Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Contents
1 History
o 1.1 Background
o
1.8 Controversy
1.9 Timeline
2 Sponsorship
3 Footnotes
4 External links
History
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 "Gebrder
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.[5]
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.[6]
In 1948, the first football match after World War II, several members of the West German
national football team wore Puma boots, including the scorer of West Germany's first postwar goal, Herbert Burdenski. Four years later, at the 1952 Summer Olympics, 1500 metres
runner Josy Barthel of Luxembourg won Puma's first Olympic gold in Helsinki, Finland.
At the 1960 Summer Olympics Puma paid German sprinter Armin Hary to wear Pumas in the
100 metre sprint final. Hary had worn Adidas before and asked Adolf for payment, but
Adidas rejected this request. The German won gold in Pumas, but then laced up Adidas for
the medals ceremony, to the shock of the two Dassler brothers. Hary hoped to cash in from
both, but Adi was so enraged he banned the Olympic champion.[6]
Present day
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or newly available information. (February 2015)
Puma SE employs more than 10,000 people worldwide and distributes its products in more
than 120 countries.[when?] For the fiscal year 2003, the company had revenue of 1.274 billion.
Puma were the commercial sponsors for the 2002 anime series Hungry Heart: Wild Striker,
with the jerseys and clothing sporting the Puma brand. Puma ranks as one of the top shoe
brands, after Reebok, Adidas, and Nike.[12]
The company has been led by CEO and Chairman Jochen Zeitz since 1993. His contract was
extended until 2012 in October 2007.[13]
Japanese fashion guru Mihara Yasuhiro teamed up with Puma to create a high-end and highconcept line of sneakers[14]
Puma is the main producer of enthusiast driving shoes and race suits. They are the primary
producer for Formula One and NASCAR clothing. They won the rights to sponsor the 2006
FIFA World Cup champions, the Italian national football team, making and sponsoring the
clothing worn by the team. They entered a partnership with Ferrari, Ducati and BMW to
make Puma-Ferrari, Puma-Ducati and Puma-BMW shoes. On 15 March 2007 Puma launched
its 2007/2008 line of uniforms for a club, and Brazilian football club Grmio will be the first
to use the laser-sewn technology, similar to that worn by Italy at the 2006 World Cup,
because their season starts six months earlier than European clubs.
Rihanna was named Creative Director of Puma overseeing direction of the womenswear line
in December 2014.[15]
In 2010 a Puma King model was released commemorating the 50th birthday of Diego
Maradona,[18] with a model called the Puma King Diego Finale football boot. This edition was
created in the colours of La Albiceleste, the Argentina National football team.
Takeover by PPR
In February 2007 Puma reported that its profits had fallen by 26% to 32.8 million
($43 million; 22 million) during the final three months of 2006. Most of the decline in
profits was due to higher costs linked to its expansion; sales rose by more than a third to
480.6 million.[19]
In early April 2007 Puma's shares rose 29.25 per share, or about 10.2%, at 315.24 per
share.[20]
On 10 April 2007 French retailer and owner of Gucci brand Pinault-Printemps-Redoute
(PPR) announced that it had bought a 27% stake in Puma, clearing the way for a full
takeover. The deal values Puma at 5.3 billion. PPR said that it would launch a "friendly"
takeover for Puma, worth 330 a share, once the acquisition of the smaller stake was
completed. The board of Puma welcomed the move, saying it was fair and in the firm's best
interests.[21]
Since 17 July 2007 PPR owns 62.1% of Puma stock. While PPR owns the majority of Puma's
stock, Puma remains an independent company.
In July 2011 the company completed a conversion from an Aktiengesellschaft (German
public limited company) to a Societas Europaea, the European Union-wide equivalent,
changing its name from Puma AG Rudolf Dassler Sport to Puma SE.[22] At the same time,
Franz Koch replaced the long-serving Jochen Zeitz as the firm's CEO, with Zeitz becoming
chairman.
Controversy
Employment practices
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Organizations that were promoting fair trade and worker's rights did not criticize Puma's
employment practices in their developing world factories, predominantly relating to workers
in China, Turkey, El Salvador, and Indonesia.[23][24][25]
Puma, like many globalised corporations, believes that "labour flexibility remains one of the
key components to ensure that individual companies survive and grow". These "flexible"
labour practices allow the company to manufacture quickly and cheaply, but often under
exploitative conditions.[26]
Freedom of association
Pumas 2009 supplier list included close to 350 suppliers, the majority of which are located in
Asia, predominately China, followed by Vietnam.[27] In these locations, Puma reports that the
rights of freedom of association and collective bargaining have been difficult to enforce.[28]
According to human rights and labour organisations,[29] Puma does not have adequate policies
in place to encourage suppliers to recognise workers' union rights. Puma does not require
suppliers to allow their workers to form a union, nor does it require suppliers to sign union
access agreements.[30]
Puma frequently has short term contracts with its suppliers, which means that at any time it
can leave an area, and its workers, if they can source their products more cheaply elsewhere.
[31]
This lack of stability does not give supplier factories a good incentive to respect workers'
rights. For instance, in 2004 Puma decided to stop ordering garments from the Lian Thai
factory in Thailand just after the factory had agreed to cease discrimination against trade
union members.[31] In another incident, following the formation of an independent union at
one of Pumas Mexican suppliers, the company cut orders from the factory.[32]
Puma has not taken action to minimise the use of short term contracts,[26] though the
prevalence of these contracts creates an atmosphere of economic insecurity and makes it
difficult for workers to organise.
