Adidas

Statue of Adolf Dassler, performed by sculptor Josef Tabachnyk in New York.

Adidas AG (pronounced/whether/( listen); stylized adidas, with tiny, since 1949) is a German multinational company founded in 1949, based in Herzogenaurach, a city located in Bavaria. It is dedicated to the manufacture of sports equipment and fashion products (bags, shirts, watches, glasses, etc.). The company is also a sponsor of sporting events and figures worldwide. He's the first largest manufacturer in the world.

Its revenues exceed US$14.534 million and it employs a total of approximately 60,000 employees on its payroll. The brand is valued at US$6.8 billion, making it the second most popular brand in the world. valuable among sports corporations after Nike.

History

Adidas male mesh.

Adidas Shop in Vaughan Mills, Canada.

German soldier with the Panzerfaust anti-tank weapon that was assembled at the factory of Adidas, in Herzogenaurach, during the Second World War.

Beginnings

The Indian cricket player Sachin Tendulkar, hitting with his custom cricket bat from Adidas.

The company Adidas, founded in January 1949, has its origins in the previous companies of the Dassler family: the so-called "Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik", founded in the early 1920s in Germany by Adolf "Adi& #3. 4; Dassler (& # 34; Adi-das & # 34;) along with his brother Rudolf Dassler. They made shoes and slippers without any brand, and also spiked shoes for athletes. Adi was the introverted artist and Rudi the public relations man. Both managed to place their products in the German track and field team. But the coup was signing Jesse Owens, the athlete who dazzled at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. That year, Dassler persuaded the American sprinter to wear his hand-made spikes at the Olympics. After Owens' four gold medals, the name and reputation of Dassler shoes became known to the world's athletes and their coaches. The businesses were successful, and the Dasslers sold 200,000 pairs of shoes each year before World War II.

During the war

During World War II, the factory became, like many others, a supplier to the Wehrmacht. Apart from military boots, they produced the Panzerfaust, the German grenade launcher. Rudi was mobilized, while Adi remained in Germany. During the US occupation, the business prospered again, thanks to their devotion to the sport. It was then that Adi was called in to explain his connections to the Nazi Party and the Waffen SS, convincing themselves that his sister had ratted him out.

Excision

Rudolf Dassler founded his own factory, PUMA AG, in 1948. As a consequence, Adi Dassler took control of the company and decided to rename the firm "adidas", which was legally registered on August 18, 1949, under the name Adidas AG. The name of the company comes from the name of its founder, Adi, short for Adolf, and das, the first syllable of the surname.

From that moment on, Adolf Dassler's priority was for his firm to be the first to establish a close relationship with the sports world in its various disciplines with the aim of developing better products. At the same time he pioneered the use of sports stars to advertise his products. Together with his son Horst he managed to create an empire that had its heyday until the late 80s.

Official supplier of FIFA

In 1963 Adidas intends to enlarge its business and expand it by offering soccer balls. Since 1970, Adidas is the official sponsor, supplier and holder of the Soccer World Cup. In this event, Adidas is in charge of providing the balls and clothing for the referees, assistant referees and ball boys. On January 19, 2005, Adidas Group announced an extension of the partnership between the textile company and FIFA, winning the rights to the 2010 and 2014 event. Later, in November 2013, the brand and FIFA confirmed that their partnership would continue. until 2030.

Crisis

A shoe “Stan Smith” style Adidas, with the three parallel bars of the company

In 1987, Horst Dassler, who had taken over the company after the death of his father, died at the age of 51. With this event, the firm went through its most critical period, marked mainly by intense competition, especially from the American firm Nike, and by the administration of Bernard Tapie, characterized by financial scandals.

Resurgence and actuality

The Adidas clover, the original logo until 1994; it is now used in Original Adidas.

In the 1990s, Adidas caused admiration with the jersey for the German soccer team (the one they used for the United States 94 World Cup), since it had brightly colored rhombuses as its main detail. Then, this same design was used for Club América of Mexico in 1994 and later in 1996 for Club River Plate in the 1996 Opening Tournament of Argentina that was champion, being one of the best works of Adidas in terms of soccer.^{[citation required]}

As CEO of the company, Robert Louis-Dreyfus manages to restructure the company. In 1997, Adidas AG acquired French ski equipment manufacturer Salomon Group, changing its corporate name to Adidas-Salomon AG. That purchase included the TaylorMade brand of golf clubs.

In 2001, Herbert Hainer took over as CEO of the company. In the same year, Adidas created a brand for golf, called "Golf SwinMariBall", in which it joins with a brand called "AlGolf" (which are from the same creator). After that campaign, Adidas continued to create golf apparel, but later the companies Adidas had allied with (Golf SwinMariBall and AlGolf) became Adidas.

In September 2004, Adidas recruited the English designer Stella McCartney, an alliance in which the brand approaches haute couture with the line "Adidas by Stella Mc Cartney". That same year, the first sports shoe with a microprocessor was launched, the Adidas 1, the result of more than 20 years of development. It was a very lucrative business for the factory, as more than 10,000 athletes bought it.

On May 3, 2005, Adidas publicly announced the sale of the Salomon Group company for €485,000,000 to Amer Sports of Finland. In August 2005, Adidas declared its intention to buy rival Reebok for $3.1 billion. After carrying out the operation, the purchase of Reebok allows strengthening the company's position in the United States and getting closer to Nike.

On April 11, 2006, Adidas announced an eleven-year agreement to provide the official apparel of the NBA. He also signed a number of famous NBA players, including most notably Derrick Rose, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Jrue Holiday, Tracy McGrady, and Dwight Howard.

On October 1, 2016, the Dane Kasper Rørsted replaced Herbert Hainer at the head of Adidas.

In August 2022, they released wireless headphones "RPT-02 SOL" with a practically infinite battery. This is possible thanks to its Powerfoyle technology, which is capable of transforming any type of light (natural or artificial) into energy that will be used to refill its battery.

Clothing styles

The brand is divided into 6 clothing styles:

Adidas Originals

It is a casual sportswear line, the legacy line of German sportswear brand Adidas specializing in shoes, shirts, coats, bags, sunglasses, and other accessory clothing

Adidas Performance

Firm dedicated to all kinds of sports clothing (shirts, socks, boots, balls, etc.). The logo is formed by three vertical strips that go from descending to ascending. This division replaced Adidas Originals as the logo for sportswear, although some clothing items are also seen with this same logo.

Adidas Style

Sign arose from the combination of Adidas Originals and Adidas Performance. The logo is made up of three horizontal strips.

Adidas Golf

Firm dedicated to all kinds of clothing for this sport (shorts, pants, shirts, shoes, socks, balls, etc.).

This division has different clothing and footwear designs from well-known designers, such as Stella McCartney, Jeremy Scott or Mariale Scott, and other exclusive designs, such as those made for the Porsche automobile brand.

Adidas 1

Firm dedicated to clothing, footwear and accessories that also has different designers such as Selena Gomez, among others.

Adidas Skateboarding

Sign dedicated to specific shoes for skateboarding. The logo is the Adidas Originals symbol with the word "skateboarding" below it.

"Casual"

Although Adidas is a predominantly Sport brand, there are also "Casual" such as some winter jackets, ankle boots, polo shirts, etc.

Financial data

Sponsorships