Adidas is a German company producing sports equipment.

The company was founded on August 18, 1949 in Herzogenaurach by Adolf Dassler.

Adidas interesting facts


1. Before Adidas was founded, the Dassler brothers were involved in, among others production of shoes for Wehrmacht soldiers.

2. Rudolf Dassler, Adolf’s brother, founded the Puma company in 1948.

3. Initially, the Adidas company was called Adi Dassler.

4. Adolf wanted to create the Addas brand, but there was already a children’s shoe company in Germany with that name. His brother Rudolf thought about “Ruda” for a long time before he registered the name Puma.

5. It is the second largest sports equipment company in the world (after Nike).

6. Adidas employs approximately 60,000 people.

7. In 2009, the 60-year fratricidal dispute between Adidas and Puma ended. On this occasion, a football match was played, which ended with the result 7: 5. Employees of both companies were mixed in two teams so that it was impossible to identify the winners.

8. The main symbol of the Adidas brand are 3 stripes. Interestingly, Adolf Dassler bought the right to use them in 1951 from the Finnish shoe brand Karhu for 2 bottles of whiskey and cash (the equivalent of today’s PLN 7,200) (1 PLN = 0.26 USD).

9. When Adidas started producing the apparel, a new logo was added to represent the three-leaf clover.

10. Adidas created the first shower shoes (Adilette slippers).

11. One of the more interesting ideas of Adidas was the launch of shoes with a built-in pedometer in 1984.

12. Initially, Adidas was to sponsor Michael Jordan. Nike, however, outperformed the offer proposed by the Germans five times (they paid half a million dollars a year).

13. In 2003, David Beckham signed a lifetime deal with Adidas worth over $ 160 million.

14. In the 1990s, after many misguided marketing decisions, Adidas found itself on the verge of bankruptcy.

15. Adidas was the first to put a microchip in the shoe that allows you to accurately monitor the activities performed.

16. Since 2006, the Adidas AG concern has been owned by Reebok.

Added: Mati

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Adidas questions and answers


Where did the name Adidas come from?

It is a combination of the first letters of the first name “ad” and the surname “das”. The middle “i” was added because the Addas name was taken. In the 1970s it was popular to believe that the name was derived from the initials “All Day I Dream About Sports”.

Answer: Mati


What were the Dassler brothers arguing about?

The reason is unknown. Presumably it was about money or a woman.

Answer: Mati


Did the Dassler brothers reconcile before their deaths?

There are rumors that they met shortly before their deaths. However, this information is contradicted by their families and friends.

Answer: Mati


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