Puma SE, officially branded as PUMA, is a major German multinational company that produces athletic shoes, footwear, and other sportswear headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. The company was formed in 1924 as Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik by Adolf and Rudolf Dassler. The relationship between the two brothers deteriorated until the two agreed to split in 1948, forming two separate entities, Adidas and Puma. Both companies are currently based in Herzogenaurach, Germany.
Puma is known for its football shoes and has sponsored acclaimed footballers, including Pelé, Eusébio, Johan Cruijff, Enzo Francescoli, Diego Maradona, Lothar Matthäus, Kenny Dalglish, Didier Deschamps, Robert Pires, Radamel Falcao, Sergio Agüero, Cesc Fàbregas, Marco Reus, and Gianluigi Buffon. Puma is the sponsor of the Jamaican track athlete Usain Bolt. In the United States, the company is known for the suede basketball shoe it introduced in 1968, which eventually bore the name of New York Knicks basketball star Walt "Clyde" Frazier, and for its endorsement partnership with Joe Namath.
Following the split from his brother, Rudolf Dassler originally registered the new-established company as Ruda, but later changed to Puma. Puma's earliest logo consisted of a square and beast jumping through a D, which was registered, along with the company's name, in 1948. Puma's shoe designs feature the distinctive "Formstripe", with clothing and other products having the logo printed on them.

The company offers lines of shoes and sports clothing designed by Lamine Kouyate, Amy Garbers, and others. Since 1996 Puma has intensified its activities in the United States. Puma owns 25% of American brand sports clothing maker Logo Athletic, which is licensed by American professional basketball and association football leagues. Since 2007 Puma SE has been part of the French luxury group PPR.

Sponsorship

Puma is a sponsor of sporting events and identities in Germany and internationally. The company sponsors numerous footballers and national football teams; the "Form-stripe" especially has a heavy presence in Africa. Puma is the sponsor of a number of Bundesliga clubs, most notably Borussia Dortmund and VfB Stuttgart. In Scotland, Hibernian FC kits are made by Puma.

In Australian Rules Football, Puma has long-standing marketing relationships with the Adelaide Crows and West Coast Eagles.

In cricket, Puma is the official apparel sponsor for the Deccan Chargers (representing the city of Hyderabad), and Rajasthan Royals (representing the city of Jaipur) in the Indian Premier League. International cricketers such as Yuvraj Singh (India), Craig Kieswetter (England), Adam Gilchrist (Australia) and Brendon McCullum (New Zealand) endorse the brand, and use the brand's cricket gear.

In Rugby Union, Puma entered an eight-year contract as official apparel sponsor of the Irish Rugby team since the beginning of season 2009–10. Puma supplies the team kit, replica kit, and training equipment. Puma also sponsor English premiership side Bath Rugby.
In golf, Puma is a sponsor of Rickie Fowler.

In track and field Puma is best known as the sponsor of Usain Bolt and the Jamaica athletics team.
Puma is also a sponsor of the web show The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers.

Background

Christoph von Wilhelm Dassler was a worker in a shoe factory, while his wife Pauline ran a small laundry in the Bavarian town of Herzogenaurach, 20 km (12.4 mi) from the city of Nuremberg. After leaving school, their son, Rudolf Dassler, joined his father at the shoe factory. When he returned from fighting in World War I, Rudolf received a management position at a porcelain factory, and later in a leather wholesale business in Nuremberg. .
Rudolf returned to Herzogenaurach in 1924 to join his younger brother, Adolf, nicknamed "Adi", who had founded his own shoe factory. They named the new business "Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik" (Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory). The pair started their venture in their mother's laundry. At the time, electricity supplies in the town were unreliable, and the brothers sometimes had to use pedal power from a stationary bicycle to run their equipment.
Adi drove from Bavaria to the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin with a suitcase full of spikes and persuaded United States sprinter Jesse Owens to use them, the first sponsorship for an African American. Owens won four gold medals. Business boomed; the Dasslers were selling 200,000 pairs of shoes annually before World War II.