Rudi Dassler biography. The path to success: the history of the adidas brand

Skeletons in the closet, rival brothers, clan feuds, life dramas of individual people, and in parallel - turbulent events in world history. And this is not about a novel or a movie. This real story, this is about the creation of very famous brands - Adidas and Puma.

Almost everyone knows these companies that produce sportswear and accessories. Puma and Adidas – their products are loved all over the world.

Behind these names are the names of the brothers - Adolf and Rudolf Dassler, the biography of each of whom is a story of rivalry. At the same time, few people will succeed in basing it only on facts; it is overgrown with legends and rumors.

Adolf (Adi) gave his name to Adidas, and Rudolf (Rudi) gave his name to Puma, albeit in a more euphonious version.

Why not family capital?

Each brother began to build his own company. Although from the very beginning the brothers had a shoe factory. To be more precise, it was really a family company, in which, in addition to them, both parents and sisters were employed. At the beginning of the last century, it was practically an example of a family enterprise.

Adolf and Rudolf

But first... Adi Dassler, as a sports fan and football player, was the first to become interested in creating sports shoes. It was the first pair of sports shoes, hand-sewn from decommissioned military uniforms - gymnastic slippers.

The rest of the family joined him later. We started with small orders, fulfilling them manually, for which we converted the laundry room in our house.

The business expanded, they worked day and night, until they finally opened their enterprise in a solemn atmosphere - the Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory. The brothers turned out to be quite successful leaders: Rudolf is a manager, expanding the business and making connections - it turned out that this was his thing, and Adolf is a talented engineer - the author of the best design ideas and a born inventor. In 1929, Adi produced the very first football boots. They had leather soles with spikes and were “decorated with studs.”

In the 1930s, the Dassler factory's product range already included 30 shoe models for 11 sports, including 4 types of roller skates.

With Hitler coming to power in 1933, the Dassler brothers had no doubt about their choice - they confidently bet on the new leader and even became members of the NSDAP. The year is becoming a turning point for the entire country, and the guys found themselves involved in this whirlpool of events. But they are confident that bright prospects await their company in Nazi Germany. And it’s not just about political motives, but also about cult healthy body characteristic of the ideology of the new regime. This is very useful for sports shoe manufacturers.

But Nazism also had another side. The brothers were required to participate in a new war. Adolf, soon returning, discovers a factory already producing weapons for the army.

Rudolph's service still continues, they say, even in the Gestapo. According to rumors, his brother Adolf actively exposed his Nazi activities, even signing a denunciation. For some time, Rudy was even in an American internment camp. And when he returned to work, the mutual attacks did not stop, and the accusations only intensified. The brothers turned from like-minded people into mortal enemies.

Only one person could reconcile them - their father, but in 1948 he died, and the friendship and business cooperation of Adi and Rudi came to an end.

Big gap

The spouses Adi and Rudi did not live peacefully either. Long-held grievances and simple nit-picking spilled out at once. The brothers always competed, but now no longer in sports and children's games, now in irreconcilable hatred between them. Each of them believed that he was the one worthy to head the family enterprise. But it was cramped for two people.

Still from the film “Duel of Brothers. History of Adidas and Puma"

It's 1948. The family company ceased to exist. Two competitors appeared - Addas, today we know it as Adidas, and Ruda, known as Puma. In fact, the family factory was divided into two parts. The town of Herzogenauer was also divided into parts - on one and the other side of the river, which became a split line. It must be said that not only families continue to quarrel, but also city residents on both sides of the river and workers of the two newly formed enterprises.

Today no one remembers how that enmity began, but they compete according to some established habit. To this day, as they say, the first thing locals notice is the shoes a stranger is wearing. Puma or Adidas will immediately tell whether he is one of us or a stranger, this stranger he meets.

Brand war

The duel between the brothers continues until the end of their lives, and with it the rivalry of the brands they created.
It went far beyond the borders of a small German town. The arena today is the Olympic Games and football championships. The most famous sports stars are involved in it:

• Muhammad Ali, Zineddine Zidane, David Beckham advertise the Adidas shoe brand;
• Boris Becker, Pele, Martina Navratilova supported Puma.

