The share of Adidas experienced a price jump of one-fifth on the stock exchange in Frankfurt on Friday. The share shot up after reports that the current CEO of competitor Puma is making the sensitive switch to Adidas. Puma lost 6.4 percent of its market value.
Based on insiders, the German Manager Magazin reported that Puma boss Bjørn Gulden would be the boss at Adidas next year. He would then become the successor to Kasper Rørsted, who has already indicated that he will stop next year.
Furthermore, earlier on Friday, Puma announced that insider Arne Freudt would be the new boss of Puma. This has already fueled the rumours that Gulden will leave for the competitor at the end of his current term this year.
Adidas, the larger of the two companies, has recently seen a series of setbacks. For example, the brand is struggling with weak sales in China. The company also had a dispute with rapper Ye, after which a lucrative collaboration with that artist ended. As a result, many investors state that Adidas needs an experienced CEO like Gulden. According to those in the know, he can lead a major sports brand’s creative and financial side.
The history of Puma is closely intertwined with that of Adidas. The brothers Adolf and Rudolf Dassler founded a shoe factory in Herzogenaurach in Bavaria in 1924. During the Second World War, they supplied shoes to the German army.
However, the brothers often disagreed about the strategy to follow, and Rudolf finally decided to start his own business. In 1948 he founded the Puma Schuhfabrik, with the predatory jumping cat as the company logo. Adolf’s company continued as Adidas, which also refers to his name.
