A Puma History:
The story of Puma begins in a small laundry in the Bavarian town of Herzsogenaurach, 20 kilometers from the city of Nuremberg. It was here, behind washers and dryers, that two brothers, Rudolf and Adolf (also known as Adi) Dassler began the Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik (Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory). The two brothers worked tirelessly in the back of their mother’s laundromat, sometimes having to pedal a stationary bicycle to generate electricity and keep their equipment running. It was 1924.
In 1936 the Olympics came to Germany and the Dassler boys saw a golden opportunity for their shoes. Adi drove to the Olympic Village and persuaded United States sprinter Jesse Ownes to wear Dassler Brother spiked shoes. Owens liked what he saw, slipped them on, and won four gold medals. After this the Dasslers were inundated with requests for their shoes. The brothers sold 200,000 pairs of shoes a year, every year until World War Two.
When Hitler rose to power and war broke out, both Rudolf and Adi Dassler joined the Nazi party. A rift began to develop in the brother’s relationship, coming to a head after an Allied bomb attack in 1943. Adi and his wife climbed into a bomb shelter that Rudolf and his family were already in. Adi remarked, “The dirty bastards are back again.” Rudolf thought Adi was referring to him and his family, though Adi insisted that he was talking about the Allied forces. When Rudolf was later arrested by American soldiers and accused of being a member of the Waffen SS, Rudolf was convinced that his brother Adi had turned him in. The hostility between brothers continued, and in 1948 the two spilt their sneaker company. Rudi set up his business across the river and named it PUMA Schuhfabrik Rudolf Dassler. Adi named his business adidas.
The first shoe Rudolf put out was the Atom. In 1952 runner Josef Barthel wore Puma while he won an Olympic Gold Medal in the 1500m. In 1956 Puma introduced the formstripe which has become a trademark design on all Puma sneakers. Puma and Adidas began to battle against each other to get their sneakers on world-class athletes. By 1960 adidas was ahead of Puma in sales so Puma paid West German track star Armin Hary to abscond from adidas and wear Puma shoes during her races at the games. She agreed and won a gold medal wearing Pumas, but then put on adidas for the medals ceremony. Hary had hoped to cash in from both companies with her trick, but Adi was so outraged he banned the Olympic champion. Puma turned their back on the athlete as well, and Armin Hary was left with nothing. In 1968, Puma added the cat to their logo. That same year Tommie Smith, who won the Olympic Gold 200m in Mexico wearing Pumas, was banned from the Olympics for taking off his sneakers, standing barefoot next to them, and making the Black Power salute. In 1970, Puma paid soccer star Pelé $120,000 to stop the referee of the World Cup right before the opening whistle to bend down and tie his shoes. When Pelé knelt down, the whole world saw a close up of his Pumas.
Today Puma is the third largest sportswear manufacturer in the world behind Nike and adidas. In 2007 it was announced the French retailer PPR (Pinault-Printemps-Redoute), who own the Gucci brand, planned to buy out Puma. The company values Puma at 5.3 billion Euros. Puma said it welcomed the friendly takeover.
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Puma Sneak-Facts:
• The two brothers never reconciled and, while buried in the same cemetery, are buried as far apart from each other as possible.
• The town the brothers grew up in is staunchly divided into Puma supporters and adidas supporters. Intermarriage between the two sides is frowned upon.
• Puma is the main producer of enthusiast driving shoes and race suits.
• In 2007, Puma AG had approximately 7,742 employees and distributed its products in more than 80 countries.
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Notable Models:
Suede / Clyde
The most popular style of Puma, the Suede was first immortalized by Tommie Smith during his Black Power salute at the 1968 Summer Olympics. Later, the Suede became the very first signature sneaker to be named for a basketball player—in this case Walt “Clyde” Frazier. The Suede is also known as the original B-Boy shoe, a sneaker of choice for many early breakdancing crews including the New York City Breakers and the Rock Steady Crew.
Roma
In 1968 Puma unveiled their new cat logo and placed a new model called the Roma on the feet of the Italia 68 football team, the Azzurri European Champion winners. A classic soccer shoe from the 60s.
California
A retro-style sneaker named after the state of California.
RS100
The RS100 was originally introduced in 1985. The sneaker was a stripped down version of the RS Computer, a shoe with built-in electronics that monitored running distance, time, and calories—all downloadable on your Apple IIe or Commodore 64!
First Round
A high-top Puma basketball sneaker that has recently been used as the model for many artists collaborations. Back when the First Round came out, its padded ankle collar grabbed the attention of skateboarders who turned the Puma model into a classic.
5000M
The Puma 5000M is a low-profile European style track shoe It features a unique rounded outsole with spike-like pillars for extra grip. It was first produced in the late 1970s by Puma France.
Don Jon
The Don Jon is a low-profile Puma recently brought back by the company.
Lab II
The Lab II is a very lightweight trainer made of mesh. It was released in 1981.
Alexander McQueen
A unique pairing of famed British fashion designer Alexander McQueen and Puma has birthed the Alexander McQueen sneaker. The inspiration behind the line is the symbiosis of the man (in this case, McQueen) and the animal (the Puma). The result is a new direction in Sport-Fashion. The logos for the McQueen Puma are the “man-cat” and a feline fang with a human root.
Mihara Yasuhiro
Japanese fashion guru Mihara Yasuhiro teamed up with Puma to create a high-end and high-concept line of sneakers. The Spring / Summer 2007 collection features two lines, “Rock On” and “Out Of Place Artefacts.” The former takes its cues from heavy metal, the latter from a tale of an archaeologist discovering a modern sneaker in an ancient rock.
96 Hours
96 Hours is Puma’s sophisticated sport shoe line. Both urban and stylized, 96 Hours strives to breathe a little of the upper crust into contemporary sport fashion. 96 Hours are available only at select retailers.
