PUMA
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BRAND INFORMATION
Founded in 1948 by Rudolf Dassler, the brother of Adolf Dassler, the creator of adidas, Puma is an essential brand in sports clothing and footwear recognized for its excellent design.
The initial success of the German brand was linked to football and one of the biggest names in its history. The Puma boots, worn by Pelé, were very successful at the World Championships of the 60s and 70s, allowing the German company to enter the sports market forcefully and extend its influence to the European, Asian and Ocean continents. Other big names in world football like Eusébio, Diego Maradona or Johan Cruijff helped to grow the brand name around the world.
It was only a few decades later that Puma managed to spread to the North American market, mainly through the NFL but also through the NBA, having sponsored Hall of Famers as Isiah Thomas, Ralph Sampson or Walt "Clyde" Frazier. Nowadays, Puma has established a marketing partnership with the NBA, which will allow them to use the image of NBA players, even when they are using the equipment of their respective teams, which will be produced by Nike at least until 2025.
This strong bet on basketball is part of Puma's commercial strategy to grow and gain strength and credibility in the North American market. Names of well-known athletes like DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay or Danny Green started to be sponsored by the German brand that reached an agreement with some of the most promising young NBA players like Kyle Kuzma, RJ Barrett, Deandre Ayton, Marvin Bagley III, Michael Porter Jr, Kevin Porter Jr, Kevin Knox or Terry Rosier, who in October 2018 debuted the Clyde Court Disrupt, the first Puma model on his return to basketball.