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 | Puma
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.
Dassler’s business began to thrive after his campaign to achieve brand recognition through contracts with professional athletes was successful. 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.
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.
Puma is also a top provider in rugby-specific apparel and equipment. They produce match balls that are used by several club teams. The match ball’s Everflex rubber gives the ball a textured grip for ultimate ball handling. The ball also meets the feature criteria stated by the International Rugby Board. Puma also produces rugby specific cleats that are popular with today’s professional players.”
In 2004, Puma signed a contract to sponsor International Rugby Board’s 2004 International player of the year, Schalk Burger. He is a young, rising rugby star who is on his way to becoming an icon in many rugby playing nations. They also sponsor the Samoan National Rugby team.
Puma continues to be a top competitor in the sportswear industry, and they are committed to achieving trendy, cutting edge designs while 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.
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World Rugby Shop is the USA's premier rugby store for authentic rugby gear for fans, players, teams, rugby coaches and referees. In addition to being partners with the World's top players and teams World Rugby Shop is a leading retailer of Gilbert, Adidas, Canterbury, Nike, Puma, and Barbarian rugby gear in the USA. World Rugby Shop scours the world to find rare and unique rugby jerseys and apparel for your favorite rugby teams and we add to our club selection daily. In short, we never stop working to bring you the best possible rugby store in the world. If your searching for England Rugby, USA Rugby, the All Blacks or a new set of Rugby posts or pads World Rugby Shop has it. If your company or club needs a new set of jerseys we've got that too. We live, breathe, and eat Rugby 24/7. We're passionate about rugby and we're just as passionate about the level of service that you deserve. |
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