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PUMA AG

File:Puma Logo.png
Company type	Public
ISIN	DE0006969603
Industry	Textile
Founded	1924
Headquarters	Herzogenaurach, Germany
Key people	Rudolf Dassler
Products	Sports clothes, equipment and vehicles
Number of employees	3,200 approx.
Website	www.puma.com

PUMA AG Rudolf Dassler Sport (PUMA) is a large German-based multinational company that produces high-end athletic shoes and other sportswear.

The company is perhaps best known for its soccer shoes and has sponsored such international soccer stars as Maradonna and Lothar Matthäus. The company also offers lines shoes and sports clothing, designed by Lamine Kouyate, Amy Garbers, and others. Since 1996 Puma has intensified its activities in the United States. Puma owns 25 percent of American brand sports clothing maker Logo Athletic, which is licensed by American professional basketball and football leagues. The American entertainment group Monarchy/Regency owns 32 percent of Puma^[1]

History

Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik

The company was founded in 1924 as Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik (Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory) in Herzogenaurach, Germany by Rudolf Dassler on his return from World War One, and his younger brother Adolf, known as "Adi".

The pair started their venture in their mother's laundry room in the 1920s. At the time, electricity supplies in the town were unreliable, and the brothers sometimes had to use pedal power from a stationary bicycle to run their equipment^[2]. They quickly transfered production to their fathers bakery, still using bicycle powered machine to cut leather and any other materials they could lay their hands on to make lightweight running shoes. By the 1936 Olympic Games, Adi Dassler drove from Bavaria on one of the world's first motorways to the Olympic village with a suitcase full spikes and persuaded United States sprinter Jesse Owens to use tham. After Owens won four gold medals, his success cemented the good reputation of Dassler shoes among the world's most famous sportsmen. Letters from around the world landed on the brothers' desks, and the trainers of other national teams were all interested in their shoes. Business boomed and the Dasslers were selling 200,000 pairs of shoes each year before World War Two^[3].

Company split

Both brothers joined the Nazi party, but Rudi as a World War One veteran was slightly closer to the party. During the war, a growing rift between the pair reached breaking point, after an Allied bomb attack in 1943 when Adi and his wife climbed into a bomb shelter that Rudolf and his family were already in: "The dirty bastards are back again," Adi said, apparently referring to the Allied war planes, but Rudolf was convinced his brother meant him and his family. After Rudolf was later picked up by American soldiers and accused of being a member of the Waffen SS, he was convinced that his brother had turned him in^[4].

In 1948, the brothers split their business, when Rudi left the high hill for the other side of the Aurach river: Adolf called his firm Adidas after his nick name; Rudolf called his new firm Ruda after Rudolph Dassler.

Puma

Rudolf's company changed its name to PUMA Schuhfabrik Rudolf Dassler in 1948, and became a public company in 1986, listed on the Börse München and Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

The sponsorship of sports stars continued, including:

• 1948 - In the first football match after World War Two, several members of the West German national football team wear PUMA boots, including the scorer of West Germany’s first post-war goal, Herbert Burdenski

• 1960 Olympic Games - PUMA paid German sprinter Armin Hary money to wear Pumas in the 100 metres final. Hary had worn Adidas before and asked Adi for payment, but Adidas rejected this. Hary won gold in Pumas, but then laced up Adidas for the medals ceremony - to the shock of both Adi and Rudolf. Hary hoped to cash in from both with the trick, but Adi was so outraged he banned the Olympic champion.^[5]

• 1970 FIFA World Cup - Pelé stopped the referee with a last-second request to tie his shoelaces at the opening whistle of a 1970 World Cup finals match and then knelt down to give millions of television viewers a close-up of his Pumas. Pelé was complying with a request by Puma's representative Hans Henningsen to raise the German sports shoe company's profile after they gave him $120,000 to wear their boots^[6]

However, the brothers earlier split led to a divided town. From 1948, the town was really split in two like a sort of mini Berlin. Brand loyalty became paramount for many residents, and there were stores, bakers and bars which were unofficially known as either loyal to Rudolf's Puma, or to Adolf's Adidas. There two football teams were also divided: ASV Herzogenaurach club wore the three stripes, while 1 FC Herzogenaurach had the jumping cat on its footwear. Intermarriage was frowned upon. When handymen came to work at Rudolf's home, they would wear Adidas shoes on purpose so that when Rudolf would see their footwear, he'd tell them to go to the basement and pick out a pair of Puma shoes, which they could have for free^[7]. The two brothers never reconciled, and although both are buried in the same cemetery, they are spaced apart as far as possible.

Present day

PUMA AG has approximately 7, 742 employees and distributes its products in more than 80 countries. For the fiscal year 2003, the company had a revenue of €1.274 billion. Puma were the commercial sponsors for the 2002 anime series, Hungry Heart: Wild Striker, with the jerseys and clothing sporting the Puma brand.

Puma is the main producer of enthusiast driving shoes and race suits. They are the prime producer in both Formula One and NASCAR. They had successfully won the rights of sponsoring the 2006 FIFA World Cup champions, the Italian national football team, with them making and sponsoring the clothing worn by the team. Their partnership with Ferrari and BMW to make Puma-Ferrari and Puma-BMW shoes has also contributed to this effect. On March 15, 2007 PUMA launched its first new 2007/2008 line of uniforms for a club, and Cruzeiro E.C. will be the first to use the laser sewn technology;similar to the one worn by Italy at the World Cup in 2006. Cruzeiro and other Brazilian clubs will be the first to use the technology because their season starts half a dozen months earlier than European clubs.

PPR

In February 2007, Puma reported that its profits had fallen by 26% to 32.8m euros ($43m; £22m) during the final three months of 2006. Most of the profit decline was down to higher costs linked to its expansion, and sales actually rose by more than a third to 480.6m euros^[8].

In early April 2007, Puma's shares rose 29.25 euros or 10.2% higher, at 315.24 euros^[9]. On 10 April, 2007 French retailer and owner of Gucci brand Pinault-Printemps-Redoute announced that it had bought a 27% stake in Puma, clearing the way for a full takeover. The deal values Puma at 5.3bn euros. PPR said that it would launch a "friendly" takeover for Puma, worth 330 euros a share, once the acquisition of the smaller stake was completed. The board of Puma welcomed the move, saying it was fair and in the firm's best interests^[10].

Sponsorship

Like many other sports brands, Puma sponsor a number of teams and players

National football teams

Puma sponsors many national football teams:

At the 2006 FIFA World cup, in 36 of the 64 games, at least one team playing was wearing clothing sponsored and made by Puma.

Clubs

It has also sponsored and created the clothing for several noted professional football clubs:

Footballers

It also sponsors footballers:

References

External links

• Puma.com – Official site

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