The story is of two brothers who grew to be among the world's most recognizable brands went far beyond corporate competition. This rivalry did not only pit two brothers apart but also divided the inhabitants of their hometown into warring factions.
This disagreement lasted over 60 years.
In the 1920s, two brothers operating from their mummy's laundry in the small town of Herzogenaurach, in Germany, were partners in Dassler Brothers Sports Shoe Company.
Adolf Dassler and Rudolph Dassler were their names. "Adi" Adolf was the quiet, thoughtful craftsman who designed and made the shoes but his effort was complemented by "Rudi" Rudolph who was the extrovert salesman.
In the 1936 Olympics, these brothers got African-American Owen Jesse to wear their shoes, even after joining the Nazi party when Hitler seized power in 1933. Jesse went ahead to compete in the competition and won four (4) golds. Owens victory gave the shoes international exposure and sales of the Drasslers' product gain momentum.
Back at the home front, the success story was not replicated as their wives who lived in the same villa with the brothers were not getting along. Several reports about the origin of their conflict were brought up, but the most widely accepted report about the rivalry was the one that took place during the World War II.
Adi, while referring to Allies bombing Herzogenaurach, "as the dirty bastards are here", when he climbed into a bomb shelter with his wife which was already occupied by Rudi and his wife. Rudi mistook the statement was directed at himself and his family. And that was the major begining of the feud - one of the most epic and, well, biblical in business history.
Later, Rudi got called up for service, he suspected Adi and his wife had schemed to get rid of him and he was arrested for deserting his post and then by the Allies on suspicion of working for the Gestapo. On both occassions, Rudi was convinced that Adi was the one wanting him out. Rudi languishedd in jail of war camp while Adi rebuilt the business and selling shoes to American G.I.s. (american soldiers).
In 1948, the brothers split company dividing the assets and the employees between themselves. Adi named his company "Adidas" which was a combination of his first and last names. Rudi attempted same by naming his company "Ruda" but eventually changed to "Puma".
The two brothers built competing factories on opposite sides of the river Aurach and quickly became responsible for much of Herzogenaurach's economy, with almost everyone working for one company or the other.
The rivalry got the entire town in the web as it reached ridiculous proportions. There were local businesses that served only Adidas or only Puma people, dating or marrying across company was forbidden. Herzogenaurach became known as "the town of bent necks" since people first take look at which company's shoes you wearing before deciding to talk to you.
Rudi on his part had the sales staff while Adi had the technical know-how and better relationships with athletes who could provide exposure, tilting the scale in favour of Adidas. While Puma is constantly playing catch ups.
The rivalry between the brothers made them focused more on each other thereby looking away from Nike which came to dominate the athletic footwear industry, leaving them far behind.
It was not until 2009 when employees of both companies symbolized the end of the six decades feud by playing a friendly soccer match. By then, the Drassler brothers had both died, within four years of each other. even in death, the animosity continued as the brothers were buried at opposite ends of the same cemetry, as far away from each other as possible.
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