Adidas

The company Adidas was founded in 1948 in Germany.  Christoph Von Willhelm Dassler and his wife Pauline ran a small laundry in Herzogenaurach. After school Rudolph joined his father at the shoe factory. After returning from the 1st World, War Rudolph joined the porcelain factory and later worked at a leather wholesale business in Nuremberg. Adolf began to produce his sports shoes in his mother’s wash kitchen after returning from the war. Rudolph joined his younger brother in 1924 to form Gebruder Dassler Schuhfabrik (Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory).

During the 1936 Summer Olympics, Adolf drove from Bavaria to the Olympic Village with a suitcase full of spikes and persuaded US sprinter Jesse Owens to use them. After Jesse Owen’s success, Adolf’s shoes became popular, and orders began to pour in from around the world. 

After World War II when tensions between the two brothers reached a breaking point. The business split and Adolf went on to form Adidas AG on 18 August 1949.