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The title of the third largest sportswear producer in the world is held by Puma. Puma began in a small town in West Germany called Herzogenaurach. A young man by the name of Rudolf Dassler had an eye to become an entrepreneur in the shoe industry. Rudolf worked with his brother, Adi Dassler, to form a family-owned shoe business. However, a family feud resulted in the two brothers going their separate ways in the shoe industry. Adi went off to form adidas, the world renowned sportswear company we know today, while Rudolph formed his own company called Puma Schuhfabrik Rudolf Dassler. Instead of working together as allies, the two brothers were now hitting heads as competitors in the market. When searching for options to get his new business out into the public’s eye, Rudolph looked to world-class runner’s and soccer players for help. In 1948, the new Puma “Atom” shoe was released, and the West German soccer team was one of the first to test the new product. Puma started to become extremely successful during the Olympic Games in Helsinki in 1952. In fact, for the years of 1952 and 1956, Puma was the official shoe supplier of the American Olympic Committee. Soon Puma’s brand was being worn all around the world by some of the top athletes. Pele, an exceptionally talented soccer player who was known worldwide, won his second World Cup in Chile while wearing Puma boots. Before the opening whistle, Pele knelt down to the ground to tie his shoes and gave millions of television viewers a glimpse of his new Puma cleats. Dassler’s business began to thrive after his successful campaigning to achieve brand recognition. By 1962, he was shipping his product out to almost 100 countries around the globe. More stylish soccer shoes called the “King” and “Cylde” were released and worn by several players in the World Cup and Olympics that year. In 1974, Rudolf Dassler died and was succeeded by his son Armin A. Dassler. Once Armin took over, he was constantly looking for ways to improve their shoes for top performance. His innovations ranged from S.P.A., which consisted of a higher heel to relieve tension on the Achilles tendon, to increasing foot mobility by the Puma Duoflex sole. They also came out with the Trinomic Sport Shoe system which helped cushion a runner’s foot with hexagonal cells positioned between the sole and the shoe. These were all examples of the dedication Puma put forth to make sure their consumers were getting the best product they could offer. Although Puma was starting to receive brand recognition from their consumers, they were still battling an extremely competitive industry. They restructured their management in the 1990’s who set a new innovative marketing strategy for the company. Their main goal was to be known as an international performance sports brand that produced high quality products to its consumers, as well as being recognized as the latest trend-setter. This new marketing strategy led to the development of “Puma-Offensive ‘95”. The focus of this plan involved four main areas of activity. First, was the rejuvenation of the classic Puma suede shoes that lingered around trend-setting cities. The second was the “World Team” which consisted of top soccer players around the world who sponsored the Puma brand. Third, was the “Replica” line which concentrated on satisfying the needs of top soccer clubs’ fans around the globe. The last and most successful area was the Street Soccer Cup. This element of the plan included an organized effort to gather street soccer players from around the world to compete in several nationwide events. An overwhelming response from the public had Puma turning away players, because they could not supply the thousands of applicants. This program had 70,000 youth participants, 800,000 viewers, and included 400 events. By establishing this campaign, Puma found an opportunity to come out with a new line of Street Soccer Shoes. Puma is well-known for their urbanized look, and this style is becoming extremely popular with the upcoming generations. Puma is not only a brand for athletes, its popularity spans to the young fashion-conscious of today. The Roma, which was released during the 1970 Olympics in Rome, is one of their most popular styles they have to offer. The Italian National Soccer team is one of Puma’s top sponsors. This partnership began in 2003 and the contract has recently been extended to after the World Cup in 2014. Puma will also have its logo seen by millions at the World Cup in South Africa in 2010 as well as Euro 2008. Euro 2008 is approaching quickly, and Puma has recently revealed the home jersey’s of their five sponsored national teams. Italy, Czech Republic, Poland, Switzerland, and Austria are the five teams who represent the “King” brand. This sponsorship supports Puma’s brand loyalty and strengthens their status as being one of the top three soccer brands in the world. This company continues to take over the soccer world because of its commitment to achieving trendy cutting edge designs and continuously revolutionizing their products. While being one of the top leaders of athletic shoes and sportswear, Puma continues to grow as a leader in the fashion-conscious world as well. |
| WHY SHOP WITH US? |
| World Soccer Shop is the USA's premier soccer store for authentic soccer gear for fans, players, teams, soccer coaches and referees. In addition to being partners with the World's top players and teams World Soccer Shop is a leading retailer of adidas, Nike, Puma, and more. World Soccer Shop scours the world to find rare and unique soccer jerseys and apparel for your favorite soccer teams and we add to our club selection daily. In short, we never stop working to bring you the best possible soccer store in the world. Whether you're searching for your favorite team's jerseys or jerseys for your club, World Soccer Shop has it all. We live, breath and eat soccer 24/7. We're passionate about soccer and just as passionate about the level of service that you deserve. |
