Adidas is a multinational company, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Germany, that designs and produces shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe and the second largest in the world after Nike, which is its rival company. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay The company was founded by Adolf Dassler in his mother's house and was joined by his older brother Rudolf in 1924 under the name Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory. For multiple athletic events Dassler collaborated on the development of spiked (spike) running shoes, and to improve the quality of spiked athletic footwear, he switched from an earlier design of heavy metal spikes to using canvas and rubber. Dassler convinced the American sprinter Jesse Owens to use his handmade spiked shoes at the 1936 Summer Olympics. In 1949, due to the breakdown of the relationship between the brothers, Dassler created Adidas and Rudolf founded Puma, which became the rival in Adidas business. The Adidas logo consists of three stripes, which are used on the company's clothing and shoe models as a promotion. logo – The Adidas brand was purchased in 1952 by the Finnish sports company Karhu Sports, Dassler described Adidas as "The company of the three stripes" as the brand was very successful. The brand name is not capitalized and is stylized with a lowercase “a”. After the breakdown of relations between the two brothers in 1947, Rudolf founded his new company which he called Ruda, which comes from Rudolf Dassler, and later renamed as Puma, and Dassler founded his own company on 18 August 1949, formally registered as Adidas AG , derived from Adi Dassler. It is said that "All Day I Dream About Sports" is the acronym of Adidas, although it is a myth but in reality the name is formed by the combination of two words, namely "Adi" (a nickname for Adolf) and "Das" (from "Dassler"). Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a custom essay Puma and Adidas had become a bitter commercial rivalry after the split of the Dassler brothers' shoe factory in 1947, and for this reason even the town of Herzogenaurach was divided on the issue so much so that it earned the nickname "city of hills bend over” and in that period people looked down to see what shoes foreigners were wearing. Two football clubs from the cities were also split, Adidas supported the club ASV Herzogenaurach, while Puma supported 1 FC Herzogenaurach. When a casual worker was called to Rudolf's house, he deliberately wore Adidas shoes so that Rudolf Dassler would tell them to go to the basement and get a pair of Puma shoes for free.