Adidas and Puma may be among the most recognized brands in the world, but neither might exist if not for a bitter rivalry between two brothers from a little-known village in Germany. In the 1920s, Adolf (Adi) Dassler, a soft-spoken sports fanatic who spent hours working on shoe designs in his workshop, and Rudolf Dassler, a gregarious salesman, started a small shoemaking business in the Bavarian enclave of Herzogenaurach, focusing primarily on hand-sewn athletic footwear. But as their business took off, the two brothers grew increasingly frustrated with each other. They disagreed on everything from politics, the future of the company and one another's choice in wives.
Finally, in the mid-1940s Rudolf left in a huff and set up a rival shop across the river, while Adi remained in the initial plant. His company was renamed Adidas, and in 1948 Rudolf registered his new company, Puma.
A journalist was sent to Germany to cover some detailed side stories since the Beijing olympics were on in a few months.
She covered this story about two brothers who had their shoe businesses and eventually became the famous Puma and Adidas.
Puma and Adidas both became famous by putting their shoes on the African American Athelete, and when it was televised, and photographed.
Though considering that time of the history, in order for their businesses to succeed they needed a connection with the Natzi Government which they fortunately had. HOWEVER
How did Adidas become a more bigger market than Puma?
It was during the soccer game, when the three striped shoes were worn on all the soccer players, instantly, Adidas Got phone calls and letters from other countries that they wanted to sell the product in their country. Well, puma had their slow way up the business.
IMPORTANT PART IS THAT .. THey sold the SPORTS, not the Sports apparels.
Adidas is now the second-largest sports apparel company in the world, and owns Reebok, but at one time it lagged way behind Reebok. How did it turn around?
Adidas made the terrible mistake of saying it was not interested in jogging, and then aerobics became huge and Adidas and Nike both made the mistake of saying they were not interested in aerobics. They completely missed out on these trends, but Reebok didn't. Within about three years Reebok went from revenues of a couple hundred million to several billion. It continued on that way for years. But then Reebok lost its way. And Adidas, for all its mistakes, never lost its way as badly as that … Through it all, Adidas has remained in the consciousness as a solid sports brand. Reebok doesn't have that, either as a sports or lifestyle brand.
How are Puma's prospects now?
The French conglomerate PPR, which owns Gucci, has now acquired it. A few years ago it was being sold in bazaars and people had declared it dead, and it is now being named in the same breath as Gucci … That repositioning will probably be taught to MBA students for several years.
As a business case, what are the most important lessons we can draw from the history of Puma and Adidas? What has made them such enduring brands?
At the beginning of the story, there's always a great product. Puma has survived its worst years because it had a great soccer boot. It's the same story for Adidas; it just makes great products. Another interesting lesson is that you need great enemies. I don't think either company would be where it is today if it hadn't been stimulated by the rivalry with the other.
This article is so interesting especially for BS students to read
If you want to read the original article visit newsweek.com and type in the title of my article!
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