Puma: How a fight among brothers gave birth to two sportswear giants?
- Ridhi Jain
- Nov 6
- 4 min read
In July 1924, Rudolf and his younger brother, Adolf, nicknamed "Adi", founded a shoe factory in Germany. The small family-owned shoe company eventually became one of the world's leading athletic and lifestyle brands.
What seemed like a typical business tale later became one of the most dramatic competitions in business history - a competition that not only separated two brothers, but also a whole town, and later the entire sportswear industry around the world.
The Making of Puma and Adidas
Puma and its brother Adidas were forged in the same place, the Gebruder Dassler Shoe Factory in Herzogenaurach, Germany. The Dassler brothers were recognized for their handmade shoes, as Adolf was artistic and cared about each unit. When sprinter Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics with Dassler shoes on his feet, it became a promotion like never before.
However, there was tension building behind the success. The two brothers were alike in character but different in personality: Adi was quiet and technical, while Rudolf was social and sales-driven. Eventually, the partnership was destroyed due to disagreements on several things that separated them.
In 1948, the Dassler plant was divided into two. It's hard to imagine if they knew the impact this split was going to have on thousands of people across generations. It was a conflict that transformed the sports industry eternally.
Puma vs. Adidas: A rivalry of giants
The Dassler rivalry is one of the most dramatic in enterprise history. Not only did their breakup divide their small hometown into two competing brands, but it also divided their families.
The families no longer talked to each other, and even football teams in the town were divided according to brand loyalty, and the Stores only took customers of Team Puma or Team Adidas.
Rudolf later renamed RUDA to Puma, which is a fast and agile cat. Whereas Adolf combined the syllables of his name - Adi and Das, and formed Adidas in 1949.
Facts & Famous Faces
Puma's first football shoe 'ATOM '(1948)
Following the company separation, Rudolf Dassler launched the first official Puma football boot, ATOM. It was the first West German national team in its newly re-established form that introduced several players to ATOM. This action helped the brand acquire initial publicity in post-war Europe.
Pele's shoe-tying stunt - 1970 World Cup
At the greatest game in world football, Pelé stood still in front of the kickoff, glanced down, and knotted his Puma shoes in full view of the camera. This stunt was not by chance, Puma spent a huge amount on this single moment which immediately brought the brand into the limelight around the world and made history.
The Fastest Man Alive, Usain Bolt
Bolt was not a global star when Puma made a contract with him in 2003. He was the star in the Puma slogan 'Forever Faster' after he set two consecutive Olympic and world records. He made Puma the brand of speed, agility, and athletic superiority.
Celebrity Universe: Neymar, Virat Kohli, Dua Lipa, KL Rahul.
Puma is the most celebrity-based brands in the current world. It is not only with the best footballer, Neymar Jr., and Indian cricketing icons, Virat Kohli, but also with pop stars, like Dua Lipa, that the formula is simple to be sport + entertainment + youth culture to stay.
Where Puma Stands in the Global Sportswear Industry
Brand Valuation at $3 Billion(as per Companies Market Cap)
Puma is the 3rd largest sportswear organization after Nike and Adidas. It had a consistent growth in its revenue because of robust international expansion, endorsement of athletes, and fashion partnerships.
Revenue of about $9.49 billion in 2024 (Puma Annual Report)
The brand has recorded a double-digit growth, particularly in North America, India, and Southeast Asia, which indicates that Puma is not a sports brand, but a way of life for the younger generation.
Global Presence in 120+ Countries
Puma products are distributed in retail shops, brand shops, online shops, pop-culture partnerships, and sports partnerships. The fastest growing markets of the company are India, China, Brazil, and the U.S.
Brand Positioning: Sport + Style
Puma is a sport + culture brand as opposed to Adidas (performance) or Nike (innovation) that combines athletics with street fashion that makes Puma different due to its hybrid identity.
The reason behind the Dassler rivalry
The history of Puma is inseparable from the influence of World War II, as the war not only divided Europe in half, but also the business of the Dassler family. Before the division, the Dassler factory, which was initially owned by the Nazis, was nationalized and compelled to manufacture military footwear and components to arm the German troops.
This time, it generated a high level of pressure within the company because both brothers were accused of having political ties and it also nourished mistrust between Adi and Rudolf, which culminated in their eventual permanent parting in 1948, were triggered by the war related issues, which were fear and suspicion. Another reason for their dispute was the strife between their respective wives.
However, the competition did not stop with the completion of the war, but rather it was a business battlefield. Puma and Adidas started competing in the post-war Olympic sponsorships, football matches and even Cold War sporting events each competing to take the best athletes of the world.
The story of Puma's birth is not just a business one, but it serves as a reminder of how competition, ego, and ambition can change whole industries. What would have been a single-family business turned into two billion-dollar brands fighting over world domination. On the Olympic tracks to street fashion, Puma has shown that a feud does not always kill a legacy, but rather it leads to two.
For more such iconic and interesting stories, keep navigating to The ScreenLight.
