Adidas is a German multinational company founded in 1949 dedicated to the manufacture of footwear, sportswear and other products related to sports and fashion (handbags, shirts, watches, glasses, etc.), and sponsor of events and sports figures world. It is one of the largest suppliers of sports equipment, with an income of more than 14 534 million US dollars and a total of about 60,000 employees in 2014. The brand alone has a value of US $ 6,800 million, which makes it the second most valuable brand among sports corporations. The company Adidas, founded in January 1949, has its origins in the previous companies of the Dassler family: the so-called «Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik», founded in the early 1920s in Germany by Adolf «Adi» Dassler together with his brother Rudolf Dassler They made shoes and slippers without an acquired brand, and also shoes with nails for athletes. Adi was the introvert artist and Rudi the public relations manager. Both managed to place their products on the German track and field team. But the master stroke was to sign Jesse Owens, the athlete who dazzled at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. That year, Dassler persuaded the American sprinter to use his handmade nails at the Olympics. After Owens' four gold medals, the name and reputation of Dassler shoes became known to the world's athletes and their coaches. The businesses were successful and the Dasslers sold 200,000 pairs of shoes each year before the Second World War.
