History of the Puma brand
What is the history of the Puma brand? Brothers Rudolf and Adolf Dassler originally founded the company "Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik" (Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory) in their hometown of Herzogenaurach, Germany. At that time, they had no idea that they were laying the foundation stone of the world metropolis of sports shoes.
They weren't the only shoe factory in town. Smaller factories were scattered throughout the city, but many of them did not manage to survive the 1950s and 1960s. The brothers started their production in their parents' house in 1919, moving to their own factory in 1924.
Within the first few years, both gained fame. At the Summer Olympics in Amsterdam in 1928, most of the German athletes wore Dassler shoes. Including the winner in athletics and the winner of 800 meters - Lina Radke. In 1936 Jesse Owens wins four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics, all wearing Dassler sneakers. More medals soon followed: seven gold and five bronze medals, all for world-class athletes wearing Dassler shoes. The first records are also broken: two world and five Olympic records. These achievements of theirs are their international breakthrough.
The company of the Dassler brothers survived the Second World War period. However, in 1948, there was a conflict between them, and 28 years after the founding of the company, the Dassler brothers parted ways, each going his own way. Rudolf Dassler moved to another building that belonged to the family. While Adolf Dassler registers his rival mark and its logo (three stripes) adidas .
Together with 14 employees, he converted this warehouse into a factory and founded his own company: "Schuhfabrik Rudolf Dassler (RUDA)" was registered as a business in January 1948 and began operations a few months later on June 1, 1948. In December 1948, Rudolf Dassler named the company " PUMA Schuhfabrik Rudolf Dassler".
After the great success of their first Puma ATOM football boots in 1950, they launched the attention-grabbing Puma SUPER ATOM in 1952. Rudolf Dassler works with experts such as the West German national team coach Sepp Herberger to develop the world's first football boots with screw studs. For Puma, this marks the beginning of a football legacy. Tennis player Guillermo Vilas also wore Puma tennis shoes during his winning streak around the world - literally, he still holds the record for the longest winning streak in tennis history at 46 matches without defeat. He would win the French Open, the US Open and the Australian Open twice, making Puma the supplier of top tennis athletes. The Puma brand develops in many sports and supplies products to the best athletes. As the first sports brand, Puma combines sport and fashion through a collaboration with German star designer Jil Sander. The brand is also developing well in lifestyle products – it is opening up the sportlifestyle segment.
The Puma SPEEDCAT model represents a long-term association with motorsport . The design of these shoes dates back to 1998, when a fire-resistant version was created for Formula 1 drivers. Their innovative and elegant low-profile appearance, highlighted by the characteristic embroidered cat logo, will quickly turn the SPEEDCAT model into a fashion classic. Puma entered the golf world in 2006 with stylish clothing, footwear and accessories. Puma has also collaborated in history with well-known celebrities and artists such as singer Rihanna, model Cara Delevingne, global pop superstar Dua Lipa, Kylie Jenner and many other famous faces.