And fabulous sums and methods, which can hardly be called clean, led to the fact that the stars continually moved from one enemy camp to another.

Pele

Muhammad Ali

As it entered the world market, competition became increasingly fierce, and accusations of industrial espionage and theft of ideas became louder and louder. The enmity between the companies was fueled by Adidas’ violation of the “PELE Pact”, according to which neither company was supposed to apply for cooperation with this superstar - in an effort to exceed the rival’s monetary offer, they are quite capable of undermining each other’s budget. Adidas was the first to pay a football star to advertise its own products.

But he led his team to the lead in the Championship, beating the Italian team, Pele wearing Puma boots.
Now the younger generation of Dasslers has entered the brand war - the sons of the brothers Armin and Horst have taken up the baton.

Adolf and Rudolf never communicated with each other again. And although, according to relatives, they were ready to make peace, but with the death of Rudolf in 1974, this opportunity no longer presented itself. Adolf survived his brother by only four years. And they rest at different ends of the city cemetery.

Adidas and Puma

The companies were managed by the Dassler families for a long time. Today it is no longer a family business. Adidas and Puma are now joint-stock companies, they still compete in the market, but only memories remain of the former intensity of passions. Olympic records are set and world championships are won in clothes and shoes from any of these brands.

And those who now purchase goods from famous brands are often not even aware of the legends and realities in the history of their success, of the passions that once unfolded around these names, of hatred and enmity.

Rudolf Dassler was born in 1898 in the small town of Herzogenaurach, which is part of Bavaria. Rudolf was born into a poor family of a shoemaker and a washerwoman and became the third child in the family.

Rudolf's childhood was by no means easy, since the family did not have enough money, and he was forced to work as a linen delivery man in a laundry along with his brothers. IN adolescence Rudolf worked as an assistant at his father's shoe factory. It is worth noting that in 1900 another son was born into the family, Rudolf’s younger brother Adolf, who became one of key figures on the road to success of Rudolf Dassler.

In 1914, during the First World War, Rudolf was drafted into the army, from where he was sent to the front zone in Belgium, where he spent almost the entire war as a soldier.

After returning home, Rudolf graduated from police courses with honors and got a job at the local police department in Munich. Despite good abilities In this case, Rudolf decided to change jobs and got a job at one of the local factories as a distributor of porcelain products, and later at a company that produced leather products.

In 1923, Rudolf's younger brother invited Rudi to his small shoe factory, which he had opened 3 years earlier. Rudolph immediately became his brother’s full partner and share owner of the company. It is worth noting that Rudolph brought one typewriter to the company as a contribution for his share in the company.

The beginning of the formation of the Dassler shoe company

The Dasslers have been involved in sports since childhood and were its ardent fans, so the company's main focus was on the production of sports shoes. In the early stages of its development, the company consisted of the Dassler brothers, a blacksmith they knew who designed studs for sports shoes, and a small production team.

Later, each of the brothers took his place in the company, if the younger brother was mainly involved in the production of shoes and the development of new models, the older brother specialized in sales and advertising of the brand.

In 1924 the company was officially registered under the name "Gebrüder Dassler". The company's business was getting better every month, the brand's popularity was growing, and production was expanding by leaps and bounds.

A special surge in popularity occurred in 1928, when, during the next Olympic Games, 3 participants at once decided to perform in Dassler sneakers. Then the popularity of the brand grew mainly due to major sporting events, for example, in 1932 a German runner won bronze at Olympic Games in Gebrüder Dassler sneakers.

A real sensation for the company was the winning of 4 gold medals at the Olympic Games in Berlin by an American athlete who competed in shoes of the same brand. It was from that moment that the whole world started talking about the Dassler brothers and their shoes.

Shoe company's big problems

It is no secret that the brothers were convinced Nazis and supported the ideas of the Third Reich. At the beginning of World War II, the factory was refurbished and began producing shoes for Nazi soldiers.

In 1943, Rudolf Dassler was mobilized to the front, where he managed to find a loophole so as not to participate in hostilities. Rudolph faked night blindness and began working with papers at headquarters.

When the Red Army advanced, Rudolf fled to the rear, where he was arrested and sent to a concentration camp on charges of desertion. Before reaching the camp, he was liberated by Soviet troops, but was arrested again, as it turned out, on a report from his younger brother.

