The founding of adidas and PUMA is one of corporate legend.
It starts with the Dasslers, two German brothers who owned a shoe factory in a small town named Herzogenaurach. For 30 years the brothers worked together creating sportswear. They found massive success at the 1936 Olympics but the looming war saw the factory turn to weapons – and the brothers split.
One brother was drafted while the other stayed home. By the time the war ended, their relationship had become untenable. In 1948 they split to found their own companies. Rudolf Dassler founded PUMA, Adolf Dassler founded adidas.