adidas and PUMA together for Peace: PEACE ONE DAY 2009

17. September 2009 Herzogenaurach, September, 17, 2009 - It will be an historic hand shake: In support of the peace initiative "PEACE ONE DAY" the two sportswear companies adidas and PUMA will shake hands for the first time after six decades. As a sign of amicable cooperation, employees of both companies will play football together on Peace Day, September 21, and subsequently watch the movie "The Day after Peace" by Jeremy Gilley, director and founder of PEACE ONE DAY. These events will be the first joint activities of both companies since their founders Rudolf and Adi Dassler left their shared firm and established adidas and PUMA. The joint initiative aims at raising awareness for PEACE ONE DAY and the necessity of peaceful cohabitation. adidas and PUMA will also take the message and idea of PEACE ONE DAY into the football stadiums in Munich and Stuttgart through surprise highlights during the halftimes of the German premier league games FC Bayern Munich - 1. FC Nuremberg and VfB Stuttgart - 1. FC Köln on September 19. "We at adidas are very proud to support PEACE ONE DAY together with PUMA. We firmly believe that sport can bring the world together. Sport has shown this at countless occasions in the past and we are committed to the positive values found in sport: performance and passion, teamwork and fair play," said Herbert Hainer, CEO of adidas AG. "I am looking very much forward to our adidas and PUMA football match and I hope that our joint initiative helps to raise further awareness for PEACE ONE DAY around the world." Jochen Zeitz, Chairman and CEO of PUMA, said: "We are uniting on this day as a commitment to PEACE DAY. Our common goal being that our collaboration today will help create awareness for the day. Kofi Anan once said that 'individuals can make a difference and collectively we can make a major contribution'. I believe that is the case also for companies. And our unity, in support of PEACE DAY, is a small step in a positive direction as well as an expression of the united power of sport in a world which we are all responsible for." The companies adidas and PUMA were founded by the brothers Rudolf and Adi Dassler in the 1940s. Until they separated and went their own ways, they both owned a factory called "Gebrueder Dassler Sportschuhfabrik" where they together manufactured sports shoes - quite successfully as the world records of Jesse Owens proved. In the last decades, adidas and PUMA became worldwide leading brands. Both companies are still based in Herzogenaurach, Germany. *** adidas Group The adidas Group is one of the global leaders within the sporting goods industry, offering a broad range of products around three core segments: adidas, Reebok and TaylorMade-adidas Golf. Headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Germany, the Group has more than 38,000 employees and generated sales of EUR 10.8 billion in 2008. For more information, please visit www.adidas-group.com. PUMA PUMA is one of the world's leading sportlifestyle companies that designs and develops footwear, apparel and accessories. It is committed to working in ways that contribute to the world by supporting Creativity, SAFE Sustainability and Peace, and by staying true to the values of being Fair, Honest, Positive and Creative in decisions made and actions taken. PUMA starts in Sport and ends in Fashion. Its Sport Performance and Lifestyle labels include categories such as Football, Running, Motorsports, Golf and Sailing. The Black label features collaborations with renowned designers such as Alexander McQueen, Mihara Yasuhiro and Sergio Rossi. The PUMA Group owns the brands PUMA, Tretorn and Hussein Chalayan. The company, which was founded in 1948, distributes its products in more than 120 countries, employs more than 9,000 people worldwide and has headquarters in Herzogenaurach/Germany, Boston, London and Hong Kong. For more information, please visit www.puma.com. PEACE ONE DAY Jeremy Gilley started PEACE ONE DAY (POD) as a movie project in order to establish an annual day of ceasefire and non-violence. In 2001 PEACE ONE DAY achieved its primary objective; having the UN general assembly adopt a resolution by all UN member states to formally establish an annual day of global ceasefire and non-violence. This International Day of Peace is September 21st. You will find more information on PEACE ONE DAY on www.peaceoneday.org. PUMA has been a partner of PEACE ONE DAY since 2007. Media Contacts: Oliver Brüggen Ulf Santjer Director PR Area Central Head of Corporate Communications adidas PUMA Tel.: +49 (0) 9132 84-2536 Tel.: +49 (0) 9132 81-2489 oliver.brueggen@adidas.com ulf.santjer@puma.com Katja Schreiber Kerstin Neuber Corporate PR Manager Deputy Head of Corporate Communications adidas Group PUMA Tel.: +49 (0) 9132 84-3810 Tel.: +49 (0) 9132 81-2984 katja.schreiber@adidas-group.com kerstin.neuber@puma.com This announcement was originally distributed by Hugin. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.