Have you ever wondered what Adidas net worth is? The giant clothing brand which has contracts with some of the biggest clubs in the world, countries, and sportsmen and women, has a net worth of over $16 billion. That that is only a part of the story.
Millions, if not billions, all over the world today know what Adidas is. We have worn it, ran in it, watched it, and maybe even slept in it, but very few know about the origin of this great company called Adidas. We will be exploring in great detail almost all there is to know about this global brand – the largest sports wears manufacturer in Europe and the second-largest global sportswear manufacturer in the world, in this piece.
How did it all begin for Adidas?
Well, it began like some other great businesses do, with questions and ideas within the mind of a young innovative sports enthusiast, cum apprentice baker, and trained cobbler named Adolf Dassler.
Adi, as he was nicknamed, loved sports and with the training, he got as a cobbler from his father, conceived the idea that making shoes from different materials for specific sports events which could improve an athlete’s performance. So after serving his fatherland in the war, he returned home and set up shop in his mother’s former laundry business shop right in their home and began making sports shoes.
In 1924, his older brother Rudolf joined him in his shoemaking business – bringing with him different skill sets to complement his brother’s innovative and technically minded skills; they changed the name of the business to the Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory located in their hometown, Herzogenaurach, Germany – which still hosts the Corporate Headquarters of the company till date.
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Coming to age of the Brand
In1936, Adolf convinced the United States tracks athlete, Jesse Owens, to wear and use one of his specially designed shoes at the 1936 Summer Olympics and he won 4 gold medals.
This got the attention of several other athletes who thought that Owens shoes must have played a part in his improved performance, and the Dassler Brothers Shoes became a must-have for all athletes of the time. This demand established their brand, with sales hitting the roof as well.
Break Up of the Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory
Sometime in 1947, the relationship between the Dassler Brothers broke down irreparably and they decided to split the company. The factory staff at that time were given the chance to choose which of the brothers they intend to work with; the technically oriented staff chose to go with Adolf, while the commercially oriented staff chose to go with Rudolf.
Formation of Adidas and bitter rival, Puma
After the brothers breakup, Rudolf registered a sporting equipment company he called Ruda (later rebranded to Puma) while Adolf registered his company called Adidas AG on August 18, 1949.
Both companies were very bitter rivals, so much so that their town and its inhabitants were also drawn into this fierce rivalry. They competed to get notable athletes to wear their sports shoes, often paying them generously to do so.
Who really is Adolf Dassler?
Many simply know him as the founder of Adidas, but there was more to him than just that.
He was born to Christoph and Pauline Dassler on November 3, 1900 in Herzogenaurach, Germany. His father and those before him were into the textile industry, but as that industry experienced downturns in fortunes, he switched over to the cobbler business to make ends meet. His mother on the other hand ran a laundry business at the back of their home, and Adolf and his 3 other siblings were her delivery staffs, which led to Adolf and his brothers being referred to as the “laundry boys”.
After he completed his early education, he became a baker’s apprentice for a while. He later gave up becoming a baker to learn how to make shoes – particularly felt slippers from his father.
As a young man, Adolf was very athletic and was active in sporting activities like football, skiing, boxing and track and field events, alongside his friend, Ftritz Zehlein – who was a blacksmith’s son. Before he turned 18, he began conceiving the idea that having special shoes made for different sports can actually enhance performance. So after he came back from fighting in the German Army during World War 1 to the economic and physical devastation of the war, he set up a small shop in his mother’s former laundry shop and began dreaming of creating specialized sports shoes all over again, from scraps he could fin around after the war.
He was a sports equipment designer and manufacturer par excellence, who revolutionized the sporting world tremendously. He married Kathe Dassler and they had 4 children together before he died from heart failure in 1978 – leaving behind a flourishing Adidas company with about 17 factories.
What is Adidas net worth?
Well, that’s simple – lots and lots of money. As at 2020, the Adidas company is listed as being worth about $16.48 billion – which is a couple of millions of dollars shy of its value just a year ago. The company has truly come a long way from the small home laundry shop it began its operations in almost a century ago.
Other Brands under Adidas Stable
https://www.instagram.com/p/CEfKbzMHoJ4/
As the Adidas brand grew and its finances as well, it began to diversify by acquiring other brands as well and they are:
Reebok
Sometime in 2005, Adidas revealed that they would be acquiring Reebok, in order to enable them compete favorably with the market leader in their industry Nike. The deal was completed in January 2006 for $ 3.8 billion.
Runtastic
As the sporting world began to evolve with technology in the 2010s, they acquired Australian Fitness tracking company Runtastic for $ 240 million in August 2015. This gave them leverage to compete with other evolving technology based fitness tracking companies, especially Fitbit, Honor, Garmin and popular Technology companies like Apple and Samsung with their smart watch line.
FC Bayern Munich
Adidas actually owns about 8.33 % of FC Bayern Munich and has been the official kit supplier for the club since 1965.
Other Interesting Facts about Adidas
* The name: This is the combination of Adi – the owner’s nickname and Das – first 3 alphabets of the owner’s last name.
* The town of Bent Necks: The fierce rivalry between Adidas and Puma, owned by the Dassler Brothers, spilled over to the residents of their town; it was so bitter that they would bend their necks to have a look at which shoe brand both residents and strangers were dorning, hence the nickname.
* Conversion to Military Equipment Manufacturing.
During World War II, some of the Dassler Brothers staff and their factory was converted to manufacture anti-tank weapons, putting an end to shoe production.
* Bicycle Powered plant: After the war and its devastation, the electricity supply in Herzogenaurach was so poor that Adi had to use manually pedaled stationary bicycles to generate electricity to power his business.
* 3 stripe logo: Adidas bought the rights of their iconic 3 stripe logo from a Finnish Sports company called Karhu Sports for 2 bottles of Whiskey and money equivalent to € 1,600. That branding is worth Billions today.
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