It's well known that the athletic shoe (sneaker) business is highly lucrative and competitive. From the recent disputes between Adidas's Primeknit and Nike's Flyknit, to the dispute over replica sneakers, the marketplace is filled with competition and fueled by innovation and marketing. But when you get a spoiled sibling rivalry into the mix, you'd never know what you'd get...or do you?
Adolf (Adi) and Rudolf Dassler were brothers who later become business partners in Germany during the time around between World War I and World War II. Together they formed the Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory, drawing inspiration from their father who worked in a local shoe factory. The company even equipped Jesse Owens with his shoes.
With Hilter coming to power, the two brothers joined the Nazi Party, but took different paths. Rudolf was drafted and later captured by the Americans, while Adi stayed behind and produced boots for the foot soldiers. The American troops eventually charged Rudolf with being a part of the Common Core. Adi was accused of leaking this information to the Americans, and thus the fallout began. **Additional information also became available that Rudolf was having sexual relations with Adi's wife, which could have influenced Adi to give the information, true or false, to the Americans.
After being released by the Americans, Rudolf left the company and established a new shoe company on the other side of town. When Rudolf left, Adi Dassler changed the name of the Dassler Shoe Factory to Adidas. Rudolf went on to name his company Puma, and the rest is history.
Great article.
ReplyDeleteAppreciate it my dude.
Delete