The Adidas brand is probably known to everyone in our country. The popularity of shoes and clothing supplied by this German company, including to the domestic market, is truly enormous. The founder of the world famous company Adidas is a German businessman of Jewish origin A. Dassler.

Childhood

Small townHerzogenaurach -place where November 3, 1900 was bornAdolf Dassler. Familyhis was not rich.Adi's mother worked as a laundress and her father as a baker. Ros Adolph was a quiet, intelligent boy. The only thing he really enjoyed was football.

In 1914, Germany began the First World War, which ended in 1918 with its defeat. Devastation and hunger reigned in the country. Thousands of soldiers returning from the front joined the army of the unemployed. Adolf's parents also lost their earnings. They practically could not feed themselves and their children. Adi, who by that time was 18 years old, and his brother Rudolph were still trying to find a job for some time. However, absolutely nothing came of this venture. And then, in order to somehow make ends meet, at the family council, the Dasslers decided to open their own small shoe workshop.

First production

Of course, the Dasslers did not have free premises for placing equipment. And then the family decided to set aside the mother's laundry for a new workshop. All the same, she had few orders at that time.

Actually, the equipment for sewing footwear itself was also practically not available for the Dasslers. But somehow the family found a way out. Adi's ingenuity also helped in this. From his old bicycle, the young man assembled a handy skinning machine. In the future, Adolf Dassler also very often showed the ingenuity that contributes to the success of the family business. The first shoes of the new workshop were, albeit simple in design, but quite in demand in the chilly climate of Germany. The Dassler family decided to start their business with sleeping slippers. Newly made shoe masters sewed them from used military uniforms. For the soles, old car tires were used.

At first, of course, the Dasslers did not have hired workers. The base for the slippers was cut and cut by Adolf's mother and sisters. Adi himself, his brother and father were engaged in the actual sewing. Rudolph was in charge of marketing the products. Adi was assigned the role of production coordinator and designer.

Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory

Thus, the products manufactured by the workshop were in high demand. And so the new family business of the Dasslers quickly became profitable. Already four years after the opening in the shoemaker, in addition to themselves, another 12 hired workers worked. The expanded mini-factory produced up to 50 pairs of shoes per day.

In June 1924, the family decided to officially register their successful business and give it the name Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory. Subsequently, the business of Adi and Rudi continued to develop rapidly. Adolfwas still in charge of the design of the footwear produced by the company, and Rudolph was in charge of its sales.

In 1925, the factory was doing so well thatAdolfDassler, biographywhich was now closely connected with shoe production,decided to take some liberties and designed the spiked cleats for his favorite football. The new model was soon launched into production. This is how the first spiked sports shoes appeared in the world. Simultaneously with the boots, the factory began to produce gymnastic slippers.

Lease and purchase of the plant

By 1927, the Dassler shoe production had grown so much that it even ceased to fit in the courtyard of the house. And then the family decided to rent a large building for their factory. At the same time, the company's staff was increased to 25 people. The company now produced about 100 pairs of shoes a day. After some time, the rented building was bought out by the Dasslers. The family itself moved from their old small house to a nearby mansion.

Shoes for the Olympics

The success of the Dassler enterprise was based primarily, of course, on the quality of products and their convenience. Studded boots and gymnastic slippers produced by this small company sold out in stores just instantly. And after a while, Adolf came up with the idea to sew sports shoes forthe strongestparticipants in the Olympics.This decision, in fact, became the starting point of the world fame of the new brand.

For the first time in Dassler footwear, German athletes performed at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam. Then no one paid much attention to the new sports accessory. However, already at the next Olympics, held in 1932 in Los Angeles, German A. Yonath, who competed in Dassler shoes, took third place in the 100 m race. It was then that the public, in fact, became known for this new brand ...

The real excitement around the Dassler brand, however, began only in 1936. At the Berlin Olympics, American runner D. Owen won four gold medals in these boots at once, setting 5 world records. Thanks to this athlete, the Dassler brand has become the recognized standard of sports footwear. Factory sales that year exceeded DM 400,000.

