Online Shopping Brokers: PUMA

Online Shopping Brokers: PUMA

Puma Shoes - Sponsors Of Half The Worlds Football Teams
By Dean Forster
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.

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.

Online Shopping Brokers: The PUMA Store

Online Shopping Brokers: The PUMA Store

PUMA at a Glance
PUMA has the long-term mission of becoming the most desirable Sportlifestyle company. The aim of Phase IV of PUMA’s long-term oriented business plan, which was launched in 2006, is to reinforce its position as one of the leading multi-category Sportlifestyle brands.We will achieve our goals by continuing to do what we have always done – harnessing our resources and experiences to provide our consumers with innovative products that successfully fuse the creative influences from the world of sport, lifestyle and fashion.Registered Office:Herzogenaurach, Germany.Stock:PUMA’s common shares are traded at XETRA on the Frankfurt and Munich stock exchanges and over the counter ("OTC") as American Depository Receipts (ADRs).Shareholders:62,1% PPR Group (Main Shareholder) 37,9% of the PUMA shares are free flowed.

Our Values
PUMA plans to evolve the organization through the fostering of unique company values, all compatible with the personality of the brand. These can be best summarized in four words: Passion, Openness, Self-belief and Entrepreneurship. PassionPUMA is not a business that manufactures and sells soap powder or ballpoint pens or instant coffee. It is a business rooted in the passionate world of sporting endeavour. The history of the brand resonates with the echoes of great athletes and legendary performances, celebrated in stadiums across the globe. PUMA makes products designed to facilitate the individual achievements that evoke the most passionate responses.

Openness

Today's marketplace is one of the fastest changing and dynamic on the planet. To respond quickly and effectively in this environment demands a culture of openness, where opinions can be shared without fear of blame and where old wisdom can be questioned without the fear of antagonism. In this culture, respect and understanding flourish naturally, teamwork flows seamlessly, barriers dissolve and a much over-used word, empowerment, takes on real meaning.

Self-belief

Global businesses face new challenges every day. It is the quality of the people in these businesses and their belief in their own abilities that enable these challenges to be overcome. PUMA's recognition of this is reflected in its determination that everyone in the company understands and embraces the company values, as well as benefits from the experience and integrity of their colleagues. Only with self-belief will individuals have the confidence to make things happen, take the tough decisions and realize their ambitions for themselves and, ultimately, for the business.

Entrepreneurship

Few businesses succeed without great ideas. PUMA has been built on them and needs them to flow relentlessly hour by hour, day by day. This demands a willingness to think outside the box, to zig where others zag and to seek inspiration beyond the more obvious boundaries of our business universe. Such creativity has inspired the PUMA brand strategy. It will also be needed to make it a reality.