Adidas AG is a German athletic apparel and footwear company based in Herzogenaurach. It is one of the world's largest sportswear brands, with Nike being the only brand more popular than Adidas.
Adidas' roots go back to 1924, when brothers Adolf "Adi" and Rudolf "Rudi" Dassler formed a company called Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik to create shoes. After years of disagreements, the brothers parted ways in 1948. Rudi formed Puma, while Adi formed Adidas.
1948–1950
Since its founding, Adidas has been well-known for using the distinctive "three stripes" (acquired from Finnish brand Karhu for €1,600 and two bottles of whiskey) on its shoes as the symbol of the brand.
1950–1967
Between 1950 and 1967, the text's "adidas" corners became a little sharper, and the logo got a black background around it. This logo was still used in tandem with the 1967 wordmark until it was completely phased out with the introduction of the 'trefoil' logo.
1967–present
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In 1967, the spikes of the "a"'s were flattened, and the dot of the "i" was turned into a square. Formerly used for the Essentials and Neo lines, both positioned under Originals and Performance, and replaced by Adidas Sportswear in 2022.
1971–1991, 2001–present (Originals)
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In 1971, the 1967 wordmark began to use a logo known as the 'trefoil', designed by Adi Dassler's son Horst as part of their expansion into clothes and sportswear. The trefoil has been relegated to the Adidas Originals line since 2001. It was originally used as the corporate logo from 1971 to 1995, when it was replaced by the mountain in 1996.
1991–1998 (Equipment), 1996-present (corporate), 1998–2022 (Performance), 2022–present (Sportswear)
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In 1991, the 'mountain' logo was introduced as the logo for their Equipment performance line, while the trefoil was still the corporate logo. In 1996, the Trefoil was retired, and the mountain became the new corporate logo for the company. In 1998, the Equipment name was retired, and the logo was then used for the Adidas Performance line until 2022, and since then, for the newly launched Adidas Sportswear line, being a successor to their Neo and Essentials lines, which were positioned below Adidas Originals and only used the wordmark.
2001–2022 (Style/Neo)
Used for the Adidas Style line until being retired in 2022.
2005–2021
Used at the time as the umbrella logo for the Adidas brand.
2022–present (Performance)
Currently used for the Adidas Performance line. The only change is the removal of the wordmark underneath the mountain logo.
External links
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Adidas |
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| Current brands
Sportswear & accessories: Adidas (Neo) | Athletics1 | Five Ten Footware | Futurenatural | Y-3 Former/defunct brands Notes
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| Coty Consumer Beauty:
Adidas1 | Avanço | Bourjois | Bozzano | Bruno Banani | Cenoura & Bronze | CoverGirl | David Beckham Fragrances1 | Gabriela Sabatini Perfumes1 | Good Kind Pure | Jōvan Musk | Katy Perry Parfums1 | Land of The Free | Manhattan | Max Factor | Mexx | Miss Sporty | Monange | Nautica1 | Paixão | Rimmel London | Risqué | Sally Hansen | Vera Wang1 Coty Prestige Brands: Former/defunct brands:
1 Licensed brands  |