Puma initially began through the efforts of the two brothers, Adolf and Rudolf, in 1924 with the formation of the ‘Gebruder Dassler Schuhfabrik’. Its main products were slippers and outdoor shoes.
Within a few years the Dassler brothers decided to focus entirely on manufacturing sports footwear with emphasis on track shoes and football boots.
In the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin the Dassler shoes were worn by many athletes, including American gold medalist Jesse Owens. World War II halted production and the company produced boots for the German Army.
After the war the brothers had a furious feud and by 1948 the firm was split into Adidas, which became Adolf’s business (ADI DASsler), while Rudolf set up the Puma Schuhfabrik Rudolf Dassler.
Adolf remaining on one side of the Aurach River, the watery divided of Herzogenaurach, Rudolf setting up factory on the other banks.
Puma eventually became more influential through sports sponsorships with International Federation of Football Association (FIFA) and Coca-Cola.
The products enjoyed great success thanks to their revolutionary functionality and workmanship.
By 1991 Puma international was founded. This served as the holding company for Puma’s operations in Australia, Austria, the Far East, France, Germany and Spain. Each area was independent of the other.
In 2002, Puma opened concept retail stores in Frankfurt, London, Rome, Milan, Melbourne, Tokyo, Boston and Settle.
Early history of Puma
