In October 1948, Adolf Dassler founded the sports brand Adidas — a mere year after his brother, Rudolf Dassler, created competitor brand, Puma.

The two world-renowned brands can be traced back to a now legendary family quarrel, without which neither Puma nor Adidas would exist today.

Originally, the brothers worked together on two-striped sneakers and, in 1919, the duo founded Gebrüder Dassler, Geda for short his shoe factory would take them right through the Second World War.

However, Geda ended abruptly in 1948 — to this day historians are baffled as to what led the Dassler brothers to part ways. Even when Adolf and Rudolf died, they were buried at opposite ends of the town cemetery.

Little did the brothers know that their rivalry would change the sporting goods industry forever, nor that it would still be profoundly shaping the small town of Herzogenaurach, where both companies are based, to this day.

Brothers Rudolf and Adolf Dassler sewed their first sneakers in the laundry room of their parents’ Herzogenaurach home. By 1927, Sportfarbrik Gebrüder Dassler, Geda for short, had grown to 12 employees and the brothers were forced to find other premises.

Their big breakthrough came at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin: the athletes they equipped received seven gold medals and five silver and bronze medals between them.

One of those gold medal winners who wore Dassler’s shoes? None other than Olympic legend Jesse Owens. 

“The company would probably have gone through the ceiling, but then the war came,” said historian Manfred Welker in an interview with Business Insider.

During the Second World War, Geda was converted into a weaponry factory and Rudolf was drafted while Adolf stayed at home.

After Rudolf returned from the war following one year of imprisonment, shoe production started again — but in January 1948, a rift formed between the brothers that would remain until their deaths.

What started the spat between the brothers is a point of contention. Town chronicles mention it only in passing as “internal family difficulties”, but the most common explanation is that Rudi (apparently the better-looking one) had an affair with Adi’s wife, Käthe, for which he was never forgiven.

But many other accusations fly, over who was the more enthusiastic Nazi (both joined the party in 1933), or who really invented the screw-in soccer boot studs that helped Germany’s national team secure its World Cup final victory over Hungary on a soaking pitch in Berne in 1954. Many also point to a night in 1943 when Herzogenaurach was under allied bombardment. Adi and his wife apparently clambered into an air raid shelter to hear Rudi, who was already there with his wife and family, declare: “The Schweinhunde (pig dogs) are back.” Adi insisted he had meant the RAF, but Rudi refused to believe him.

The dispute between the Dassler brothers didn’t just affect their employees — it affected the whole town. Herzogenaurach was founded in the year 1002 — its historic centre is preserved to this day. Hardly anyone in Herzogenaurach could escape the effect of the family’s quarrels. “At that time, at least one person in every family was employed by one of the two companies,” said historian Welker.

The Dasslers’ dispute split Herzogenaurach into two camps. The Aurach river divided Adidas, which moved north, and Puma, which moved south. The battle to dominate Herzogenaurach even spilled out onto the soccer pitch. For years there was an Adidas soccer club and another for Puma: FC Herzogenaurach are still sponsored by Puma, where Adidas sponsored ASV Herzogenaurach. The athletes didn’t have to worry about anything — from shoes and bags to jerseys, everything was provided. “There’s hardly anything left of that today,” said Welker. 

With the withdrawal of Dassler’s heirs from Puma and Adidas in the 1990s, the companies’ involvement in the town also declined. To date there are still Puma and Adidas families. It’s said that the Dassler family quarrels were so divisive that the Puma and Adidas families went to separate bakeries, had their own separate butchers, as well as their own separate pubs.

“The idea of Adidas employees going into a shop that Puma employees frequented had never crossed anyone’s mind before,” recalled Michael Dassler, the grandson of Puma’s founder. “It really was the case that the river separated the city.”

His childhood was marked by the Dassler dispute — the contact between his grandfather Rudolf and his brother was non-existent.

“In our home, the name Adidas was never mentioned,” he said.

Outside the Dassler family, other families either identified with Puma or Adidas — neither both. Married couples, both of whom worked for different brands, were virtually non-existent.

The two camps didn’t mollify until the death of the Dassler brothers at the end of the 1970s. Dassler now runs a winery on the market square, visited by both Puma and Adidas employees alike.

There are still Puma and Adidas families in Herzogenaurach today, although the friction has eased into a less aggressive rivalry — the companies have become more international and only a fraction of the workforce has grown up in the town.

“Whether your parents work at Adidas or Puma is clear by what you’re wearing,” said 18-year-old schoolgirl Johanna Weidhaus. “But there are no disputes about it — it’s all over the top.”

When you walk through Herzogenaurach today, the number of people wearing branded clothing really is striking — from clothing to shoes, almost every inhabitant, young or old, is wearing either Puma or Adidas.

“If someone comes in through the door, your gaze still wanders to their shoes,” said Mayor German Hacker. That was an old habit in his generation. Herzogenaurach is also referred to as “the town of the lowered gaze.”

Even today, employees of the two companies will tease each other about their clothes when they meet on the street, but nowadays it’s more to poke fun.

Yet, the two brands are rarely seen in combination — you can get through a whole playground of kids dressed in one brand from head to toe.

In addition to the fact that the two companies are rooted in two different parts of the town, this could also be down to the fact that both have two large outlets in Herzogenaurach.

