Adidas was founded in 1948 and registered as a company in August 1949.
It all began in 1920, when German shoemaker Adolf ‘Adi’ Dassler and his brother Rudolf made their shoes in Herzogenaurach, a small village in the south of Germany.
Using the few basic materials available after World War I, Rudolf began making slippers with soles made from old tires.
In July 1924 Adi and his brother founded Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik or Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory and prospered.
Adi converted the slippers into gymnastics shoes and soccer with nail on studs or cleats. The purpose is to provide every athlete with the best possible equipment.
Headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Germany it was a global leader in the sporting, goods industry, offering its products in almost every country of the world: Europe accounted for 50% North America for 30%, Asia for 17% and Latin America for 3% of total sales.
By 1978 Adidas was producing 45 million pairs of shoes per year. Adi’s son, Horst, formed another sports division in France, Adidas France, which competed directly against Adidas (Germany) and eventually it became more influential through sports sponsorship with International Federation of Football Association (FIFA) and Cola-Cola.
In 1989, the Dassler family withdrew from the company, and the enterprise was transformed into a corporation.
In attempt to branch out into new areas, in 1997, adidas acquired Salomon Group, and the company’s name changed to adidas-Salomon AG.
In May 2005, Adidas sold their partner company Salomon Group to Amer Sports of Finland. In August 2005, the company buying the British company Reebok.
With the revenue 14.5 billion euros in 2013, Adidas is currently second only to Nike in global sales.
History of Adidas
