uma kec|a|m|ng |ts r|de

uurlng Lhe 1970s and early 1980s'uma AC'(uma) A 8avarlan sporLs fooLwear maker was
one of Lhe mosL promlslng fooLwear companles ln Lhe world and was counLed ln Lhe league of
companles llke 'nlke ' Adldas and '8eebok' 8uL Armln (who Look Lhe relns afLer Lhe founder
8udolf uassler) ln laLe 1970s declded Lo make uma's producL cheap and easlly avallable 1hls
led Lo Lhe deLerloraLlon of Lhe companles brand lmage AfLer Armln reslgned ln 1986 uma was
caughL ln a spaLe of problems as none of subsequenL chlef execuLlves could resLore lLs pasL
glory
When !ochen ZelLz Look over as uma's CLC ln 1993 Lhe company was on Lhe verge of
bankrupLcy and Lhe lmage of lLs producLs was ln doldrums ZelLz lnlLlal sLep lnvolved
sLreamllnlng puma's producLlon and LhaL accompllshed he launch a campalgn Lo make puma
Lhe world's greaLesL sporLs llfesLyle manufacLurer 8y maklng Lhe puma brand synonymous wlLh
sporLs and fashlon Lhrough celebrlLy endorsemenLs sponsorshlp and launchlng of excluslve
producL llne wlLhln a decade ZelLz Lurn Lhe forLune of puma around wlLh Lhe company galnlng
1793 mllllon Luros ln neL proflL ln 2003 As uanlela uorr an analysL wlLh '8 MeLzler Sohn' a a
lrankfurLbased prlvaLe bank remarked 1he sLrong earnlng show LhaL puma ls on lLs way Lo
esLabllshlng Lhe puma name as a real fashlon brand noL [usL a passlng Lrend" uma wlLh a
leaplng wlldcaL as lLs logo had survlved near exLlncLlon and was on Lhe prowl agaln
Cn the Lndangered L|st
A dlspuLe wlLh hls broLher Adolf uassler led 8udolf uassler Lo spllL from uassler Schuhfabrlk' a
small shoe maklng company LhaL Lhe Lwo broLhers had co founded ln 1924 AfLer Lhe spllL 8udl
seLup hls own shoe company on Lhe opposlLe bank of Aurach rlver ln Lhe 8avarlan vlllage of
Perzogenaurach ln 1948 and named lL 'puma Schuhfabrlk 8udolf uassler whlch laLer came Lo
be known as 'uma AC' under Lhe leadershlp of 8udl puma became Lhe flrsL company Lo use
vulcanlzaLlon Lechnlques and Lhe flrsL Lo manufacLure sporLs shoe wlLh valcro fasLeners uma
sponsored someof Lhe world's Lop soccer players llke ele(8razll) ulego
Maradona(ArgenLlna) !ohan Cruyff(1he neLherland) and few Cermans 8udl voller and LoLhar
MaLLhaus When Cerman Lennls player 8orls 8ecker(armed wlLh puma Lennls equlpmenLs and
shoes) became Lhe youngesL player Lo wln Wlmbledon champlonshlp puma saw Lhe demand
for lLs Lennls gear skyrockeL ln Lhe 1980s Lhe puma brand was synonymous wlLh Lhe besL ln
conLemporary sporL and for a whlle lL seemed LhaL puma would overLake 'Adldas' Lo became
world's leadlng Lennls gear producer
AfLer Lhe deaLh of 8udl ln leb 1974 hls son Armln Look over as Lhe Chlef LxecuLlve of puma
Armln wanLed Lo make affordably prlced shoe LhaL would meeL Lhe requlremenLs of people of
all classes Soon puma shoes began Lo be sold aL dlscounL shops anddeparLmenLal sLores aL
very cheap raLes 1hls declslon of Armln Lo be Lhe undolng of puma's lmage as an excluslve
brand LhaL caLered Lo Lhe demand of Lhe ellLe 1h e ellLe and affluenL class es who had long
been Lhe excluslve paLrons of Lhe brand sLarLed avoldlng puma producLs and soon Lhe name
'puma faded lnLo obscurlLy ln 1986 puma wenL publlc and uassler famlly sold lLs shares ln Lhe
company 1hls led Lo Lhe reslgnaLlon of Armln from Lhe posL of CLC aL uma Lack of proper
leadershlp afLer Armln's reslgnaLlon led Lo furLher problem and Lhe company posLed consLanL
losses beLween 1986 and 1993 ln laLe 19993 puma's losses LoLaled $ 32 mllllon and lL was
saddled wlLh $ 100 mllllon ln debL and was on Lhe verge of bankrupLcy lL was under such
formldable clrcumsLances LhaL ZelLz Look over relns as pumas CLC ln 1993