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Sneaker Wars: The Enemy Brothers Who Founded Adidas and Puma and the Family Feud That Forever Changed the Business of Sports

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The fascinating story of the enemy brothers behind Adidas and Puma, whose rivalry shaped the modern sports businessAdidas and Puma are two of the biggest global brands in sports, paying stars, clubs, and competitions to show off their labels in stadiums and across magazine pages. In Sneaker Wars, journalist Barbara Smit reveals the dramatic, character-driven story of these two powerhouses. Started in their mother’s laundry room in Germany, Adi and Rudi Dassler’s shoe business was an instant success. But a vicious feud soon pulled them apart: by the end of World War II, the brothers split the company, dividing their family and hometown.Adidas and Puma then revolutionized the world of sport, their rivalry introducing behind-the-scenes deals and multimillion-dollar contracts. A page-turning narrative, Sneaker Wars is a riveting blend of family drama, business, sports, and history.“What does David Beckham’s superstardom have to do with a pair of warring Bavarian brothers in the early 1900s? More than you think, according to this compelling book.” — Time Magazine Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ecco


Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 17, 2009


Edition ‏ : ‎ Reprint


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Print length ‏ : ‎ 400 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0061246581


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 86


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.4 ounces


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 0.9 x 8 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #66,725 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #15 in Sports Industry #66 in Sports History (Books) #235 in Biographies of Business & Industrial Professionals


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • Well Written Story
"Sneaker Wars: The Enemy Brothers Who Founded Adidas and Puma and the Family Feud That Forever Changed the Business of Sport" is a captivating journey into the history of two iconic sportswear brands. The narrative is not just well-written but masterfully weaves together the intricate story of the Dassler brothers and the founding of Adidas and Puma. The author's ability to bring to life the complexities of family dynamics and business rivalry is commendable. It's a fascinating exploration of the personal and professional elements that shaped the sportswear industry. If you have an interest in the history of iconic brands and the intricate relationships that drive them, "Sneaker Wars" is a compelling read. Highly recommended for its engaging storytelling and deep insights into the business of sport! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on November 12, 2023 by Mario
    • Great look at the start of the sports commercialization
Sneaker Wars sets out to cover a wide range of topics related to the rivalry between Adidas and Puma in addition to the start of the commercialization of sports. The book focuses primarily on Adidas and the rivalry within that company. The story describes how two brothers divided by their support over the Nazi Government went on to form two competing shoe companies. One would come to dominate the sports industry while another would provide stiff competition until the advent of Nike and Reebok. Adidas was further divided by the father and the son who divided Europe between traditional Germany and France. The French Adidas would define the sports industry by bribing, begging and sometimes stealing their way into Olympics and World Cups. The sheer shock of how much corruption came about from the effort of these two companies was a new level of greed into the world of sports. The development of endorsements would bring another level further still to corrupt sports and create new superstars through advertising. The book is well researched and tells a story that is often forgotten in the world of sports. For those who want to see how sports marketing and endorsements got their start then this is a book for you. For those who are interested in how these two companies came to compete against one another this book is for you. Finally if you are into the history of anything related to the sports industry then this is one to check out. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2011 by Lehigh History Student
    • Great read
Great book my 13 year old really enjoyed reading it
Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2024 by Paulina
    • A Bit Dry at Times but Very Informative and Well-Researched
High school and college often found me in the three stripes. I realised the brand had reached some very high standing when it was picked up by the Yankees, and when the band Korn offered their own take on the name “Adidas”. It wasn’t until I researched the company, though, that I realised it was named after its founder, ADI DASsler, and as part of that research, I picked up a book entitled “Sneaker Wars” by Barbara Smit. Yogi Berra might say “You’re never impressed with the things you don’t know until you know you know them…” and this book was certainly an eye-opener. Far more than just a book about sneakers, it details not only the history of Adi Dassler’s company for almost seventy years, it also provides a history of his brother Rudi’s company, Puma, for the same time. It also takes a look at the sports and sports-marketing industries as they’ve grown from their beginnings over the last half-century. Starting in World War II Germany with Adi and his brother, the book details their early beginnings and the rift that eventually caused Puma to form in competition with Adidas. This rift was never healed, and the two brothers remained competitors for their entire lives. Their families continued the tradition well into the early 2000s, and the book chronicles this through the successes and failures of the particular companies. Adidas is well-known to have been the more successful (though it certainly had its share of failures), but the book does conclude with the recent successes that both companies have enjoyed, including the significant turn-around that Puma has achieved after it was all but gone in the 70s. It’s stunning to learn the details behind the various deals that went on in the sports world of the last fifty years. With back-room deals, envelopes of cash paid to athletes, family squabbles, and corporate upheavals, the book reads almost as if it could easily be adapted for soap opera television. Not content with merely company history or the dealings of just the sneaker industry, it is also a treatise on the creation of the sports-marketing industry, and a very thorough one at that. The latter is provided mostly through the lens of the life of Horst Dassler, Adi’s son, who was responsible for a large majority of how sports-marketing is done today. Rightly painting Horst Dassler as a one-man fire-brand, it shows how he and the companies he formed are largely responsible for much of the marketing and broadcasting we associate with sports today. It continues past this, and details how the companies we know of today (Adidas, Puma, Nike, Reebok, etc.) have fought their battles in an attempt to gain both market- and mind-share. Having read this book, I’ll not be able to watch a sporting event in the same way again, now knowing exactly what went into creating those brands and the marketing associated with them. The author compiled the book over the course of five years, and her writing style takes advantage of the extensive research and obvious access to first-person material. My only complaint is that it is a bit dry at times. However, it does allow one to marvel at the intrigue that was present, but largely unknown, in the sports and sports-marketing worlds, and behind some of the most successful brands in history. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2014 by Thomas J. Quinlan
    • Page-turner that reads like a novel
Sneaker Wars by Barbara Smit is a truly enjoyable page-turner, a mixture of business, sports and history in one. One learns a great deal about both the rise and decline of the two great German apparel companies, Adidas and Puma and how the two businesses survive in their respective industries along with other competitors such as Nike and Reebok. Both companies were launched by two rival German brothers in the Franconian town of Herzogenaurach and are headquartered there to this day and both initially became major popular businesses by manufacturing shoes for sports use, especially soccer. This led to payments to both sports organizations, franchises and athletes getting paid to advertise and use their products and eventually creating the high paying sports world we know today. However, both companies declined for similar and different reasons, particularly in the seventies and eighties to the benefit of apparel corporations from the US and UK (Nike and Reebok). Nevertheless, both rose up again and remain major players in their industry. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2025 by David Freydkin

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