S1 Ep 2 Vs. series
Puma Vs. Adidas
Even Blood Relations Fail In The Verge Of Business
Puma and Adidas
Introduction
The shoe is one of the best fashion a human can have on him. With the demand and style that is bringing storm in the world trade, there is a neck-to-neck competition for a better shoe in the market. A brand is something where an individual can rely on his trust. From a normal person to a shoe-geek, everyone must have heard of Adidas and, on the verge of it, would also have been acknowledged with Puma. These two are definitely the leaders in terms of market value, production amount, and most importantly, people’s choice. Nothing is best in the world, which gives enough insights to have a tough rivalry to ensure an upper hand. Both the above companies have been an imminent witness of it.
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| Dassler brother |
History and Rivalry
The day is 26 March, and the year is 1898, a boy has been born to the Dassler family, and he is ‘Rudolf Dassler’ in Herzogenaurach, Germany. This boy will soon turn himself into the king of shoe-making. Two years later, another boy is gifted to the family on the 3rd of November, 1900, named ‘Adolf Dassler.’ He will coincidentally be walking on the same path as his elder brother.
How lucky are the Dassler’s to be gifted with the two biggest minds in the shoe business? But little did they know that a curse is a tail of the boon’. So what happened that led to the enmity of decades and people being divided into two sub-groups in the same town?
Both Adolf and Rudolf were born in a poor German family where his father worked in a shoe factory, and his mother used to run a laundry service. The family used to make homemade slippers to complete the needs of the stomach and daily needs. Reaching the decade of the 1920s, the duo brothers founded a shoe company named “Gabruder Dassler Schuhfabrik,” meaning ‘Dassler Brothers Sports Shoe Company” in the town of Herzogenaurach.
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| Gabruder Dassler Schuhfabrik (Dassler Brothers Sports Shoe Company) |
The brothers reflected their inner talents very soon where Adolf was a great craftsman who used to design and make shoes. On the other side, Rudolf's business tactics were such that it seemed he was a natural salesman.
They had the skill needed to establish their company, but the need was a source of branding to stamp their marks on the world. They took this idea to the world-class champion athlete named “Jesse Owens.” Although the brothers were somewhat related to the Nazis, they were able to agree with the athlete to wear their shoes while running.
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| Jesse Owens |
The Olympics of 1936 were held, and Owens won a total of 4 gold medals wearing the shoe. This streak gave the brothers international exposure worldwide. But who knew that this was the last thing the brothers would be working on together.
Separation
The relation between both the brothers fell apart. The rumor for separation was a group of emotional disabilities, stealing, affairs, and resentment. After World War II, the brothers separated themselves, and the company was forged into two different companies.
Adolf made his company be called ‘Adidas sportschuhe,’ which was inspired by his own name. Rudolf followed the same pattern to name his company, and he ended up with ‘RUDA.’ Although, Rudolf changed the name later to ‘Puma’ as it seemed for him to be sounding something more like athletic. The company's distribution wasn’t the end as it later inspired the people of the town, namely Herzogenaurach, to categorize themselves on who’s the side they are, whether Adidas or Puma.
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| The town of bent necks |
The split of the town was similar to the Berlin Wall building for the German capital. The employees working in both the companies were mostly from the town. There was a complete ‘isolated-relation’ between workers of both the companies who have been living in Herzogenaurach for years together. As a result, Herzogenaurach was soon famously called “the town of bent necks.”
Even when there was a visitor in the town, he would be identified in a group based on the shoe he was wearing. Checking the heels for the company slogan from the entry gates of the town was a common festive for the people. To add spice to this rivalry, both the brothers used to sue each other on various copyright issues hundreds of times during their daily livelihood. Both the brothers died in the decade of 1970s and were buried in the same cemetery but safely at a perfect distance from each other to maintain the tradition of rivalry and enmity.
The relation between the heirs and the people of the company remained sour for years to come. The relation between the two firms won’t improve until a football match was arranged between the companies' workers. The football match was motivated to be a peace treaty to end the enmity of more than seven decades. The game healed the bad relations of the company, and an era of love and shoes began with a healthy competition there.
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| Statue of Adolf Dassler |
In terms of business, Adidas cashed in a high value of the business compared to Puma. For example, in Herzogenaurach, there is a statue dedicated to Adolf Dassler for his worldwide expansion and renowned name to Adidas. Furthermore, Adidas has nearly more than 59,000 employees working whereas Puma stands at a little more than 13,000 employees for its management and production. In the case of income, until 2020, Adidas had total revenue of 23.6 billion Euros. Whereas Puma had total revenue of 5.5 billion Euros in 2019.
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| adidas vs. Puma |
Conclusion
A rivalry between brands has always allowed both sides to perform better than each other. This verge and willingness to outshine the other have always helped the world get the better and improvise the current fashion. Both Adidas and Puma are a great example of this, and they never realized on the verge of getting the upper hand, both ended up reaching the top of the industry they work in. This enmity soon turned into a boon for the shoe industry and its fashion, and the legacy continues.
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