The unofficial dress code in the town occasionally presents Mayor German Hacker with diplomatic challenges. He actually comes from a Puma family — as he says: “My aunt was a Puma veteran. As a child, I only had Puma clothes — wearing an Adidas jacket would have been unthinkable.” Today he always takes care to wear both brands on casual occasions, in order to remain neutral. He even went so far that he wore two different football shoes at a friendly match between the two companies: Puma on the left and Adidas on the right.

“Of course, the two brothers spurred each other on. The mutual competition to be faster, better and bigger has also boosted business,” said historian Manfred Welker.

After the death of Rudolf in 1974 and Adi in 1978, their sons took over.

Since the 1990s, both Dassler companies are public limited companies and are no longer in family ownership. Today, Adidas headquarters employs almost 5,700 people from 100 countries. The company is worth around $51 billion on the stock exchange, making it number two in the industry behind Nike. Even Puma’s headquarters is still in Herzogenaurach, just under ten minutes on foot from Adidas. Around 1,300 employees work here today and the company is worth around $ 6.95 billion on the stock exchange.

Since the founding of Puma and Adidas in 1948 and 1949, the population of Herzogenaurach has more than tripled from just under 7,000 to 24,500. With the rise of Puma and Adidas into global corporations, Herzogenaurach has become more international. Overall, the rivalry is still felt — but it is not as dogged as it once was.

The success of the two companies ensures prosperity and gushing tax revenue. In 2017, the city received a total of $65 million in taxes, $34 million of which was trade tax and the remainder of which was income tax — well above average for a small town.

With the growth of the companies, the living space in the city is becoming scarce. “Rent and fuel prices are rising at an incredible rate,” said a taxi driver.

To remedy the situation, the new “Herzo-Base” development area is being built in the northeast of the city, where 2,000 people are expected to live in the future.

It’s a family district where you’ll find employees of Adidas and Puma living side by side.

When you walk through the streets, all of which are named after Olympic cities, you can also see one or two stickers of each of the two brands, embellishing garbage cans and cars.

As well as each company having its own roundabout in the town, the town is home to “Puma Way”, “Adi Dassler Square” and “Adidas Mountain”. Hannah Schwär

Every four years, Adidas replaces the giant replica of the World Cup ball with a new version.

After decades of conflict, the two companies made symbolic peace with a friendly match in 2009. The game, which took place on United Nations World Peace Day, was the first joint initiative of the two billion-strong companies after years of silence. The teams were mixed as a sign of reconciliation — Adidas boss, Herbert Hainer, and Puma CEO, Jochen Zeitz, also took part. But even during the friendly match, the two brands left nothing to the competition: from the jerseys to the ball, everything had the logos of both companies on it. While they may be friendly on the pitch, they very much remain rivals — at least on the market.

As a next generation leader worth following, people close to you are going to hurt you. The Adidas vs Puma story proves that. Imagine taking bitterness and anger to your grave, all because one or the other was unwilling to forgive. 

Being willing to continually give the gift of forgiveness is critical to the health of your heart as a leader, for several reasons. First, where there is no forgiveness, eventually there are no relationships. If I hurt you and you emotionally shut down toward me I am out unless you decide to forgive. It is over. There’s nothing I can do. In marriage, there is not restoration until there is forgiveness. If I hurt Sandra or Sandra hurts me, our relationship is paralyzed and will begin to atrophy unless forgiveness is extended.  

Secondly, we are going to be hurt, taken advantage of, by the people closest to us. The closer they are, the more it hurts. The cashier at the grocery store doesn’t hurt you. That guy that gave you the right fist of fellowship during rush hour traffic probably didn’t crush your feelings. No, it is the people closest to us that hurt us the most. The closer they are the more frequent we will be hurt. Learning to continually give the gift of forgiveness is a requirement if you are going to have any long-term relationships with anybody.

 

Finally, forgiveness is one of our primary exports as believers. We are exporting the message of forgiveness. Our message is “Come meet our God. He will forgive you no matter what.” There is something hypocritical about a bunch of forgiven people assembled to tell others about forgiveness who won’t forgive. That makes as much sense as wrecking your car to get the insurance money to make your car note. 

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32 NIV)

We are to forgive rather than hold on to our hurt. Paul even takes it to an unnoticeable extreme. The word compassionate in this context literally translates “strong bowels.” No, your ability to exercise compassion is not somehow connected to your colon. Here is what Paul is saying: “Have some intestinal fortitude. Be strong enough not to respond in like kind.” In other words, when someone is bitter toward you, angry toward you, rages against you (yikes!) have enough character and internal strength to resist the urge to return the favor. Respond with kindness. With self-control. Be compassionate.   

There is an attitude you and I are to maintain. It is that of forgiveness. The word forgiving in this verse is written in the present tense, indicating that the kind of forgiveness Paul speaks of is a consistent, never-ending state of mind. There are two words in the original language of the Bible used for forgiveness. This word for forgiveness positions forgiveness as a gift we are to be constantly giving. Just like your Grandpa always had a peppermint or quarter in his pocket for you to have, so we are to have forgiveness ready to give as a gift. 

Forgiveness doesn’t make any sense…unless you are a forgiven person. We don’t forgive because someone deserves it. We forgive just as God in Christ has forgiven us. That’s the standard. As long as I get to treat you like you treated me, I’m in business. But Paul says, “No, you have been called to respond to others as Christ responded to you.”

Is there someone you need to forgive? Is your heart unhealthy because you hold a grudge? Has bitterness become rooted in your heart toward someone else? Who is it? What is it? What are you going to do about it?

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Journal your thoughts. We will discuss this later in the month in the Circle…

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