The Dasslers decided to invest the profits received during the Olympics and after it in the expansion of the business. In 1938, the family bought inHerzogenaurache another factory.

Nazi Germany

By the time Hitler came to power, the production of both family factories reached 1,000 pairs of shoes a day. Both brothers -Adolph and RudolphDasslers -by that time had already become active members of the Nazi party.The brothers fully supported the new government. However, this did not save them from trouble. Perhaps their Jewish origins were to blame, but in 1939, with the outbreak of World War II, their factories were confiscated. The authorities themselves sent the brothers Adolf and Rudolf to the front.

Later, at one of the factories owned by the family, the Nazis tried to establish the production of grenade launchers. However, since the equipment of the plant was absolutely not adapted for this purpose, this venture completely failed. And then the new authorities of the town decided to return Adolf from the front. He was tasked with producing training shoes for German soldiers.

Post-war enterprise

As you know, Germany lost the Second World War in disgrace. In 1945, the Dassler factories were in the American zone of occupation.The new government did not recognize the authority of even such a well-known entrepreneur before the war asAdolf Dassler. Brotherbusinessman for participation in hostilities was sent to the camp.Owned bythe sameThe allies adapted the Dassler factories for the production of hockey skates for deliveries to the United States.American officers settled in the family mansion of entrepreneurs.

MyselfAdolf Dasslerwith my wife at the timedug upgarden beds andcourted sand cattle in order to somehow make ends meet. However, this situation did not last long. A year later, the Americans left, and Rudolph returned from the camp. The Dasslers again became full-fledged owners of their factories.

Split

Raised a family businessafter the warAdolph and Rudolph Dasslerpractically from scratch. Produced their brand againfrom the remnants of military uniforms. Shoemakers in factories employed only 47 people. Moreover, they received their salaries not in money, but with firewood and yarn.

Be that as it may, gradually the business of the factory was getting better. But, unfortunately, between the brothers themselves, the former mutual understanding was no longer there. Rudolph never forgave Adolf for not rescuing him from the camp using his acquaintance with American officers.

The final rift between Adi and Rudy occurred in 1948. The brothers decided to split the company.AdolfDasslertook one factory for himself, and Rudolph another. By agreement between them, none of them could use the family brand. Thus, the famous Dassler footwear brand ceased to exist. Adi named his new firm Addas, and Rudi named Ruda. Later, the first was renamed Adidass (from Adi Dassler), and the second - in Puma.

Once, having quarreled, the Dassler brothers never made up. Even today, two well-known brands - "Adidas" and "Puma" - remain merciless competitors on the market.

Breach of contract

After parting with my brotherAdolfDasslerbecame the sole owner of his enterprise. He no longer communicated with Rudolph. Some time after the quarrel, Adi even slightly violated the agreement concluded with his brother on the non-use of the Dassler symbols. For his new products, he took two famous stripes from the old brand and simply added a third to them. This became the symbol of the new Adidas footwear.

Whatever it was, but in order to bypass his brother in the competition, Adolf had to use all his ingenuity in the following years:

In 1949 g.the first pair of Adolf Dassler shoes is releasedWithremovable spikes.

In 1950, Adi develops a boot designed for playing football in bad weather.

Adolf's shoes, innovative for that time, turned out to be very comfortable and immediately became extremely popular. At the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, the best athletes were no longer wearing Dassler shoes, but Adidas boots.

Adidas Suits

At the same 1952 Olympics, Adolf, among other things, came up with the idea to produce not only shoes for runners and football players, but also other sports goods. After a while, he started the production of sports bags. A few months later, to the weaving factory of a major entrepreneurSeltenreich receives an order from Adolf to sew 1000 Adidas tracksuits.

Advertising in stadiums

In 1954, the German football team, wearing Adidas boots, won the world title. Adolf's shoes are becoming even more popular. At the same time, Adi comes up with the idea of ​​placing advertisements for his brand directly in the stadiums. And already in 1956 he signed an agreement with the Olympic Committee. Thus, with the light hand of Dassler in the middle of the last century, the modern era of the commercialization of sports opened.

