PUMA history

In 1950, at the first international soccer match after World War II, several German players wore the Puma "Atom" shoe.

At the 1952 Summer Olympics, 1500 metres runner Josy Barthel of Luxembourg won Puma's first Olympic gold in Helsinki, Finland.

In 1958, the second brand logo is patented: the FORMSTRIP. Originally created to stabalize the foot inside the shoe, it is now the typical PUMA trademark found on almost all of PUMA's footwear and is used as a design element on our apparel products.

In 1959 Rudolf Dassler's firm was transformed into Puma Sportschuhfabriken Rudolf Dassler Kommanditgesellschaft, as Dassler's wife and his two sons, Armin and Gerd, became part owners of the firm.

At the 1960 Summer Olympics Puma paid German sprinter Armin Hary to wear Pumas in the 100-metre sprint final.

By 1962 Puma shoes were exported to almost 100 countries around the world.

Portuguese striker sensation and Ballon d'Or winner Eusébio becomes top scorer in the 1966 World Cup in England while wearing PUMA football boots.

Puma’s world famous jumping cat logo - introduced to the world in 1967- was the brainchild of a cartoonist from Nuremberg, Lutz Backes.

With the PUMA TAHOE brush spike, PUMA enables numerous American athletes, setting 200m and 400m world records at South Lake Tahoe prior to the 1968 Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City.

1973: Launch of the CLYDE. Designed for basket player Walt "Clyde" Fraizer, as a wider-fitting version of suede model

At the 1974 World Cup in West-Germany, the Dutch national team sports their signature orange jersey featuring three stripes of a different supplier – all but one.

In 1977 tennis player Guillermo Vilas won the French and United States Open in Puma shoes.

In 1982 Armin A. Dassler invented the Puma Duoflex sole, with special slots that increased the foot's mobility.

American sprinter Evelyn Ashford won two gold metals in Puma shoes at the Olympic Games 1984 in Los Angeles.

In 1985 PUMA develops a new cushioning system: the Running System, now known as RS – a sole that combines four components with different physical and chemical characteristics into one unit to absorb shock and control motion.

Diego Armando Maradona goes down in history with his second goal in the quarter finals of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico against England.

In May 1989, Rudolf's sons Armin and Gerd Dassler agreed to sell their 72 percent stake in Puma to Swiss business Cosa Liebermann SA.

In 1990 he joined Puma and as a vice-president of international marketing and sales, where he was responsible for the company's international communications strategy and contributed significantly to the repositioning of the Puma brand.

In 1991 the Swedish conglomerate Proventus AB bought all Puma common stock traded publicly in Frankfurt and Munich.

One year year later, Germany's Heike Drechsler (long jump) and Dieter Baumann (5.000m) and Great Britain's Linford Christie (100m) all clinch Gold medals at the 1992 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona wearing PUMA DISC System spikes.

Zeitz managed to turn PUMA from a low price brand into a premium Sportlifestyle company and one of the top 3 brands in the sporting good industry by sticking to a long-term development plan that he introduced in 1993.

One of the most successful elements of Puma's concerted marketing effort was the Street Soccer Cup, a worldwide street soccer competition first organized in 1994.

The success of this innovative concept encouraged Puma to continue it on an international scale in 1995.

Linford Christie proves at a press conference prior to the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta that he's a true PUMA athlete.

A few months later the American movie production and distribution firm Monarchy/Regency bought a 12.5 percent stake from Proventus; it obtained the other 12.5 percent in 1997.

Puma last sponsored Vince Carter in 1998.

When two Puma teams--the St Louis Rams and the Tennessee Titans--competed for the Superbowl in January 1999, about 1.3 billion TV watchers worldwide were exposed to the Puma logo.

2000: Production of fireproof footwear in partnership with Porsche and Sparco

2001: Acquisition of the Scandinavian Tretorn Group

In advance of the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan the FIFA banned the shirts, forcing our designers to find a new creative solution.

2003: Majority shareholder Monarchy/Regency sells its shareholdings to a broad base of institutional investors

2004: Collaborative partnership with world-renowned designer Philippe Starck

2005: Mayfair Vermögensverwaltungsgesellschaft mbh acquires a total of 16.91% shareholding

PUMA made its mark on the golf world already in 2006, jumping into the category with stylish, performance ready apparel, footwear and accessories that help golfers of all levels enjoy the game and play with confidence and style.

As of July 2007, PPR owned over 60% of Puma stock.

2008: Melody Harris-Jensbach is appointed Deputy CEO; Designer and artist Hussein Chalayan becomes Creative Director, Puma also acquires a majority stake in Chalayan's business and Hussein Chalayan

In 2009, PUMA reached net earnings of 128 million Euros and consolidated sales of 2.5 billion Euros.

In 2010, <strong>PUMA</strong> reaches net earnings of 202 million Euros and consolidated sales of more than 2.7 billion Euros.

2011: Signs a deal to make kits of GNK Dinamo Zagreb from the 2011–12 season.

2012: Signs a four-year deal to make kits of Barrow from the 2012–13 season.

The company has been led by former football professional Bjørn Gulden (chief executive officer) since 1 July 2013.

In 2014, Puma and Arsenal Football Club entered a 5-year merchandising partnership.

In March 2018, Puma launched its venture with its ambassador Selena Gomez called "Phenom Lux''. In 2018, Puma re-entered the basketball sneaker market for the first time in 20 years and announced Jay-Z will be the creative director for Puma Basketball.

The partnership ended in 2019.

In September 2020, Puma signed with Brazilian football superstar Neymar.