Page 237 - Reliance Foundation School Koparkhairane - School Magazine - Zenith

HOW A BITTER RIVALRY CREATED THE TWO BIGGEST

SPORTS BRANDS IN THE WORLD: THE STORY OF THE
DASSLER BROTHERS

Formed in the small German town of Herzongenaurach, Sportfarbrik

Gebrüder Dassler or Geda for short, was the heart and soul of brothers Adi
and Rudolf Dassler, who had formed this shoe company in the laundry room
of their parent’s house a few years after the first world war. After years of
experience in the industry, they struck gold (literally and figuratively) during

the 1936 Olympic games in Munich when athletes equipped with their shoes
including legendary Jesse Owens dominated the playing field. Athletes using
the now legendary metal spiked Geda shoes were able to amass 7 gold medals
which put the company right into the spotlight. As a result, the company

enjoyed great success, until the second world war when Geda had to
temporarily turn into a supplier of shoes and weaponry to the German forces
and Rudi Dassler was subsequently drafted for the war. Rudolf, after a year
of imprisonment post war came back to Herzongenaurach to restart shoe

productions with his brother Adi, but something was not right. The brothers
had a huge fight and the rift would remain until their death’s years later. The
dispute was heated enough for them to eventually split the company into
two - Adidas and Puma. The division of the company was a huge point of

contention and in the process the town was split into two with the help of
the River Aurach – Adidas moved to the North and Puma moved to the
South of the river. No one in the town could escape this rivalry as some stats
show at least one person from every family in the town was employed by one

of the two companies. Each side had its own bakery, pub, factory and even
its own football team.

After the deaths of the brothers, the rivalry has, as expected simmered

down, but the companies continue to cherish their roots. Their headquarters
still remain in the tiny town of Herzongenaurach, on opposite sides of the
river. In purely business terms, Adi Dassler’s Adidas might have “won” the
battle as they are a far bigger company than Puma, but it is this heated rivalry

that drove the companies to the heights they are at now and we will never
know if this could have happened without the split.

Sanjana Tharian - XI C

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