Decline

DiedAdolf Dassler in old age -in 1978. Unfortunately, his children did not succeed in developing the enterprise with the same success. Like Adi and his brother once, young businessmen quarreled among themselves, trying to challenge each other's control over the factory. This quarrel ended for the enterprise, of course, deplorably. The factory, to which Adolf Dassler gave his whole life, was sold in the 80s for almost nothing - for $ 390 million. Today she istypical of our time JSC, which does not have large co-owners.

Nowadays, about 14 thousand craftsmen work at the Adidas factory. Its sales amount to 6.3 billion euros annually, and net profit is 260 million. In addition to Adidas itself, the concern also includes such well-known brands asArc "Teryx, Salomon, Maxfl and some others.

Livel Adolph Dassler(photo ethat person can be seen on the page above)soway, a very long and eventful life. His age at the time of his death was as much as 78 years. The factory, which he created at the beginning of the century, in 1978 already produced about 45 million pairs of sports shoes annually. Today, a lot of various interesting facts are known about the company "Adidas" and its founder. So, for example:

At the 1960 Olympics in Rome, 75% of athletes wore Adidas shoes.

In 1977, English footballer S. Bowles entered the field wearing different boots. He wore an Adidas sneaker on one leg, andGola.For such an unusual advertisement, the athlete received4 £ 00k fromAdolf Dassler and 200 from Gola.

In 2004, the Adidas company began to cooperate with the famous fashion designer Stella McCartney. At the moment, the factory, among other things, is actively producing a line of women's sportswear.

In 2006 the famous brand was added to the plantReebok... It was bought out by shareholders for $ 3.8 trillion.

VIn 2016, a documentary was filmed about the founding of the factory. Television people, of course, became interested in the fate of such a famous person asAdolf Dassler. Film"Duel of brothers. The story of Adidas and Puma"narratesabout the events unfolding at the Adi and Rudi family business after the war.

The logo of the company "Adidas" has changed several times over the entire period of its existence. However, the famous three stripes have survived to this day. The modern plant logo combines them in a triangle to symbolize the mountain as a metaphor for the goal of any athlete.

The brothers Rudolph and Adolf Dassler were born into the family of a shoemaker. Adolph was the youngest child and Rudolph the middle one. Boys from childhood were passionate about sports, but the disputes and rivalries that arose between them in adolescence accompanied the brothers all their lives.

At a more mature age, the younger brother makes a decision that will change his whole life. He begins to engage in the production of sports shoes equipped with spikes, his familiar blacksmith took over the supply of spikes.

Later, Rudolph also joined the business. He didn’t know much about shoe making, but he had the skills of a talented salesperson. Their brilliant tandem quickly bears fruit. After the brothers officially opened a company under the name "Dassler Brothers" in 1824, by 1928 at the next Olympic Games, which were held in Amsterdam, several athletes chose shoes from the brothers' company to perform. In 1932, at the Los Angeles Games, sprinter Arthur Yonath won the bronze medal in boots from the Dassler brothers.

But the brothers achieved their greatest success by 1936, when at the summer games in Berlin, an athlete from America - Jesse Owens, took as many as four gold medals for races in several different distances and long jump.

After this event, the Brothers firm gained world fame and recognition.

Adolf Dassler and his training boot, 1960s-1970s (Wikimedia)

Rudolf Dassler, 1970-1980s

During the war, both brothers joined the Nazi Party. Their firm was redesigned to manufacture military footwear. A little later, Rudolph was taken to the war, but, citing a phony disease, he remained in the typing bureau. But some time later, the occupation authorities arrested him for collaborating with the Gestapo. During interrogation, he learns that his brother became the main informer on him. This he will never forgive him.

Rudolph, in turn, dumps all the blame on his younger brother, saying that the idea of ​​producing military shoes for the Nazis belongs entirely to Adi.

In 1948, the brothers' father, Christoph Dassler, died. He was the only person who tied the two brothers, and was a hindrance in their growing confrontation. Immediately after that, the company will split into two independent ones. Thus, two companies engaged in the production of sports shoes appear in a small town at once - Adidas and Ruda (this is how the Puma company was originally named). It received its final name a few months later, when Rudolph decides to abandon the mention of his name in the designation of the company. He changes two letters in the name, and Adolf, in turn, adds a third stripe to the old logo of the Dassler Brothers company.

