Dari Dapur Ibu, Kisah Dassler Bersaudara Membangun Adidas dan Puma

From Their Mother’s Kitchen, The Story of the Dassler Brothers Who Built Adidas and Puma

Adidas and Puma are two of the world’s largest sports shoe brands. 

But did you know that they came from the same company? The story of the Dassler brothers is a story of dreams, hard work, and competition that inspired many people.

In 1919, Adi and Rudi Dassler founded a shoe manufacturing company in their mother’s kitchen or laundry room in Herzogenaurach, Germany. 

Adi was a shoemaker who had a talent for designing and making shoes. Rudi was a salesman who had a skill for marketing and selling products. 

They worked together to create shoes that were comfortable and high-quality for athletes.

One of their breakthroughs was making shoes with rubber pads that could be removed and replaced according to the field conditions. 

They also used leather material that was light and flexible to make shoes more durable and not easily damaged. 

With these innovations, the shoes made by the Dassler brothers began to attract the attention of athletes and coaches.

In 1936, the Dassler shoes were worn by Jesse Owens, an American athlete who won four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics. 

This achievement made the Dassler name more famous and received many orders from various countries. In 1948, the Dassler company had 47 employees and produced 50 thousand pairs of shoes per year.

However, behind their success, the relationship between Adi and Rudi began to deteriorate. 

There were several factors that caused the dispute between them, such as personality differences, business competition, and family conflict. 

One of the incidents that triggered their divorce was when Adi thought Rudi betrayed him by cooperating with the Nazis during World War II.

In 1948, Adi and Rudi decided to split up and establish their own shoe companies. Adi took the name Adidas, which is an abbreviation of his first and last name. Rudi took the name Puma, which is an abbreviation of his last name and the word “Schuhfabrik”, which means shoe factory.

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