American soldiers took over the factory and began producing skates there, which were sent to the United States, and they also occupied the Dassler mansion. Because his brother reported him, Rudolf told the American military that the initiative to help Nazi soldiers with shoes belonged exclusively to his brother. From that moment on, the centuries-long feud of the Dassler brothers began. Shoe production was resumed only after the end of the war in 1946.

The brothers divided the business among themselves. This is how two competing factories appeared, which at the beginning of their journey had the names Addas and Ruda.

Development of confrontation

Rudolf Dassler renamed his company Puma, his brother followed suit and renamed his brand Adidas.

From that moment on, the fiercest confrontation between shoe companies in the world began, which dragged on for many decades.

Manufacturers are beginning to sponsor almost all sporting events, in particular football championships. In 1958, Rudy sues his younger brother for an advertising slogan that claimed Adidas was the best shoes for sports all over the world.

Over the years, the confrontation subsides a little, the brothers enter into an agreement not to advertise shoes from the best football players in the world, so as not to raise prices on the advertising market, and hand over the reins of their companies to their sons Armin and Horst.

In 1970, Puma violated the agreement and signed a contract with Pele, the most famous football player of that time. At the start of the 1970 FIFA World Cup, Pele enters the match wearing Puma boots and begins tying his laces in the very center of the circle before the match begins. Hatred between brothers flares up new strength and is passed on to his sons, starting a new stage in the confrontation between world leaders in the production of sports shoes.

Rudolf Dassler dies of cancer in 1976. Adolf Dassler did not come to the funeral and did not comment on his brother’s death.

Surely every person has at least some item from Adidas in their wardrobe, but most likely not everyone has thought about who its creator is. The founders of this company are considered to be two brothers - Rudolf and Adolf Dassler.

Adolf, everyone at home called him Adi, was born in 1900 into a poor family in the city of Hartzogenaurach. He was the 4th child. His mother worked in a laundry, and his father worked in a factory where shoes were made. Most of all, Adolf communicated with his brother Rudolf, they played sports together and constantly competed with each other.

In 1914, when Rudolf was drafted into the army, Adolf began a fruitful study of his father's business. Football was gaining immense popularity at that time, and Adi enjoyed playing it.

Was after war time with the devastation in the country, and his parents lost their jobs. For two whole years they worked part-time to feed their children and survive. But they still decide to take a serious step and open their own business - shoe production. In the former laundry room, it was decided to open a workshop where they initially sewed sleeping slippers, then gymnastics slippers. But Adolf really wanted to produce shoes for athletes.

In 1924, Rudolf expressed a desire to work with his brother, and they named the company Gebrüder Dassler. Adolf was responsible for the production process, and Rudolf took over sales. At that time, the company employed 14 people.

In 1925, Adolf began developing the first football boots, which required studs. Rudolph went to a local blacksmith and established a partnership with him. These football shoes have proven themselves well, and the young company managed to expand its turnover. The company was already producing more than 100 pairs a day in 1926, and after a while they managed to rent an entire factory for their production.

The brand gained popularity after the brothers decided to develop shoes for participants in the 1928 Olympics. All German athletes already wore Dassler shoes. Production increased every day, already producing more than 1,000 pairs per day. It's time to expand and buy another factory for production.

Adidas - brand development

As soon as the war ended, the Americans forced Adolf to design and produce sports equipment for the United States. During wartime, the business suffered quite badly, so we had to start almost from the very beginning.

As soon as Rudolf returned from the war, he quarreled with his brother. What caused the conflict is unknown, and opinions differ. In 1948, the brand disbanded and the brothers split into two different companies. That’s how it happened that Adolf named his company Addas, which would later be known as Adidas, and Rudolf created the company Puma. There was calm in the brothers' relationship, but somehow the company's relationship did not work out. The employees constantly competed and did not even greet each other when they met.

In 1954, Adidas appeared in Switzerland at the World Cup. Towards the end of the 50s, Adolf launched the production of various accessories and bags, and later - tracksuits with three stripes. Later, balls appeared that were used only at important world championships.

