University Essentials

Born with the dream of changing athletes’ performance, adidas today delivers not only that but signature streetwear and sportswear style. Split across the retro-inspired adidas Originals and sports-focused adidas collections, every shoe, accessory and piece of clothing is signed off with the legendary 3-Stripes. Our range for men, women and kids, is packed with the latest adidas shoes, such as the Samba, Gazelle, Handball Spezial and Campus 00s, while fresh tees, tracksuits, jackets and more drop on the daily. Whatever style you’re after, adidas has you covered.

What Does Adidas Stand For?

Many have speculated that the name is an abbreviation of ‘All Day I Dream About Sport’, but the brand themselves confirm the name adidas came from German founder Adolf ‘Adi’ Dassler’s name. He used his nickname, Adi, and the first three letters of his last name, Das, to create adidas.

When Was adidas Founded?

Starting out in his mother’s wash kitchen in a small town in Bavaria, Germany, Adi Dassler registered ‘Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik’ in 1924, with the goal of providing athletes with the best equipment out there.

25 years later, on 18th August, 1949, he started again, registering ‘Adi Dassler adidas Sportschuhfabrik’ from Herzogenaurach, Germany. 1949 was also the year the 3-Stripes became official, crafting a shoe with the iconic branding known globally today.

Who Owns adidas?

Since Horst Dassler, the son of Adolf Dassler, passed away in 1987, adidas was sold on, breaking away from its family ties. Instead, adidas is now owned by adidas AG, a multinational corporate group owned by several shareholders. The majority holders are footballing giants Bayern Munich and Austrian fitness company Runtastic.