The Wartime Family Feud That Created Adidas and Puma

Go out on almost any street, and you’re likely to find the majority of people wearing sneakers. But back in the 1920s, these comfortable shoes weren’t anywhere near the phenomenon they are today. Flexible, rubber-soled shoes began appearing in the 1830s thanks to the creation of vulcanized rubber, and by the early 20th century, sneakers had become popular choices for tennis players and athletes playing the fairly new sport of basketball.German brothers Adi and Rudi Dassler saw potential in the sneaker market. After coming home from World War I, the brothers began selling athletic shoes out of their mother’s home in the small town of Herzogenaurach in Bavaria, Germany. The children of a shoemaker, Adi and Rudi initially launched their business in their mother’s laundry room. Adi, who was more reserved and quiet, made the shoes from whatever materials he could find. Rudi, who was more extroverted, ran sales.They founded the company Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik in 1924, and business quickly took off. Eventually, it would evolve into both Adidas and Puma, but only after a bitter rivalry tore the siblings apart.World War II and the divide between the Dassler brothersJesse Owens' long jump | Hulton Archive/GettyImagesIn the late 1920s, the Nazi Party was rising to power in Germany. The Dasslers both joined, apparently for the business connections—“or at least that is the story told now,” author Nick Smith told History.By the time Adolf Hitler rose to power, the brothers had major contracts with Nazi-sponsored businesses. Ahead of the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, they offered American sprinter Jesse Owens a pair of their shoes, which he wore while winning four gold medals. Then World War II broke out. Adi was initially conscripted but was given a deferment to run the company. Rudi, meanwhile, was drafted, and according to some sources, he blamed Adi. During the denazification process after the war, Adi and his wife supposedly testified that Rudi had been part of the SS, and Rudi was imprisoned for a year. Rudi, for his part, tried unsuccessfully to shift the blame to his brother and apparently accused him of producing weapons for the Nazis for profit.Through all this, Adi and Rudi were sharing one house with their wives—which, retroactively, seems like a recipe for disaster. At some point, irreconcilable differences tore them apart. No one is completely sure what the final nail in the coffin was, but by 1948, the brothers had parted ways permanently.A family feud spreads across the neighborhoodAdolf "Adi" DASSLER (*1900-1978+), German entrepreneur, founder of the German sportswear company | ullstein bild Dtl./GettyImagesAdi moved to one side of the Aurach River at the heart of Herzogenaurach, where he founded Adidas, a portmanteau of his first and last name. Rudi moved to the other side and founded the company that would become Puma. Over time, the split divided the entire town, with pubs, bakeries, and even tombstone makers catering to specific sides of the river. Adi and Rudi only spoke a few more times during their lives, and were ultimately buried on opposite sides of the local cemetery.“We didn't even mention the name, Adidas, actually at home,” Michael Dassler, Rudi’s grandson, told the BBC. “We usually said N.G., for German, nie gehört, never heard of. It's like in Harry Potter… the name Voldemort which is not mentioned.”The rivalry continued to simmer throughout the 20th century. Yet in 2009, the feud finally ended when employees from both Adidas and Puma competed in a soccer match—with teams made up of members from both companies. Though they no longer belong to Dassler descendants, Adidas and Puma remain among the more successful shoe brands in existence. Adidas’ revenue reached approximately $22 billion in 2020, and Puma’s was roughly $6 billion. However, while the brands were competing, another shoe company soared above both of them combined: Nike, which raked in $37.5 billion in revenue that same year.