PUMA, a renowned German athletic shoe and apparel brand, was established in 1948 by Rudolf Dassler. Rudolf’s passion for athletic footwear production began upon his return from World War I. Starting off in his mother’s laundry business, the Dassler Brothers commenced the manufacturing of shoes. These shoes made their debut at the 1928 Olympics, being the pioneering athletic footwear to include studs and spikes. One notable achievement with the shoes was Lina Radke-Batschauer winning a gold medal in the Women’s 800M event. The Dassler brothers reached a significant milestone in 1936 when they personally delivered samples to the Berlin Olympics and managed to convince American athlete Jesse Owens to try out their shoes. This marked the first-ever athletic sponsorship of an African-American athlete. Owens’ impressive performance, securing four gold medals, greatly enhanced the company’s reputation, resulting in athletes worldwide clamoring for a pair of Dassler Brothers shoes.

However, following World War II, a falling-out between the Dassler brothers occurred. Adolph and Rudolf decided to dissolve the Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory and embarked on separate paths to establish their own rival shoe companies. Adolph founded Adidas, another renowned athletic shoe company based in Herzogenaurach, while Rudolf registered his own company under the name “Ruda” (derived from a combination of his first and last names). In 1949, Rudolf changed the company’s name to Puma. The original Puma logo featured a leaping puma through the letter “D,” symbolizing the Dassler name. In present times, Puma shoes and apparel carry the distinctive “Form stripe” mark introduced in 1958.

Initially, Puma focused on manufacturing football shoes. Their first football boot, “Atom,” was launched in 1948, with the introduction of screw-in studs in the 1952 “Super Atom” boot. Athletes continued to enhance the brand’s reputation by achieving remarkable athletic feats while sporting Puma shoes. Notably, the first post-war football goal for West Germany was scored while wearing Puma boots, and Puma obtained its first Olympic victory in 1952 when Josy Barthel of Luxembourg, wearing Pumas, won the men’s 1500m event. The legendary Puma King football boot, worn by numerous World Cup players, cemented its status during the 1970 FIFA World Cup. Unfortunately, potential reconciliation between the Dassler brothers and their respective companies faced setbacks during this time. Although an agreement had been reached not to sponsor soccer champion Pele, Puma brokered a secret deal resulting in Pele donning their shoes during the final match in front of millions of television viewers. In 2008, Puma celebrated the 40th anniversary of the King football boot with a special edition called King XL.

Puma has also supplied shoes and apparel to Olympic runners like Usain Bolt, as well as notable tennis athletes including Boris Becker and Martina Navratilova. After Rudolf Dassler’s passing in 1974, the company remained under the leadership of his sons Armin and Gerd. Puma became a publicly-traded company in 1986 and, in 1989, a majority share was acquired by a Swiss businessman. In 2007, French luxury goods corporation PPR gained a majority share of Puma. Moreover, Puma entered the fragrance market, collaborating with Procter & Gamble to produce Puma Fragrances. These fragrances, featuring a sporty theme in their packaging, are frequently endorsed or advertised by professional athletes. With a collection of 41 perfumes, the earliest fragrance edition was created in 2002, and the most recent was launched in 2019. The nose behind these fragrances is Natalie Gracia-Cetto.