Adolf became the author of the first revolutionary development in 1957. These were sports shoes with an air cushion. After a while, production opened in Norway and France. Advertising campaigns were constantly carried out in leading role there were the brightest athletes.

Robert Louis-Dreyfus

In 1978, Adolf Dasler left the world and was succeeded by his wife Katharina. She managed the company for five years. But it seemed that with the death of Adolf, production was gradually declining. Later, his daughters began to manage the company, but they did not make very good leaders, as they constantly quarreled among themselves.

In 1989, Adolphe's daughters decided to sell 80% of the company to French entrepreneur Bernard Tapie. Tapi wanted to raise the company high, but nothing came of it. In 1993, he decided to sell Adidas to his friend Robert Louis-Dreyfus. Each time sales grew, new developments in the shoe industry appeared, and the company rose higher every day.

In 2001, Louis left the company, but managed to prepare a replacement for himself. It was Herbert Hainer, who from the very early childhood I was fond of football and knew everything about Adidas.

From that moment on, Herbert made a significant contribution to production, developing new shoe models and introducing the latest technologies. Now the company has taken a leading position and is among the first among such famous brands, like Nike and Puma.

Few people know that behind the usual names of brands of sports shoes and clothing are the names of two brothers, Adolf and Rudolf Dassler. Adidas - came from Adolf (Adi) Dassler, Puma came from the not so harmonious Ruda - Rudolf (Rudi) Dassler.

The Dassler brothers shoe factory was an example of a German family enterprise of the 20s. The entire Dassler family, including parents and siblings, worked hard to create indoor shoes from available materials - decommissioned military uniforms and old car tires, from which the soles were cut. Since Adi Dassler was a sports fan and a good football player, he enthusiastically began creating sports shoes, and was later joined by his brother and the whole family. From small orders, which were carried out by hand, right in the laundry of their own home, gradually expanding and working day and night, the family finally achieved their first success.

Soon the factory, a family business, Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik (“Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory”) is inaugurated. The Dassler brothers were an extremely successful pair of leaders. Rudolf was an excellent manager, he sought to expand the business and establish new connections, and Adolf was an excellent engineer, he owned all the best ideas of the company, he was a born designer and inventor. The business is thriving, the flow of orders is growing, the family business is actively developing.

By 1925, the company was doing so well that Adi could afford a little imagination. As an avid soccer player, he designed and made spiked soccer boots that were forged for him by a local blacksmith. Thus, studded sports shoes were born.

The success of studded football boots inspired Adi to make shoes specifically for the strongest participants in the Olympics. For the first time, athletes performed in Dassler studded shoes at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam. At the next Olympics in 1932 in Los Angeles, the German Arthur Yonath became third in the 100 meters. But the most successful year for Adi was 1936. His first child was born, and at the Berlin Olympics, the black American runner Jesse Owens, wearing Dassler shoes, won four gold medals and set five Olympic records.

From that moment on, Dassler became an unrecognized standard in sports shoes. The success of Adi's marketing was obvious - the company produces 1000 pairs of shoes daily.

PUMA VS ADIDAS

The year 33 becomes a turning point for the Dassler brothers company, as well as for the whole of Germany, and then for the whole world. Revealed during the Second World War Contradictions in the brothers' worldviews cause a family split. The younger Dasslers, who once worked together for a common cause, have now become mortal enemies, not ready to forgive insults and sacrifice even the smallest things. This period in the history of the two companies is often called the "Great Divide". The rivalry between brothers, once expressed only in sports and children's games, has now grown into mortal enmity and implacable hatred. Both brothers considered themselves worthy to lead the family business; the two owners were cramped in one factory.

The war revealed all the contradictions that had accumulated between the brothers, and in 1948 the family company ceased to exist, now each of the brothers had to run their own business independently. Competing companies Addas, now known to us Adidas, and Ruda, today Puma, appear.

The piquancy of the situation was that none of the brothers wanted to leave their hometown of Herzogenaurach and start their own business from scratch. The company was physically divided into two halves, and along with the company, the town in which the factory was located was split. The feature of the split was the river, dividing the city into two parts - on one bank Adidas began to develop and is still successfully developing, on the other - Puma. Most of the Adidas workers lived and still live on one bank, on the other - Puma workers, the enmity between the residents of one city never stopped, the relations between the residents of the two banks of the river resemble the relations between the fans of two rival teams, which are passed down from generation to generation and do not lose their intensity, although no one can name the exact reason for their dislike for each other. There is a joke in the town that when meeting someone, a local resident first of all looks at the shoes to understand whether the stranger is wearing a Puma or an Adidas, whether he is a friend or an enemy, friend or foe.

