"Adidas AG is an international firm, founded and also headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Germany, that layouts and also produces shoes, clothes and devices. It is the biggest sports apparel manufacturer in Europe, and also the 2nd largest on the planet, after Nike. It is the holding company for the Adidas Group, which includes the Reebok sports apparel business, 8.33% of the German football club Bayern Munich, as well as Runtastic, an Austrian fitness innovation firm. Adidas' revenue for 2018 was detailed at EUR21.915 billion.

The business was started by Adolf Dassler in his mom's residence; he was joined by his older bro Rudolf in 1924 under the name Dassler Brothers Shoe Manufacturing Facility. Dassler assisted in the advancement of spiked running shoes (spikes) for multiple athletic contests. To improve the quality of spiked athletic footwear, he transitioned from a previous version of heavy metal spikes to making use of canvas as well as rubber. Dassler convinced U.S. sprinter Jesse Owens to utilize his handcrafted spikes at the 1936 Summer Olympics. In 1949, complying with a breakdown in the partnership between the siblings, Adolf produced Adidas, and Rudolf developed Puma, which came to be Adidas' service competitor.

Adidas' logo design is three red stripes, which is made use of on the company's clothing as well as footwear styles as an advertising help. The branding, which Adidas acquired in 1952 from Finnish sporting activities business Karhu Sports for the matching of 1600 euros and two containers of whiskey, ended up being so effective that Dassler defined Adidas as "" The 3 stripes company""."