Rudolph (left) and Adolph (right), 1930s

The enmity between the two brothers and two industries will spread to the entire small town, since half of the population of the town works for one brother, and the other is employed in the production of the other. The feud is not limited to the territory of the town, the brothers begin to restore the lost ties with the Olympic committees of different, including rival countries.

Adolf Dassler,

one of the founders of the famous sportswear company "Adidas"

Adolf was born in 1900 in the small German town of Herzogenaurach. His mother was a laundress and his father was a baker.

After the First World War, devastation reigned in Germany, and bad times fell for the Dassler family. In early 1920, they decided to start a family business - sewing shoes. The laundry was given to the mother for the workshop, where Adolf, his older brother Rudolph and his father cut shoes, and the sisters and mother made patterns from canvas.
The first product of the family was sleeping slippers. The material for them was decommissioned military uniforms, and the soles were cut from old car tires.

After 4 years, the family founded the Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory.
The firm was doing well. As an avid soccer player, Adi designed and made the spiked soccer shoes forged for him by a local blacksmith. This is how the spiked athletic shoe was born. The football model proved to be comfortable and, together with the gymnastic slippers, became the main product of the Dasslers.

For the first time, athletes performed in "spikes" at the Olympics in Amsterdam, then in Los Angeles, where the German Arthur Yonath, not without the help of new sneakers with spikes, became the third in the 100-meter race.

The Dassler has become the recognized standard for sports footwear in Germany.

After the Second World War, the brothers had to rebuild the family business almost from scratch: Dassler shoes were again made from the remnants of military ammunition.
After the death of the head of the family in 1948, Brother Dassler divided the company, and each of them organized their own business. Rudolph took over one factory, later transformed into the famous Puma concern, and Adolf founded the Addas company, which he renamed to Adidas (from Adi Dassler). Puma and Adidas have become the fiercest competitors.

At the same time, the logo of the companies appeared.

In 1949, Adolf created the first boot with removable rubber spikes, and a year later, a boot adapted for playing football in adverse weather conditions.
At the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, most athletes were already wearing Adidas.
At the same Olympics, Adi comes up with the idea to offer athletes other goods under the Adidas brand .. And although sneakers remain the main production, Adi takes on the production of sports bags and tracksuits with three stripes. The item went well. From year to year, footwear from Adi Dassler became more and more complex technically and technologically.

In 1954, Adidas shoes were out of competition at the World Cup: the German national team, wearing Adidas, became the champion for the first time.
Adi Dassler personally attended the decisive matches in Bern, where, under his direct supervision, before each game, the footballers' boots were adjusted to the ground and weather conditions using the new technology of removable cleats.

At the same time, Dassler for the first time in the world came up with the idea to use stadiums and other sports facilities as advertising platforms.

Surely every person has in his wardrobe at least some thing from "Adidas", but, most likely, not everyone thought about who was its creator. The founders of this company are considered to be two brothers - Rudolf and Adolf Dassler.

Adolf, at home everyone called him Adi, was born in 1900 into an unprovable family in the town of Harzogenaurach. He was the 4th child. His mother worked in a laundry, and his father worked in a shoe factory. Most of all, Adolf communicated with his brother Rudolph, went in for sports together and constantly competed with each other.

In 1914, when Rudolph was drafted into the army, Adolf began a fruitful study of his father's business. Football was gaining immense popularity at that time, and Adi played it with pleasure.

It was post-war time with devastation in the country, and his parents lost their jobs. For two whole years they worked part-time to feed their children and survive. But still they decide to take a serious step and open their own business - the production of footwear. In the former laundry, it was decided to open its own workshop, where sleeping slippers were originally sewn, then gymnastic slippers. But Adolf really wanted to make shoes for athletes.

