shoe production unit in his mothers former laundering shed. He was a member of the nazi party and designed boots for the unified armed forces of germany during world war ii. It was this principle that guided him right up until his death in 1978. That make costumer, to recognize adidas is three parallel stripes of the same color. Adi and rudi dassler started their shoe business in their mothers laundry room. He originally founded adidas as the dassler brothers shoe factory along with his brother in 1924.
In todays chapter of holdthephone collisions we learn about the birth of sportswear companies adidas and puma, which began in wwii, and were founded by brothers adolf a. Players raved over the shoe and it was worn in all 32 of the matches played. After working together for years at the family company called gebruder dassler, adi dassler and his older br. The official name of the company back then was adolf dassler adidas sportschuhfabrik. Adolf adi dassler 3 november 1900 6 september 1978 was a german businessman and entrepreneur. It all started in 1949 when a man named adolf adi dassler founded the company of adidas. He and his brother founded the company that would become a worldwide brand, but their history as members of the nazi party isnt as well known. Dassler was born in herzogenaurach, bavaria on nov. They design and manufacture athletic apparel, athletic equipment, clothing, and footwear. Adolf known as adi and rudolf dassler began making sports shoes in their mothers washroom in the 1920s and by the second world war were selling 400,000 pairs a year. Horst dassler didnt live to see adidass day of reckoning.
If you buy their shoes and clothes very nicely, then you can make good money on promotions. In 1925 they introduced the first soccer shoes with. Nov 18, 2009 also known as adi dassler was born in herzogenaurach, bavaria, germany on november 3, 1900. Adolf and rudolf dasslers family feud was taken to their. Adolf dassler was also trained as a cobbler and from very early age loved experimenting with innovative designs and ideas. In 1880 there were 9 dassler families living in wisconsin. But the company was always united by dasslers belief in only the best for the athlete and his philosophy of industrialized craftsmanship. But very few are aware that the creators of puma and adidas have a secret but intimate link between each other theyre brothers. Gebruder dassler gets their newly invented spikes on the feet of jesse owens at the 1936 berlin olympics. Nov 25, 2015 during adi dasslers lifetime, adidas continued to expand and develop into new markets and sports. Adidas, inspiring stories, adidas 60 years stories. Adidas was founded by adolf adi dassler who made sports shoes in his mothers scullery or laundry room in herzogenaurach, germany after his return from world war i. Adolf dassler simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Owenss medalwinning performances increased awareness of the dassler brand around the.
May 24, 2019 as shows the story of adidas and pumabrands have almost always been successful and are not going to take positions. Horst dassler was sent to alsace to set up a division of adidas that. The vision of company founder adolf adi dassler has long become reality and his corporate philosophy the guiding principle for successor generations. What puma and adidas have to do with the nazis the cut. The timeline provides a compact overview of the main milestones in adi and kathe dasslers private life as well as in the founding history of adidas. His vision was to provide every athlete with the best footwear for his respective discipline. Set entirely in his workshop, this stop frame animation recounts some of his most important inventions and shows us the influence hes had over sport as we know it today. Sneaker wars is the fascinating true story of the enemy brothers behind adidas and puma, two of the biggest global brands of athletic footwear. Adidas is actually short for adolf dassler or adi dassler, the founder of the german shoe company. Puma adolf retained the dassler shoe factory and two thirds of the employees while rudolf and his followers moved south of the aurach river and started their own shoe fctory. The hatred and bitterness behind two of the worlds most popular. He was born in the town of herzogenaurach and trained as a cobbler after world war i.