Ch.10 Product Concept

United we stand divided we fall, a simply way to explain Adidas' rise in the industry. With a vision that sprouted from their mothers kitchen the Dasser brothers founded a small shoe company that later lead to the creation of the Adidas company. Their humble story gives a perfect example of how far a little determination and perseverance can go.

The shoe that started it all

In 1936 they journeyed to the summer Olympics with a trunk full of running spikes where they persuaded U.S. sprinter Jesse Owens to use them. This resulted in being the first sponsorship for an African American athlete. Following Owens's assault of four gold medals, his success cemented the good reputation of Dassler shoes among the world's most famous sportsmen. Business boomed and the Dassler brothers were selling 200,000 pairs of shoes each year before World War II. 
At this point in the companies career their only product was considered a consumer product for it sought to satisfy individuals wants and needs in the area of track and field.


Due to irreconcilable differences the pair spilt and younger brother Adolf "Adi" Dassle founded Adidas in 1948. With an entirely new attitude and perpective of things Adolf launched his company and later implemented a new product mix introducing an apparel line dedicated to different sporting activities and even a line for urban wear.

In today's world Adidas is internationally known and offers a wide range of products that fall in the categories of consumer, convenience, shopping and even specialty products. The vast amount of products along their product mix helped Adidas to create create remarkable product lines.