In 1924, Rudolph expressed a desire to work with his brother, and they named the company Gebrüder Dassler. Adolph was in charge of the production process and Rudolph was in charge of sales. At that time, the company employed 14 people.

In 1925, Adolph developed the first football boots that required studs. Rudolph went to a local blacksmith and forged a partnership with him. This football shoe has proven itself well, and the young company managed to expand its turnover. Already more than 100 pairs a day the company produced in 1926, and after a while they managed to rent a whole factory for their production.

The brand gained popularity after the brothers decided to design shoes for the 1928 Olympics. All German athletes have already worn Dassler shoes. The production increased every day, more than 1,000 pairs per day were already being produced. It's time to expand and buy another factory for production.

Adidas - brand development

As soon as the war ended, the Americans forced Adolf to design and manufacture sports equipment for the United States. In wartime, the business suffered quite badly, so we had to start practically from the very beginning.

As soon as Rudolph returned from the war, he quarreled with his brother. What caused the conflict is unknown, and opinions differ. In 1948 the brand disintegrated and the brothers split into two different companies. And so it happened that Adolph named his company Addas, which will later be known as Adidas, and Rudolph created the Puma company. There was calmness in the brothers' relationship, but the relationship between the companies somehow did not work out. The employees constantly competed and did not greet each other even when they met.

In 1954, Adidas appeared in Switzerland for the FIFA World Cup. Towards the end of the 50s, Adolf launched the production of various accessories and bags, and later - sports suits with three stripes. Later, balls appeared that were used only in important world championships.

Adolf became the author of the first revolutionary development in 1957. It was a sports shoe with an air cushion. After a while, production was opened in Norway and France. Advertising campaigns were constantly carried out, the main roles were the brightest athletes.

Robert Louis-Dreyfus

In 1978, Adolf Dasler left the world and was replaced by his wife Katarina. She ran the company for five years. But it seemed that with the death of Adolf and production gradually declined. Later, his daughters began to manage the company, but they did not turn out to be very good leaders, since they constantly quarreled among themselves.

In 1989, Adolphe's daughters decided to sell 80% of the company to the French entrepreneur Bernard Tapi. Tapi wanted to raise the company high, but nothing came of it. In 1993, he decided to sell the Adidas to his friend Robert Louis-Dreyfus. Each time, sales grew, new developments appeared in the field of the footwear industry, and the company climbed higher every day.

In 2001, Louis left the company, but managed to prepare a replacement for himself. It was Herbert Heiner, who was fond of football from an early age and knew everything about Adidas.

Since then, Herbert has made a significant contribution to production, developing new models of shoes, introducing the latest technologies. Now the company has taken a leading position and stood in the ranks of the first among such famous brands as Nike and Puma.

Almost every inhabitant of the planet knows about the company "Adidas", and surely many people have a question about why the brand is named in such a way. So, its founder is Adolf (Adi) Dassler, who today is considered one of the most successful businessmen of all time. When exactly the idea of ​​creating this company was born, why did the founder decide to start producing sportswear and equipment? Read this article.

Adi Dassler: biography with photo

Adolf was born in early November 1900 in the city of Herzogenaurach (Bavaria). Parents were real hard workers: mother washed from morning till night in her own laundry, and father baked bread and rolls in a bakery. As a child, Adolf was called a diminutive of Adi. Dassler Rudolph - his older brother called him that even in adulthood.

Adolf grew up a calm, one might say, even a quiet boy. He was 14 years old when the First World War began. He was still very young to be drafted into the army and sent to the front, but at this time he became very interested in football - the most popular game in Europe. After the end of the war, in which Germany was defeated, the country was in complete ruin, inflation and unemployment seemed to be racing.

Starting a business

Like many ordinary families, the Dasslers found themselves on the verge of poverty. And in 1920, they got together and decided to start a family shoe making business. It was decided to convert the laundry room of the mother of the family into a workshop. Everything else was decided to be made from improvised means. So, for example, Adi Dassler, who possesses the gift of an inventor, made a machine for cutting leather from an old bicycle.