The brand war is not limited to one small town, the arena has become world sports competitions such as the Olympic Games and the World Cup Finals.

After parting with his brother, Adi became the sole owner of his own company. Now he did not need to consult anyone. Taking advantage of this “permissiveness”, a year later he “slightly” violated the agreement with his brother - not to use the symbols of the “Dassler Factory”. Adi took two stripes in the Dassler logo, added a third to them and patented this as the Adidas symbol.

THE FATHER OF SPORTS ADVERTISING

In order not to allow his brother to bypass him, Adi takes up his favorite activity - invention. In 1949, he creates the first boots with removable rubber studs. In 1950 - football boots, adapted for playing football in adverse weather conditions: on snow and frozen ground. At the same time, he recalls all the old connections with the national Olympic committees. At the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, most athletes no longer wore Dassler, but Adidas.

At the same Olympics, Adi came up with the idea of ​​offering athletes other products under the Adidas brand. The first attempt at diversification was the production of sports bags, which began a few months later. And although sneakers remain the main production, Adi is looking for a partner who will take over the production of clothing. By chance, at some party, Adi met the owner of a textile factory, Willy Seltenreich. After drinking together, Adi ordered him a thousand tracksuits with three stripes along the sleeves. The product went well, and the partners liked each other so much that Seltenreich soon began sewing only for Adidas.

Year after year, shoes from Adi Dassler became more and more technically and technologically complex. Some competitors have even begun to focus their advertising on the simplicity of their models and their time-tested nature. But already in 1954, innovative Adidas shoes were unrivaled in the world of professional sports. This year, the German national team, wearing Adidas shoes, became the world football champion for the first time. The nation was delighted - the Germans became winners for the first time since World War II. Adi was personally present at the decisive matches in Bern. Under his leadership, before each game, football players' boots were adapted to the ground and weather conditions using new technology removable spikes.

This victory gave Adi the idea to advertise directly in stadiums. In 1956, he signed an agreement with the Olympic Committee to advertise Adidas at the Melbourne Olympics. This is how Adi Dassler ushered in the modern era of commercialization of sports.

The 1960s and 70s were the golden era of Adidas. The hated brother and owner of the Puma was left somewhere far behind. Adi Dassler's company reigned supreme in the world of sports, its influence was felt even through the Iron Curtain. In 1972, the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, deciding on the issue of equipment for the Soviet Olympic team, chose Adidas.

All this time Adidas remained closed private company Adi, and Adi personally led it until his death. But towards the end of his life, he began to say that Adidas was not a goal for him, but only a means. “The only important thing in my life was sports,” he noted. Adolf Dassler died in 1978 from heart failure, leaving his five children a thriving company with a turnover of over $500 million and, in addition to clothing and accessories, selling 45 million pairs of shoes, 150 models a year.

But Adidas did not become a family business. Just as Adi himself quarreled with his brother over the Dassler Brothers Factory, his children now began to fight for control of Adidas. Less than ten years later, due to miscalculations in business, they were forced to sell the company for only $390 million. Having become a typical joint stock company of our time without large co-owners, Adidas still exists, but this is a completely different Adidas.

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Inventor

Children:

Childhood, youth, business

However, over time, relations between the brothers deteriorated, and in 1948 they divided the company. Adolf founded the company Adidas(the name is composed of the diminutive form of the name Adi and the first three letters of the surname), and Rudolf - the company Puma.

On August 18, 1978, Adolf suffered a stroke and died on September 6.

Personal qualities

Dassler put commercial success in second place - his irrepressible love for sports always came first. He was very active person. At the age of 75, he still played tennis and swam in the pool. And he was involved in the affairs of the company until his death.

One of his hobbies was designing football shoes. He invented football boots with replaceable studs. Dassler was responsible for outfitting the German team at the 1954 World Cup.

