Dictionary meaning : Puma : A large solitary cat belonging to the feline family, having the greatest range of any terrestrial mammal and an extremely capable stalk and ambush predator. Hardly something to be worn on your feet! No people, I am not talking about poaching and animal hunting. Like its namesake, Puma, is a German based multinational company that is equally respected in its field of expertise. One of the earliest shoe manufacturing companies, PUMA started off in 1948, just before the end of the World War II. The history of the setting up of the company is a very interesting read. Let me try to explain it to you.

Born to a worker in a shoe factory, Rudolph Dassler and Adolf Dassler were brothers with big dreams in a war ravaged Germany. Wanting to do their part for the fatherland, both brothers served their time in the army and found a small shoe factory in the back of their house in their mother's laundry. In the 1936 Olympic Games, Adolf Dassler drove to the Olympic Village and persuaded American super star sprinter Jesse Owens to put spikes on the bottom of his shoes. After Jesse Owens won 4 gold medals, the success story of the Dassler shoes become a global phenomenon.

But their success was short lived. Before the fall of Germany, tension was rife between the two brothers and after Rudi Dassler was captured, both brothers had split for good. Adi Dassler set up his company and named it Adidas, the second largest shoe manufacturing company in the world, and Rudi names his RuDa.

Later that year Ruda changed name to PUMA, and sponsored many footballers of Germany's national football team. So much so, that the scorer of Germany's first post war goal was wearing PUMA boots. Over the years, Rudi's expertise and willingness to work aid off great dividends and soon the world was wearing PUMA shoes. Football star Pele, stopped the final minutes of the 1970 FIFA world cup to tie his shoelaces thus giving the world precious minutes of his PUMA boots. These days, Puma sponsors half of the world's football teams, tons of players worldwide and sponsors a myriad of other sports and players. PUMA also specialises in creating sports apparel - football apparel, jump suits and track suits. You can find out more about nike and puma shoes at http://www.retronikeairshoes.com

PUMA has since then charted success stories year after year, increasing profits and establishing base in almost every country in the world. PUMA's famous Complete series provides a wide variety of features to customers worldwide. PUMA's other famous shoes involve shoes designed for sports like running, basketball and most importantly football. PUMA has tie ups with 2006 FIFA world cup winners, Italy and are the main sponsors for the team. They are also main sponsors of Formula 1 teams like Ferrari and BMW and have released their PUMA - Ferrari and PUMA - BMW apparel series. PUMA since its inception as a small company on a hillside has Germany has come a long way but never really forgotten its roots. For PUMA, it's always customers first.

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