The female part of the family - mother and sisters - made patterns, but the men - Adolf, Rudolph and the head of the family himself - were engaged in cutting shoes. Of course, in order to make shoes, they first had to gain experience, so their first products were slippers, which they cut from decommissioned military uniforms, and the soles were made from old tires. It turned out that Rudy is very good at selling the product, and Adolf is very good at managing the production. He was also great at modeling shoes.

The heyday of production

After 4 years, their company already had a dozen employees, including family members. They managed to produce 50 pairs per day. In 1924 the Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory was officially registered. The brothers were very different, but they complemented each other. The eldest, Rudolph, was absurd, loved girls, listened to jazz and beat a pear, and Adi Dassler, on the contrary, was a quiet and calm intellectual who loved to play football.

It was his love for this sport that led Adolf to one day decide to make real football boots with spikes. This happened in 1925. It was then that the first spiked shoes appeared. The players liked it, and orders fell on the Dasslers. In addition to studded boots, the factory also produced sports slippers. Thus, production expanded, and it was already necessary to think about a new building for it.

The brothers had such a chance already in 1927. Together with the new building, it became possible to double the number of employees. The same goes for the quantity of footwear produced.

Olympic "Dassler"

Adi Dassler and his brother Rudolph were completely absorbed in their factory. Adolf tried each new model himself while playing football. With the development of a new wave of Olympiads, he began to make special shoes for the strongest athletes - the winners. For the first time, football players were shod in such shoes at the Amsterdam Olympics in 1928. In the 1932 games in Los Angeles, the German athlete wearing Adi Dassler boots entered the top three. The year 1936 was even more successful: a black athlete from the United States, Owens, wearing Dassler shoes, won 4 zloty medals and set 5 records at once. It was a complete victory for the German company. In that year, their sales rose to half a million German marks. One factory was no longer enough for them, and soon the brothers had to open a second.

War

With the rise of the Nazi party, the Dasslers joined them. And with the outbreak of World War II, they began to produce military shoes. Then Rudi decided that he should fight for the interests of his country, and Adi Dassler (see the photo in the article) remained in production. After the end of the war and the failure of Germany, the Herzogenaurach area was occupied by American troops. Adi had to produce skates for American hockey players. Meanwhile, the Yankees settled comfortably in their house. Adolf's wife had to take over all the dirty work. She even dug in the garden and looked after the cattle. A year later, the Americans left, and Rudy returned from the POW camp.

Revival

By 1946, the company was in complete decline, and the Dassler brothers began to raise it practically from scratch. The employees were paid in kind, they received firewood and yarn from the owners. Two years later, their father died, and then the brothers decided to split the company into two parts. Fortunately, there were two factories - one for each. The name of the company also needed to be changed. Adi named his firm "Addas" and Rudy "Ore".

However, after a while the inventive Adolf came up with a sonorous name for it, which is still the most famous of the sports firms in the world - "Adidas". Ruda changed its name to Puma. And the Dassler brand disappeared from the face of the earth overnight. At the same time, the brothers became ardent opponents, both in business and in life. Although no one ever found out what made them enemies.

Suits with stripes

After parting with his brother, Adi Dassler, whose biography began anew from that moment, became the sole owner of his company, and he decided that three stripes would be the symbol of his new company, instead of two Dassler's. Then all his ingenuity went into action. For example, he invented the boot with removable rubber spikes. Then in 1950 he invented special ones for playing in bad weather. And in 1952 most of the athletes were already wearing Adidas.

Then he decides not to limit himself to the production of shoes and begins to create bags and other accessories, and plans to launch the production of clothes. And in this he was helped by Willie Seltenreich. Soon, tracksuits with three stripes on the sides and on the sleeves, which symbolized the firm "Adidas", went on sale.

Prosperity

The biggest triumph for Adi Dassler was the victory of the German national football team at the World Cup. All team members were shod and dressed in sports kits from "Adidas". It was the revival of not only the company, but the entire country, which for the first time after the defeat in the war became the winner. Since then, he began to place his advertisements directly in the stadiums. This was the beginning of the commercialization of sports. The monument to Adolf Dasler - the founder of the world famous company "Adidas" - is installed right at the stadium.