Monument

In May 2006, in the homeland of the founder of the Adidas company in the city of Herzogenaurach (Bavaria), a bronze monument to Adi Dassler was unveiled, its author is sculptor Joseph Tabachnik. Adi Dassler sits in the second row of the stadium named after him, among the people. Energetic, perky, cheerful, full of energy, he is a simple shoemaker turned billionaire, holding a football boot that has conquered the world.

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Literature

• Smith, Barbara. Adidas or Puma? Brothers' struggle for world leadership. / Per. with him. I. Kanevskaya. - M.: JSC "Olympus-Business", 2012. - 392 p.: ill. - ISBN 978-5-9693-0198-6.

Links

• Article on adidas.com
• (German)
• (German)

Excerpt characterizing Dassler, Adolf

From the hall, Berg ran into the living room with a floating, impatient step and hugged the count, kissed the hands of Natasha and Sonya and hurriedly asked about his mother’s health.
– How is your health now? Well, tell me,” said the count, “what about the troops?” Are they retreating or will there be another battle?
“One eternal god, dad,” said Berg, “can decide the fate of the fatherland.” The army is burning with the spirit of heroism, and now the leaders, so to speak, have gathered for a meeting. What will happen is unknown. But I’ll tell you in general, dad, such a heroic spirit, the truly ancient courage of the Russian troops, which they – it,” he corrected himself, “showed or showed in this battle on the 26th, there are no words worthy to describe them... I’ll tell you, dad (he hit himself on the chest in the same way as one general who was talking in front of him hit himself, although a little late, because he should have hit himself on the chest at the word “Russian army”) - I’ll tell you frankly that we, the leaders, “Not only should we not have urged the soldiers or anything like that, but we could forcefully hold back these, these... yes, courageous and ancient feats,” he said quickly. – General Barclay, before Tolly, sacrificed his life everywhere in front of the army, I’ll tell you. Our corps was placed on the slope of the mountain. You can imagine! - And then Berg told everything that he remembered from the various stories he had heard during this time. Natasha, without lowering her gaze, which confused Berg, as if looking for a solution to some question on his face, looked at him.
– Such heroism in general, as shown by Russian soldiers, cannot be imagined and deservedly praised! - Berg said, looking back at Natasha and as if wanting to appease her, smiling at her in response to her persistent gaze... - “Russia is not in Moscow, it is in the hearts of her sons!” Right, dad? - said Berg.
At this time, the countess came out of the sofa room, looking tired and dissatisfied. Berg hastily jumped up, kissed the countess's hand, inquired about her health and, expressing his sympathy by shaking his head, stopped next to her.
– Yes, mother, I will truly tell you, difficult and sad times for every Russian. But why worry so much? You still have time to leave...
“I don’t understand what people are doing,” said the countess, turning to her husband, “they just told me that nothing is ready yet.” After all, someone needs to give orders. You'll regret Mitenka. Will this never end?
The Count wanted to say something, but apparently refrained. He stood up from his chair and walked towards the door.
Berg at this time, as if to blow his nose, took out a handkerchief and, looking at the bundle, thought, sadly and significantly shaking his head.
“And I have a big request to ask you, dad,” he said.
“Hm?..” said the count, stopping.
“I’m driving past Yusupov’s house now,” Berg said, laughing. “The manager, I know, ran out and asked if you would buy something.” I went in, you know, out of curiosity, and there was just a wardrobe and a toilet. You know how Veruschka wanted this and how we argued about it. (Berg involuntarily switched to a tone of joy about his well-being when he began talking about the wardrobe and toilet.) And such a delight! comes forward with an English secret, you know? But Verochka wanted it for a long time. So I want to surprise her. I saw so many of these guys in your yard. Give me one, please, I’ll pay him well and...
The Count frowned and gagged.
- Ask the countess, but I don’t give orders.
“If it’s difficult, please don’t,” said Berg. “I would really like it for Verushka.”
“Oh, go to hell, all of you, to hell, to hell, to hell!” shouted the old count. - My head is spinning. - And he left the room.
The Countess began to cry.
- Yes, yes, mummy, very difficult times! - said Berg.
Natasha went out with her father and, as if having difficulty understanding something, first followed him, and then ran downstairs.