PUMA AG Rudolf Dassler Sport (PUMA) is a large German-based multinational company that produces shoes and other sportswear.

The company was founded in 1924 as Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik in Herzogenaurach, Germany by Rudolf Dassler, the brother of Adolf "Adi" Dassler, who founded competitor adidas. The company now operates a virtualized corporate structure, using electronic communications to disperse the organization across the globe.

The company changed its name to PUMA Schuhfabrik Rudolf Dassler in 1948, and became a stock corporation in 1986, listed on the Börse München and Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

Today, PUMA AG has approximately 3,200 employees and distributes its products in more than 80 countries. For the fiscal year 2003, the company had a revenue of €1,274 million.

Puma shoe and clothing are still very popular in the hip-hop and graffiti subcultures, like adidas, Puma is considered part of the old school hip-hop and graffiti culture of the 1970s and 1980s. It can also be noted that Puma owns a 65% market share in sneakers to Mexican Americans in the male 12-25 age group.

External links

• Puma.com - Official site