Adolf Dassler

Adolf "Adi" Dassler (3 November 1900 – 6 September 1978) was a German cobbler, inventor, and businessman who founded the sportswear company Adidas. He was the younger brother of Puma founder Rudolf Dassler. The brothers were partners in a shoe company Adolf started, Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik ("Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory"). Rudolf joined in 1924. However, after a feud developed between them following World War II, the brothers went separate ways and started their respective companies in 1948. Dassler was an innovator in sports shoe design and one of the early promoters who obtained endorsements from athletes to drive sales of his products. From his concepts, he created Adidas, which had 17 factories and annual sales of one billion Deutschmarks at the time of his death.

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