Adidas at OnlineShoes.com

From the time of its inception, the adidas mission remains the same: "To be the best sports brand in the world".

Founder Adolf ("Adi") Dassler started to produce his own sports shoes in his mother's laundry kitchen in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, after his return from World War I. In 1924, his brother Rudolf ("Rudi") Dassler joined the business which became Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik (Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory) and prospered.

For the 1936 Summer Olympics, Adi Dassler drove from Bavaria to the Olympic village with a suitcase full of spikes and persuaded United States sprinter Jesse Owens to use them, creating the first sponsorship for an African-American athlete. After Owens won four gold medals, his success cemented the reputation of Dassler shoes among the world's most famous sportsmen. Letters from around the world landed on the brothers' desks, and trainers from national teams were interested in their shoes. Business boomed and the Dasslers were selling 200,000 pairs of shoes each year before World War II.

A growing rift between the brothers caused the two to go their separate ways in 1947. Rudi formed a new firm called Ruda and later re-branded the company "Puma". Adi formed a company formally registered as adidas AG on 18 August 18, 1949. The adidas name is an acronym from "Adi" (a nickname for Adolf) and "Das" (from "Dassler").

Today, the company manufactures adidas running shoes as well as adidas tennis shoes, adidas soccer shoes, and apparel and equipment for soccer, football, rugby, basketball and other sports. Shop OnlineShoes.com for popular classic styles including adidas Rod Laver tennis shoes and adidas Samba sneakers.