Saturday, November 8, 2014
PUMA SE (officially branded as PUMA) is a major German multinational company that produces athletic and casual
footwear, as well as sportswear,
headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. The company was formed in
1924 as Gebrüder Dassler
Schuhfabrik by Adolf and Rudolf
Dassler. The relationship between the two brothers deteriorated until the two
agreed to split in 1948, forming two separate entities, Adidas and Puma.
Both companies are currently based in Herzogenaurach, Germany.
Puma
makes football shoes and has sponsored a number of
footballers, including Pelé, Eusébio, Johan Cruyff, Diego Maradona,Lothar Matthäus, Kenny Dalglish, Thierry Henry, Robert Pires, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Radamel Falcao, Sergio Agüero, Cesc Fàbregas,Marco Reus, Gianluigi Buffon and Mario
Balotelli. Puma is the sponsor of the Jamaican track athlete Usain Bolt. In the United States, the
company is known for the suede
basketball shoe it introduced in
1968, which eventually bore the name of New
York Knicksbasketball star Walt
"Clyde" Frazier, and for its endorsement partnership with Joe Namath.
Following
the split from his brother, Rudolf Dassler originally registered the
new-established company as Ruda,
but later changed to Puma. Puma's
earliest logo consisted of a square and beast jumping through a D, which was registered, along
with the company's name, in 1948. Puma's shoe designs feature the distinctive
"Formstrip", with
clothing and other products having the logo printed on them.
The
company offers lines of shoes and sports clothing designed by Lamine Kouyate,
Amy Garbers, and others. Since 1996 Puma has intensified its activities in the
United States. Puma owns 25% of American brand sports clothing maker Logo
Athletic, which is licensed by American professional basketball and association
football leagues.
Since
2007 Puma has been part of French group Kering (formerly known as
Pinault-Printemps-Redoute or PPR).
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