The Top 3 Brands in Sportswear
From humble beginnings to being one of the largest and most valuable brands of the world, Adidas have come a long way from making lightweight football boots with screw on studs to making high quality sportswear that everyone knows and loves today. The Adidas name came from its founder Adolf (Adi) Dassler when he embarked on his mission to provide athletes with the best quality equipment in 1949. His soccer shoes became a hit due to their light weight, durability and grip from the cleats attached to the bottom, additionally he also gave free pairs to Olympic athletes, driving immense awareness for his brand. After their huge success they are able to build a new factory to increase efficiency for satisfying the demand for their famous “3-stripe shoes.”
Gaining more momentum, in the 1960s to the 1980s adidas begin producing football apparel (the Franz Beckenbauer tracksuit being their first) and their first football (TELSTAR) as well entering other fields of sport. After Adi’s death in 1978, his son Horst and his widow kathe take charge of the company and continue his work. Adidas’ endless innovation continues even to this day, their ground-breaking products such as the Climacool range with helps regulate body temperature during performance; the energy boost (a running shoe with a completely different cushioning material) are great examples of this.
Today Adidas is one of the largest and most valuable football companies in the world, a global goliath of the football world. Not only do they focus on athletic performance, they have combined sport, style and fashion, promoting individualism and authenticity in style because they believe sports is a lifestyle than just a hobby, Adidas Originals is a clothing line that dates back to the classic trefoil logo. Adidas adopted the slogan “Impossible is nothing” and have gained success by collaborating with famous figures in fashion, music and especially sports. They sponsor more than 600 football players (They’re most prominent players being Lionel Messi and David Beckham) in the European league and more than 250 professional clubs. Here’s a link to the 10 most expensive professional football kit deals on Total Sportek if you want to find out more.
But Adidas’ success didn’t just come from successful marketing and innovation, in its early years and today adidas teamed up with professional athletes in varying fields of sport to understand their needs and develop and modify their products to meet them.
Recently they have also entered the market for providing clothing for sailing which has now become very popular and sought after by members of the marine sector as well as supporting Team GB.
Adidas values authenticity and innovation, and they have constantly adapted and developed their products to give the best possible performance.
Nike, the winged goddess of victory or the huge global sport wear company that has dominated the industry? For our purposes we’re referencing the latter, but it wasn’t always known as Nike inc. It was initially known as Blue Ribbon Sports when it was found in 1962 by Philip Knight, a former track runner and Stanford University Graduate.
Along with his former coach, Bill Bowerman sold shoes for Onitsuka Tiger Co (now known as Asics) in 1965 from the trunk of his car. Wanting to do more than just import and sell shows for Tiger Co. Bill Bowerman designed the first Nike Waffle Outsole by pouring rubber onto his wife’s waffle iron, creating a sole with better traction with less weight and thus, Nike inc was born. With their “chicken and waffle waffle” design football boots gaining a lot of demand they moved from selling their wares from the trunk of their car to owning their first retail space in 1996, parting ways from Onitsuka Tiger Co and releasing their new line of athletic footwear with their trademark “swoosh” symbol that we all now associate with the globally renowned Nike brand.
Today Nike constantly innovate designs and find ways to improve their products to remain ahead of their competitors and be the best. They sponsor more than 150 professional football teams. They sponsor few prominent football players but their most notorious player happens to be the most famous football player in the world-Cristiano Ronaldo, as well as many other including Neymar and Wayne Rooney. We've discovered that recently world renowned NBA player Steph Curry has teamed up with two Nike Alumni Barr Bryant and Jason Mayden to create a new social platform (named Slyce) targeted towards interaction between athletes, brands and their fan bases, making it easier for athletes to engage with their fans and sift through the thousands of messages, comments and responses they receive.
Nike is one of the top sportswear companies in the world, from importing and reselling shoes from the back of their car to ruling their industry, Nike worked their way to the top through determination and constant innovation.
Well known as the third largest sportswear manufacturing organisation, Puma’s birth was the result of a family feud between the father of Adidas (Adi Dassler) and his brother (Rudolph Dassler) who worked together as shoe makers for 20 years. The feud resulted in both brother splitting off and going their separate ways with Adi Dassler forming Adidas and Rudolph Dassler forming Puma.
Rudolph’s business began to hit off in after his contracts with professional athletes were successful. BY 1962 his products were shipped to countries all over the world and were worm by athletes in the Olympics and World Cup. But despite this Puma was facing major competition in their industry and in the 1990’s they restructured their management team. Their aim was to have Puma products be renowned globally and be recognized for producing high quality sports products that optimize individual performance.
In 1996 with Puma facing major success with its footwear and sports apparel products, as it began to influence other fields of sport Linford Christie wore creative contact lenses with the white Puma cat on his pupil during a press conference at the Olympic Games in Atlanta. This later became a symbol for innovative marketing, and not just in the sports industry.
Puma has gained a reputation for their stylish products having a more urban look to them and they’re quite popular with younger generations due to their fashionable appearance. Due to major competition from both Nike and Adidas, Puma began to diversify by entering the fahion industry in order to survive. They’ve launched product lines for sneakers and other casual footwear throughout the years, making a significant impact on the fashion industry by merging sports and fashion.
Puma grew into the huge corporation it is today through dedication and constant struggle against competition, but not only did they remain one of the largest sportswear companies in the world through struggle, they succeeded by becoming an iconic figure in the world of fashion, by merging both worlds and creating their own brand that people love today.