Low wages
In a number of regions, sportswear workers producing for Puma have been increasingly vocal
about the serious inadequacy of their wages.[33] Puma has not yet made a full commitment to
pay a living wage.[34] Puma is currently undertaking research into finding a practical solution
to the problem of low wages in Asia, and is working with suppliers in Indonesia, India, and
Cambodia to assess the feasibility of a minimum living wage.[35] Labour organisations, such
as the Asia Floor Wage campaign, hope that this process will lead to the implementation of
living wages in the future. In the meanwhile, Puma has admitted that it is still trying to
achieving full compliance with the minimum wage at a number of its suppliers.[36]
Steps in the right direction
The company has made some steps towards greater transparency. In 2000 Puma began
auditing all of its suppliers on a yearly basis, and makes the results available in its
sustainability reports.[37] Since 2005 it has publicly provided a list of its suppliers.
Puma has made a strong commitment to respecting workers rights in some areas. For
example, Puma has obtained the Ethical Clothing Australia accreditation for its Australianmade products.[38] This labour-friendly accreditation applies to only a tiny percentage of
Pumas total production.
Environmental practices
In July 2011, Puma along with other major fashion and sportswear brands including Nike,
Adidas, and Abercrombie & Fitch was the subject of a report by the environmental group
Greenpeace entitled 'Dirty Laundry'. Puma is accused of working with suppliers in China
who, according the findings of the report, contribute to the pollution of the Yangtze and Pearl
Rivers. Samples taken from one facility belonging to the Youngor Group located on the
Yangtze River Delta and another belonging to the Well Dyeing Factory Ltd., located on a
tributary of the Pearl River Delta, revealed the presence of hazardous and persistent hormone
disruptor chemicals, including alkylphenols, perfluorinated compounds, and perfluorooctane
sulfonate.[39]
Less than two weeks after the release of the Dirty Laundry report, Puma made a public
commitment to deal with the issues raised by Greenpeace. The company's statement asserts
that "Puma is committed to eliminate the discharges of all hazardous chemicals from the
whole lifecycle and all production procedures that are associated with the making and using
of Puma products."[40] Greenpeace also confirmed Puma's commitment to eliminate all
releases of hazardous chemicals from its entire product lifecycle, and across its global supply
chain by 2020.[41]
In May 2011, The Guardian released an article saying that Puma was "world's first major
company to put a value on its environmental impact". According to the article the company
"has made a commitment that within four years, half its international collections will be
manufactured according to its internal sustainability standard, by using more sustainable
materials such as recycled polyester, as well as ensuring its suppliers develop more
sustainable materials and products." [42]
Timeline
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1920: Rudolf Dassler and his brother Adolf start making sports shoes
1924: Foundation of Gebrder Dassler Schuhfabrik, Herzogenaurach,
Germany
1949: Rudolf Dassler has the idea of football shoes with removable studs.
He begins working on their development and production.
1966: Launch of the WEMBLEY, the predecessor model to the Puma King
1973: Launch of the CLYDE. Designed for basketball player Walt "Clyde"
Frazier, as a wider-fitting version of suede model
1974: Rudolf Dassler dies. His sons Armin and Gerd take over the
company's management
1989: Rudolf's sons Armin and Gerd Dassler agreed to sell their 72 percent
stake in Puma to Swiss business Cosa Liebermann SA.
1994: The first profit since the company's IPO in 1986 is registered
1996: Puma is listed in the German M-DAX index; introduction of the CELL
technology, the first foam-free midsole
2002: Puma ends tenure as an on-field supplier for the NFL, when Reebok
is announced as the league's sole official uniform and apparel sponsor for
10 years (2002-2011)
2010: Puma announced it would acquire 100 percent of Cobra Golf, based
in Carlsbad, California, from Fortune Brands Inc., but did not provide any
financial details.[43]
2011: Signs a deal to make kits of Dinamo Zagreb from the 201112
season.
2013: Signs a five-year deal to make kits for Rangers from the 2013-14
season.
2013: Signs a five-year kit deal with Serbian side Red Star Belgrade.
Sponsorship
Main article: List of Puma sponsorships
Puma is a sponsor of sporting events and identities in Germany and internationally. The
company sponsors numerous footballers and national football teams; the "Formstripe"
especially has a heavy presence in Africa. Puma is the sponsor of a number of Bundesliga
clubs, most notably Borussia Dortmund.
In cricket, Puma is the official apparel sponsor for the Sunrisers Hyderabad (representing the
city of Hyderabad), and Rajasthan Royals (representing the city of Jaipur) in the Indian
Premier League.[48][49] International cricketers such as Yuvraj Singh, Craig Kieswetter, Adam
Gilchrist and Brendon McCullum are sponsored by the brand.[50]
In Rugby Union, Puma entered an eight-year contract as official apparel sponsor of the Irish
Rugby team that commenced with the 200910 season.[51] Under the agreement, Puma
supplies the team kit and training equipment and markets replica kits. Puma also sponsor
English premiership side Bath.
In golf, Puma sponsors Rickie Fowler and Jonas Blixt.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
In January 2014 Puma and Arsenal F.C. announced a long-term Kit partnership that created
the highest value deal in the history of both organisations.[52] The Indian Super League
announced in September 2014 that the Puma EvoPower 1 Statement ball would become its
official match ball.[53] Puma is also the official kit sponsor for ISL team Kerala Blasters.[54]