Orasche, a strange town in Nuremberg, southern Germany. This is a medieval German town, and a small river winds through it. On both sides of the river are the headquarters of Adidas and Puma respectively. Because of a family dispute that lasted for 60 years, the town was divided into two parts, each with its own bakery, butcher shop, bar and school. The emergence of world-famous sporting goods companies Adidas and Puma is also closely related to this family dispute. In 1960s, German brothers Adolf Dassler and Rudolf Dassler founded Adidas and Puma here respectively. However, in the subsequent business competition, the two brothers were filled with deep hatred, which also made this town a famous "City of crookneck".
Used to work together.
Rudolf Dassler and Adolf Dassler were born into a shoemaker's family in the southern German town of Orasche. My brother Rudolph, nicknamed Rudy, has a business mind and likes to communicate with people. My younger brother Adolf, nicknamed Adi, has a keen mind and a unique vision. Adolf is like an introverted artist, while Rudolph, who is good at talking and funny, is a natural public relations person.
19 19. After World War I, Adolf became a shoemaker under his father. Because of his high understanding, Adolf's craft soon surpassed his father's, and his business became more and more prosperous. The expansion of production and the shortage of manpower made Adolf have the idea of bringing his brother Rudolph in. Fortunately, Rudolph's business wisdom has been fully exerted here. With his wisdom, customers are always willing to pay for it, and they think it is worth buying. 1924, 1, the two brothers registered Dassler Brothers Sports Shoes Factory and worked hard together. This small factory only processes casual shoes without any brand, and occasionally spikes shoes for those who dare to run in the open air. Excellent materials, fine processing and good durability are the main purposes for Adolf and Rudolf to run the shoe factory. With a keen business sense and scientific management strategy, the business of Dassler Brothers Sports Shoes Factory is booming, the factory building is expanding and the equipment is increasing. Fortunately, the Dulles brothers are not complacent, but do it themselves, knowing both the shoemaking process and the sales process. With the expansion of business, Adi began to worry that he must work hard on shoemaking technology in order to maintain the rapid development of business. Under the arrangement of Adi, Rudolph took over the business in an all-round way, while Adi chose to study hard and study books on tanning, management and accounting. One is devoted to research, the other is sales-oriented, and the shoe factory has done a decent job.
The good reputation of Dassler shoes soon spread to the ears of German track and field team coach Joseph Vettsel. With his help, the two brothers successfully let their products enter the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. This Olympic Games became the Olympic Games for African-American athlete jesse owens. As if to fight against Hitler, Owens became the first track and field athlete to win four gold medals in one competition in Olympic history. He left those athletes with blue eyes, high nose and blond hair far behind. There is a secret behind such a good performance, that is, Owens is wearing running shoes made in Dassler. Since then, Dassler Brothers Shoes Factory has gained a great reputation.
Brother department
However, the good times did not last long. The turbulent environment during World War II forced the shoe factory to stop production. Seems to be blessed by the god of luck. Although big cities such as Munich have been bombed into ruins, there is no war in the small town of Orasche in Hertzgen, and the equipment and workshop of Dassler Shoe Factory are well protected.
After World War II, the Dassler family began to split. 1945 In May, the Nazis surrendered unconditionally, Adolf and his brother Rudolph returned to their old jobs, and the shoe factory reopened. After the Allies investigated whether Adi's shoe factory had an affair with the Nazis, Adi was exonerated and took charge of the company again. Rudolph was exposed by his own brother and became an American prisoner of war. At the same time, in the winter of 1948, the two brothers had serious differences in management. Although they tried to coordinate, they couldn't solve it. 1949 65438+ 10, after realizing the irreconcilable contradiction, the two brothers officially separated. His brother Rudolph, with his wife and two children, moved to the other side of the Olaxie River, and together with most of the salespeople who supported him, he built a new shoe factory from scratch. Most operators choose to stay and continue to run the original shoe factory with their younger brother Adolf. 1In August, 949, Adolf considered it several times and "Adidas" was officially registered in the local court. Subsequently, Rudolph's shoe factory was named "Puma". The business war between the two brothers began.
However, when it comes to the reasons why the two brothers turned against each other, some elderly residents in the small town of Olacher in Heitsogan have other stories-the relationship between the younger brother and his sister-in-law is ambiguous, the sister-in-law is not harmonious, Rudolph steals from the inside, sets up a private vault and so on. The old people said that the last rupture was due to an accident at 1943. At that time, two brothers lived in a bomb shelter at home. One day, a plane of the Royal Air Force rumbled by, and Adi read that "this beast is coming again". Who would have thought that Rudolph just came downstairs to find Artie when he said this, mistakenly thinking that he was scolding him, and the two brothers ignored each other. No matter how his family explained it, Adi didn't mean him at that time, and Rudolph didn't want to believe it. In short, for various reasons, the two brothers finally parted ways and forged old enemies.
