Over its 65 years, Puma has combined athletic performance, fashion cred and a few famous faces to make sports lifestyle magic.
1948 — Rudolf Dassler splits from brother Adi Dassler to create a new brand, RuDa, later changed to Puma
1952 — Armin Dassler, son of Rudolf Dassler, joins the company
1957 — The name is patented in a san-serif typeface
1958 — The distinctive Formstrip is created to stabilize the foot in the shoe. It becomes the brand’s visual signature
1964 — Puma allies with distributor Beconta to bring product to the U.S. market
1968 — The Basket basketball shoe launches, as well as the Suede, made famous by hoops great Walt “Clyde” Frazier
— Roma shoe debuts at the Mexico City Summer Games
— The T7 Track Jacket, a track athlete staple that later catches on with B-boys and hip-hop stars, is introduced
1970 — Puma begins a relationship with soccer star Pelé
1974 — Rudolf Dassler passes away; Armin Dassler takes control of company
1979 — The relationship with Beconta ends and Puma USA affiliate is formed
1983 — Puma signs champion tennis player Martina Navratilova as a brand endorser
1984 — Tennis phenom Boris Becker inks a footwear and raquet endorsement deal
1985 — Frank Dassler, son of Armin Dassler, is appointed president of Puma USA
1986 — Company goes public and the stock begins trading on the Munich and Frankfurt stock exchanges
— The RS 100, a top-of-the-line technical running trainer, is introduced
1989 — Puma USA is sold to then-COO Christopher (Toby) Smith and becomes a private company
1990 — Armin Dassler passes away
1991 — The brand introduces the high-tech Puma Disc System sports shoe
1993 — Jochen Zeitz is named chairman and CEO, becoming, at the age of 30, the youngest chairman to head a public company in German history
1996 — The firm buys its licensee and establishes Puma North America Inc.
1997 — Jay Piccola joins Puma North America as president and GM
1998 — The brand begins a relationship with designer Jil Sander
1999 — The first retail store opens in Santa Monica, Calif.
— Puma launches the Mostro, a double hook-and-loop closure lifestyle shoe that turns out to be a top seller
2000 — Puma.com launches
2001 — Line with Japanese designer Mihara Yasuhiro debuts
— The firm acquires Swedish outdoor lifestyle brand Tretorn
2002 — Future “World’s Fastest Man” Usain Bolt signs on as an endorser
— The company takes home Brand of the Year at the FN Achievement Awards
2006 — Puma and Alexander McQueen launch first footwear collection for spring ’06
— A new golf collection debuts with performance footwear, apparel and accessories
2007 — French luxury goods company PPR (now Kering) acquires more than 60 percent of Puma shares
2008 — Hussein Chalayan is tapped as creative director
— Usain Bolt sets new 100-meter world record at 9.69 seconds at Olympic Games
2009 — The brand signs golf pro Rickie Fowler
2010 — Puma North America acquires Cobra Golf to create Cobra Puma Golf, headquarterd in Carlsbad, Calif.
2011 — The brand rolls out its “Clever Little Bag” packaging, designed by Yves Behar to use less packaging and fewer raw materials than traditional shoeboxes
2011 — Franz Koch is named CEO of the firm; Jochen Zeitz becomes head of PPR’s sports and lifestyle division
2013 — Puma unveils its InCycle collection, an industry-first line of footwear, apparel and accessories that is completely recyclable and/or biodegradable
— Björn Gulden joins as CEO, starting July 1
