Puma
From the Dassler brothers to Puma
In the 1920s, the two Dassler brothers Rudolf and Adi worked on their first sports shoes in their parents' laundry room in Herzogenaurach. While Adi was more the tinkerer, Rudolph had his strengths in selling the products. The Dassler brothers' sports shoes gained worldwide recognition through the US track and field athlete Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games. After the end of World War II, however, the brothers fell out and went their separate ways. Rudolf Dassler founded PUMA in 1948, his brother Adi adidas in 1949. The brotherly quarrel thus also turned into a competition for sales and the best athletes as advertising media. Initially, Puma focused on the production of running shoes and soccer shoes, which were largely worn by the German national soccer team. Since time immemorial, the jumping Puma and the form stripe have been Puma's trademarks and can be seen on all products.
Puma and the sports stars
Thanks to the entrepreneurial skills of Rudolf Dassler, Puma signed athletes early on to use them as advertisers for their products. Since Puma scored especially with its soccer shoes, world stars like Pelé, Eusebio or Diego Maradonna were perfect to get worldwide attention. But Puma was also active in other sports, such as basketball. The legend Walt "Clyde" Frasier was equipped with a shoe named after him, which also became known as Puma Suede. With Boris Becker, they also had an exceptional tennis talent under contract, who got his own shoe and clothing collection.
The crisis is followed by a new beginning
In the early 1990s, Puma had a hard time keeping up with the other sporting goods manufacturers in the world. It succeeded in repositioning itself primarily through innovative technologies. The 1990s were legendary for Puma in the sports shoe sector. Puma Cell, a damping system made of hexagonal cells, was developed, the Puma Trinomic series saw the light of day and in 1991 the Puma Disc, the first sneaker without laces, was launched. As one of the first sporting goods manufacturers ever, Puma collaborates with well-known fashion designers, such as Jil Sander or Alexander McQueen. With the sprint legend Usain Bolt, they have another athlete in their ranks who achieves world records in Puma shoes. The collaboration with pop star Rihanna and her Fenty label, which was specifically focused on sneakers and clothing for women, Puma has also again addressed a younger target group. Current Puma sneakers like the Cali, Future Rider or Puma RS-X are timeless retro sneakers and are right on trend.
Puma x Overkill
2017 saw the first collaboration with our friends from Puma. The Berlin cult schnapps Pfeffi was the inspiration for the "Pfeffiboys" pack, which consisted of a Puma Disc Blaze and a Puma Blaze Cage betsand. In 2019, the "Radiant Venom" followed, our interpretation of the vintage classic Puma Cell Venom.