Fight endlessly
In the sports market, adidas and Puma, who share the same ancestry, have never stopped fighting and confronting each other, either openly or secretly, or falsely or actually. For decades, the competition between the two brands has been high and low, and even this town of 20 thousand people has been divided into opposing camps, which are incompatible with each other and even prohibit intermarriage. Auracher, the capital of Hetesogan, also got another name-the city of bent necks. Because before making friends, locals will cran their necks to see which company's shoes this person is wearing. If they are not supporters of the same brand, they will never speak. By bus, if all the people on the bus are pumas, the Adi people will have to bite the bullet and wait for the next bus.
In decades of competition, the two brothers' shoe factories have won and lost. The first meeting between Adi and his brother ended with the victory of the former. It was in Switzerland 1954 World Cup. Zep Herberg, the coach of the West German national team who was despised by Rudolph at that time, extended a hand of friendship to Adi and established a good relationship with him. Adi specially prepared sneakers for the West Germany team on the wet grass, in order to prevent the players from slipping frequently in rainy days. This effect has been fully reflected in the competition. The victory of the ball game is also Adi's victory. Because he beat his brother and created a miracle. However, at the 1962 World Cup in Brazil, Puma won the first prize in one fell swoop and gave Adi a heavy counterattack.
The two brothers not only exchanged fire frequently in dividing up the market, but also showed no weakness in advertising management. 1958, Adidas advertised itself as "the best sports shoes in the world". Rudolph sent a secret operation to try to stop his brother Adi from doing so. In a rage, Adi exposed his brother's behavior to the court, and Rudolph came home in a fiasco. The next day, Adi sent someone to post an advertisement on his brother's office window to harass him.
In this way, until the two brothers died one after another, the competition remained fierce. Although the two brothers met several times in their later years and talked privately, in the end, the family maintained this painful division, and they even left a last wish for future generations to continue fighting. 1974 Rudolph died of illness. The next day, Adi's condolence letter seemed full of joy: "In the heart of human sympathy, the Adolf Dassler family will not comment on his death." Four years later, Artie went with him. Their brother's graveyard is located at both ends of the town. As brothers, the cemeteries are the farthest apart, and it is conceivable how deep the hatred between them is.
Confusion of future generations
After the first generation of leaders withdrew from the stage, the next generation continued to struggle.
Rudy is particularly difficult to get along with among the two brothers. His relationship with his eldest son Amin is very stiff, and he often severely reprimands Amin. When Rudy's health deteriorated in the 1970s, he impulsively revised his will, deprived Amin, his eldest son, of his right to inherit, and appointed Gerd, his youngest son, as the heir to the property. 1974 after Rudy's death, Amin was crushed by his late father's last unexpected blow when he announced his will. He begged his brother Gerd, but was rejected. Finally Amin had to seek legal arbitration. The ownership of family property was finally adjusted. Amin became the main shareholder of puma, while GERD only held a small number of shares.
Adidas encountered another puzzle here. After Adi's death, his eldest son Horst Dassler took over. Horst has an extraordinary talent for marketing. He pioneered the establishment of a "pyramid" promotion model for Adidas brand, and took the lead in intuitively linking Adidas sporting goods with athletes, sports teams, large-scale competitions and related sports activities. Under his advocacy, Adidas became the first company to give free sports shoes to excellent athletes, and also the first company to sign a long-term contract with sports teams to provide sports shoes and socks, so that people can see excellent athletes wearing Adidas' new products in many world-class competitions. However, with the death of 1985 Horst Dassler, Adidas lost a brand manager with brand vision, and its brand began to shake.
Not the end.
When Puma's career went downhill, some celebrities made positive contributions to its glory again. After tennis star boris becker retired, Madonna and Brad Pitt became the image spokesmen of Puma Company, injecting fresh blood into it and helping it make a comeback. However, John Zeiss, chairman of Puma's board of directors, failed to prevent the powerful French PPR group from acquiring Puma.
1989, Adidas was sold to Bernard Tapier, a French controversial figure. Tapier's political ambitions outweigh his commercial interests. Three years later, when he found himself in financial trouble, he transferred the control of Adidas to a French banking consortium. At present, Adidas has returned to the hands of the Germans, and is reappearing its former glory. Barbara Schmidt, the author of Adidas vs. Puma, wrote in the book: "Ironically, Frank, the grandson of Puma founder Rudolph, is now working at Adidas." However, many local people are unwilling to change. After Frank jumped ship to Adidas, two newspapers in the town said that he betrayed Puma, and some of his relatives were angry with him.
The family struggle between Adidas and Puma ended in their respective acquisitions. This reminds us that in a family with mutual distrust, complete division, including non-competitive agreements, may be the only effective way to solve family conflicts. At this time, I have to think of a poem by Cao Zhi: Boil beans and burn beans, and the beans cry in the kettle; We are born from the same root, so why should we speculate with each other?