Adi and rudi dassler biography
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Rudolf Dassler
German cobbler, businessman (1898–1974)
Rudolf "Rudi" Dassler (29 April 1898 – 27 October 1974) was a German cobbler, inventor, member of the Nazi Party, businessman and founder of the sportswear company Puma.
He was the older brother of Adidas founder, Adolf "Adi" Dassler. The brothers were partners in a shoe company Adolf started, "Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik" (German for 'Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory'). Rudolf joined in 1924. However, after a feud developed between them following World War II, the brothers went separate ways and started their respective companies in 1948.[1]
Initially calling the new company "Ruda" (a portmanteau for Rudolf Dassler), it was soon changed to its present name of Puma.[2] Puma is the Quechua word for cougar; from there, it went into German as well as other languages.[3][4]
Life
[edit]After his return from World War I, Adolf Dassler, Rudolf's younger brother, start
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Adolf Dassler (1900–78)
Leisure pursuits, links with sporting stars and the cult of celebrity and powerful brand names are characteristics of some twenty-first century industries. The careers of Adolf Dassler and his brother Rudolf Dassler (1898-1974) exemplify these tendencies. They also show how global corporations could still grow in the twentieth century from small beginnings in uncelebrated towns.
Adolf Dassler was born in Herzogenaurach, a town of rather more than 20,000 people in eastern Franconia, 23 km north-west of Nuremberg. He trained as a shoemaker and when he returned to Herzogenaurach after military service in the First World War began to make sports shoes, for some of which spikes were provided by a local blacksmith. In 1924 his brother Rudolf (1898-1974) became his partner, and they traded as Gebrüder Dassler Schufabrik (Dassler Brothers, shoemakers). They came to international attention in 1936 when they provided running shoes for Jesse Owens (1913-80), the Unite
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The sibling rivalry that changed sport for ever
Let slip the dogs of sport
As the brothers’ business grew, so too did the distance between the social Rudi and the quiet Adi, who preferred the solitude of the kurs to the liveliness of a sales call. As sometimes happens with family members working together, differing personalities can pull a business in different directions. No one can ganska pinpoint the exact breaking point between the brothers, but the devastation of WWII and the accusations flying from both sides certainly didn’t help the relationship. Adi and Rudi split for good in 1948, each taking a stable of employees with them. Adi ended up founding Adidas on one side of the Aurach River running through Herzo, while Rudi started Puma on the other side.
Pele, Brazilian football legend
Adidas and Puma entered into the “Pelé Pact,” where both brands informally agreed not to sign the Brazilian forward.
As both businesses grew, so did the split among