Puma History

Puma History

Puma, also known as Puma Aktiengesellscaft Rudolf Dassler Sport, is a German footwear, apparel, and accessories manufacturer. Puma has retailers, department stores, and boutiques in over 80 countries and has opened several Concept stores in metropolitan cities. The roots of Puma brand stretch back to the mid 1920's when Adi and Rudolph registered their family shoe enterprise in Herzogenaurach, Germany, but after World War II, during which Rudi Dassler had spent time in a POW camp, the Dassler brothers began a legendary feud, causing Rudolph to leave the company and found a rival company across town. Rudi Dassler named his company Puma Aktiengesellscaft Rudolf Sport (Puma) while brother Adi incorporated as Adidas.
In 1948, Puma released their first shoe, the PUMA Atom to the market and to the West German football team. By 1950 Puma had established export ties to the United States, and in 1958 PUMA's signature formstripe was introduced. This would begin the intense battle between Puma and Adidas to get their shoes onto the feet of world-class athletes that would span the next several decades. This intense race to market new technologies spawned copyright and infringement lawsuits until 1960 when Puma, behind in sales by a nine to one ratio, paid West German track star Armin Hary to defect from Adidas and wear Puma shoes. In 1962 Pele becomes the World Cup champion for a second time while wearing Puma shoes. Six years later, the Puma leaping cat logo as we know it today was launched. The same year Puma had a number of successful models, including the "King" soccer shoe worn by Eusebio at the 1968 World Cup and the "Suede" (later called the Clyde) worn by the Black Power runners Thomas Smith and Lee Evans at the Mexico City Olympics. In total, four athletes bring home gold medals while wearing Puma; Tommie Smith in the 200m, Lee Evans in the 400m, Willie Davenport in 110m high hurdles, and Bob Seagren in pole vaulting.
1969
Joe Namath, quarterback for the New York Jets, goes to Super Bowl III wearing Puma shoes.
1970
Pele wins a third World Cup title, wearing the Puma King.
1976
Puma introduces its S.P.A. technology.
1981
Marcus Allen of the Oakland Raiders is one of many NFL stars to play in Puma shoes.
1982
Armin A. Dassler invents the Puma Duoflex sole.
1986
Puma goes public and company stock is offered on the Munich and Frankfurt stock exchanges.
1989
Rudi Dassler's sons sold Puma to the Cosa Lievermann Group who in turn sell the majority stake to the Aritmos Group of Sweden.
1989
Puma launches the "Trinomic" sport shoe system.
1990
Puma introduces a system for children's shoes with a midsole window which allows growth to be monitored.
1990
German midfielder and Puma athlete Lothar Matthaus captains Germany to a World Cup title. He is voted "European Footballer of the Year", "World Footballer of the Year", and "World Sportsman of the Year".
In 1993 Jochen Zeitz was appointed as CEO & Chairman of the Board and the German factories were closed. Over the next few years, Zeitz redefined Puma's focus on regaining control of various markets. A high-power management team was recruited and a three year business plan was introduced. In Phase I and II, a solid financial foundation was established. After Phase I and II were completed, Puma had 1 billion Euros in sales and moved into Phase III ahead of schedule. Phase III's goal was to explore the potential of Puma brand and generate profitable growth of the company. Puma strongly believes that financial success is contingent upon the ability to contribute positively to the environment in which the company operates. Substantial amounts of their profits is invested in relationships and surroundings. Puma's major technological innovation came in 1996 in the formed of Puma Cell, a structural arrangement of hexagonal cells like a honeycomb in a beehive. Track champion Lynford Christie (Britain) was the first sponsored athlete to put the Puma Cell to the test during training.
Other famous figures to wear Puma include soccer legend Pele at the 1970 World Cup (wearing the best selling Puma King) and current stars, Jimmy Floyd Hasslebaink and Robert Pires have been seen to wear Puma on the field. Tennis champion, Serena Williams unveiled her line of signature tennis clothing in 2002. Puma products have been placed in several Hollywood movies, including City of Angels and have been endorsed by the band KORN.
With the popularization of urban styles, Puma shoes are in high demand. One of the most popular styles of Puma to date is the Roma, launched in 1970 in celebration of the Rome Olympics. The reissued versions remain highly in demand as do many reissued versions such as the Puma Suede, Puma Basket, and Puma Clyde originally launched in the 1980's. While Puma sales only account for a small portion of the overall athletic shoe and apparel market, the company has been successful in expanding into niche markets like yoga and motor sports shoes, apparel and accessories and the brand continues to dominate on the world soccer stage because of its stylish cutting edge designs and dedication to change and innovation.
Puma Mission Statement and Brand Strategy
Brand Strategy
"To be the brand that mixes the influences of sports, lifestyle, and fashion." (www.puma.com).
Brand Mission
"To become the most desirable Sport lifestyle brand by fusing the creative influences from the world of sport, lifestyle and fashion." (www.puma.com).
"In order to achieve these goals, our brand template emphasises PUMA's distinctiveness, individualism, spontaneity, internationalism, and sporting heritage. An important part of our brand strategy is maintaining vigilant watch over our distribution channels, ensuring that we maintain the high level of desirability necessary for sustainable growth." (www.puma.com).
Did You Know? Trivia
Famous Puma Products
Puma Roma, Puma Suede, Puma Sky II, Puma Basket, Puma Clyde, Puma SpeedCat, and Puma Easy Rider.
Other Uses of the Name
Puma is also a glassfibre car built on VW Beetle running gear. Pumas were built in South Africa and in Brazil. In the USA, Pumas were available in "kit" form to get around DMV regulations. The first run of South African Pumas were built in Durban, and the second run in Verwoerdburg.
The Puma is also known as the Cougar, Panther or Mountain Lion when referring to large felines.
Puma was the first athletic shoe company to offer Velcro strapping.