Taking its name from the agility, power and speed of animals: The adventure of the Puma brand

Christoph von Wilhelm Dassler was a shoe worker in a factory. His wife, Pauline, ran a small laundromat in the Franconian town of Herzogenaurach. Their son, Rudolf Dassler, went to his father's shoe factory after leaving school. In 1924, Rudolf and his younger brother Adolf founded a shoe factory. At that time, the brothers named their factory "Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik" (Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory) as the only business producing sports shoes. The brothers, who started their venture in their mother's laundry, were able to move to a separate building in 1927.

The brothers went to the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin with a suitcase full of shoes they made. And there they got the first sponsorship for an African-American by convincing US sprinter Jesse Owens to use them. Owens won four gold medals, which later caused the shoe sales to explode. Thus, before World War II,  they sold 200,000 pairs of shoes a year.

The growing gulf between the two brothers reached its breaking point in 1943 during the Allied bombing attack. The brothers, who began to think differently about how to run things, split the company in 1948 as a result of miscommunication and disagreements. Adolf founded the company 'Adidas', which he created using his nickname 'Adi' and the first three letters of his last name 'Das'. Rudolf, on the other hand, moved to the other side of the Aurach River to start his own company and founded a new firm, which he named 'Ru' from his name and 'Ruda' from his last name 'Da'. A few months later, his company changed its name to "Puma Schuhfabrik Rudolf Dassler".

Puma and Adidas companies, founded by the two brothers, entered into a fierce and fierce competition after the separation. The town of Herzogenaurach was divided over the issue, and the town was nicknamed the "town with the necks bent" because people constantly looked down to see what shoes strangers were wearing.

In 1948, Puma crampons were worn at the first football game after World War II, including first goal scorer Herbert Burdenski and several members of the West Germany national football team. Then, in collaboration with some people, such as West Germany's national coach Sepp Herberger, Rudolf designed and launched a spiked crampons called the "Super Atom".

At the 1952 Summer Olympics, Luxembourg middle-distance runner Josy Barthel became Puma's first Olympic gold winner in Helsinki, Finland. The international recognition of the brand also increased when the Brazilian team won the 1958 World Cup in Sweden wearing Puma shoes. The brand's first logo, consisting of a 'D' cougar, was later created in 1967 by German cartoonist Lutz Backes. And its logo has been simplified and redesigned to represent the desired characteristics of the animal.

During the 1968 Olympics Black Power Salute, African-American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos, sponsored by Puma, won gold and bronze medals, respectively. In the 1960s, the company continued to stay on the agenda and attract attention with its advanced production vulcanization technique.

A few months before the 1970 FIFA World Cup, Rudolf's son Armin Dassler and Adolf's son Horst Dassler signed a so-called "Péle pact". This agreement stated that the famous football player Pelé will be off the field for both Adidas and Puma. However, Pelé complied with Puma's representative's request to increase the awareness and profile of the company after receiving a high salary. When the opening whistle of the final match blew, Pelé wanted to tie his shoelaces before kneeling down so he could present a close-up view of Puma shoes in front of millions of television viewers. This angered Horst, Adolf's son, and future peace treaties were cancelled.

During the 1972 Summer Olympics, the company provided shoe sponsorship to Ugandan champion John Akii-Bua. The following year, the company launched the widely acclaimed 'Clyde' basketball shoe designed for basketball player Walt Clyde Frazier.

Puma became a public company in 1986, and in May 1989 Rudolf's sons Armin and Gerd Dassler sold their 72 percent stake in the company to the Swiss company Cosa Liebermann SA. The shares of the company, which has been experiencing ups and downs since 2007, were bought by the French conglomerate PPR more than 60% as of July 2007. The following year, Melody Harris-Jensbach was appointed executive vice president of the firm. Later, designer and artist Hussein Chalayan became creative director.

In 2010 Puma acquired the sports equipment manufacturing company 'Cobra Golf' and the following year the underwear and hosiery company 'Dobotex'. In July 2011, the company completed its transformation into a public company registered under the European Union's company law and changed its name to "Puma SE". At the same time, Jochen Zeitz, a longtime CEO of the company, became president and Franz Koch took over as CEO. The company has been managed by former football professional Bjørn Gulden since 1 July 2013.

In 2014, Puma and Arsenal Football Club signed a 5-year commercial partnership, the biggest deal in the history of Puma and Arsenal, and the deal expired in 2019. The firm made Rihanna the creative director of Puma's womenswear line in December 2014. Two years later, the firm partnered with The Weeknd as a creative and distinctive collaborator. In 2018, it presented its initiative called "Phenom Lux" with its ambassador Selena Gomez.

In 2018, Puma announced that it was returning to basketball after a long hiatus and appointing Jay-Z as the division's creative director. Among the players who joined Puma's basketball team and played basketball with Pumas basketball shoes; Marvin Bagley III, Deandre Ayton, Zhaire Smith and Michael Porter Jr.  

The company partnered with the sport of netball 28 years later by sponsoring the Melbourne Vixens team in 2018 and becoming the official wear sponsor of New Zealand's national netball team, the Silver Ferns. It has also sponsored golfers like Rickie Fowler, Bryson DeChambeau and Lexi Thompson with its own golf brand, Cobra Golf. In December 2021, the firm launched 'High Court', the first women's basketball design designed by creative director June Ambrose. Arne Freundt was appointed as CEO of the company in November 2022.

Puma company offers products in many fields such as football, basketball, running, training and fitness, golf, motor sports and athletics. Also it sponsored famous athletes in many different branches such as Pelé, Eusébio, Diego Maradona, Clyde Frazier, Jim Hines, Boris Becker, Tommie Smith, Joe Namath, Linford Christie, Colin Jackson, Heike Drechsler and Michael Schumacher. International footballers Neymar, Gianluigi Buffon, Sergio Agüero, Antoine Griezmann, Marco Reus, Luis Suárez, David Silva, Vincent Kompany, Yann Sommer, Jonas Hofmann and many more are among the athletes who wear Puma crampons.

The company, which has signed and sponsored many famous and successful football clubs, also has many contracts with other track and field athletes, including Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt, who is the fastest man in the world in athletics. Thus, world records such as Heinz Futterer (1954), Armin Hary (1960), Jim Hines (1976), Tommie Smith (1968), Asafa Powell (2015) and Usain Bolt (2002), were achieved by athletes wearing Puma shoes.

The company is also the main manufacturer of racing shoes and racing apparel, which has a fan base. To make the shoes related to them, BMW entered into a partnership with Ducati and Ferrari. In Formula 1, Puma dressed the teams of Mercedes AMG Petronas, Scuderia Ferrari, Red Bull Racing and Alfa Romeo.

Today, Puma still continues its activities as a world-famous sports brand that provides motivation and support to athletes in many ways, and its rivalry with Adidas continues. The company not only ranks as one of the best shoe brands in the world, but also has more than 18,000 employees worldwide. The company has four worldwide corporate offices, described as "headquarters most important places". These are: Assembly Row, Somerville, Massachusetts; Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh City; Vietnamese; and its universal headquarters are in Herzogenaurach, Germany.