Puma. Company's success

** 8. Read the text again, if necessary. Choose the statement which best summarises it. PUMA In 1948 Rudolf Dassler left his brother's company Adidas to set up his own shoe company - Puma. After success with its products on football pitches and athletic tracks, Puma became a limited partnership. It had further success at the Olympic Games and World Cups with players such as the famous Brazilian footballer Pele wearing Puma shoes. In the 1970s it had success with tennis shoes and by 1981 many American football stars had used Puma shoes. Later, the tennis stars Martina Navratilova and Boris Becker won the Wimbledon Tournament wearing Puma shoes. In 1986 Puma became a corporation and went public on the Munich and Frankfurt stock exchanges. At that time, Puma introduced many innovations in shoe design such as the "trinomic" and "disc system" shoes. Jochen Zeitz was appointed CEO in 1993 and a year later Puma made some profit for the first time since going public. After that Puma established Puma North America as a wholly-owned subsidiary. In 1998 Puma linked sport and fashion when it launched a collection with Jil Sander, a fashion designer. It also placed products in top Hollywood movies. In 2000 Puma launched www.puma.com. It was successful in the first year of its operation. It also continued to link fashion and clothing, cooperating with many leading designers. The company also launched clothing and footwear for business travellers to wear on business trips. Puma products are very popular. New models of its shoes are snapped up by fashion-conscious people. Its products are outsourced and distributed in more than 80 countries. Puma is planning a worldwide rollout of its concept stores to expand its market.

* 5. Read the text again, if necessary. Find the term that can be defined as "a partnership with two kinds of partners: limited partners, who provide financial backing and have little role in the management and no personal liability, and general partners, who are responsible for managing the entity and have unlimited personal liability for its debts". Type it. PUMA In 1948 Rudolf Dassler left his brother's company Adidas to set up his own shoe company - Puma. After success with its products on football pitches and athletic tracks, Puma became a limited partnership. It had further success at the Olympic Games and World Cups with players such as the famous Brazilian footballer Pele wearing Puma shoes. In the 1970s it had success with tennis shoes and by 1981 many American football stars had used Puma shoes. Later, the tennis stars Martina Navratilova and Boris Becker won the Wimbledon Tournament wearing Puma shoes. In 1986 Puma became a corporation and went public on the Munich and Frankfurt stock exchanges. At that time, Puma introduced many innovations in shoe design such as the "trinomic" and "disc system" shoes. Jochen Zeitz was appointed CEO in 1993 and a year later Puma made some profit for the first time since going public. After that Puma established Puma North America as a wholly-owned subsidiary. In 1998 Puma linked sport and fashion when it launched a collection with Jil Sander, a fashion designer. It also placed products in top Hollywood movies. In 2000 Puma launched www.puma.com. It was successful in the first year of its operation. It also continued to link fashion and clothing, cooperating with many leading designers. The company also launched clothing and footwear for business travellers to wear on business trips. Puma products are very popular. New models of its shoes are snapped up by fashion-conscious people. Its products are outsourced and distributed in more than 80 countries. Puma is planning a worldwide rollout of its concept stores to expand its market.

** 9. Read the text again, if necessary. Choose the statement which contradicts it. PUMA In 1948 Rudolf Dassler left his brother's company Adidas to set up his own shoe company - Puma. After success with its products on football pitches and athletic tracks, Puma became a limited partnership. It had further success at the Olympic Games and World Cups with players such as the famous Brazilian footballer Pele wearing Puma shoes. In the 1970s it had success with tennis shoes and by 1981 many American football stars had used Puma shoes. Later, the tennis stars Martina Navratilova and Boris Becker won the Wimbledon Tournament wearing Puma shoes. In 1986 Puma became a corporation and went public on the Munich and Frankfurt stock exchanges. At that time, Puma introduced many innovations in shoe design such as the "trinomic" and "disc system" shoes. Jochen Zeitz was appointed CEO in 1993 and a year later Puma made some profit for the first time since going public. After that Puma established Puma North America as a wholly-owned subsidiary. In 1998 Puma linked sport and fashion when it launched a collection with Jil Sander, a fashion designer. It also placed products in top Hollywood movies. In 2000 Puma launched www.puma.com. It was successful in the first year of its operation. It also continued to link fashion and clothing, cooperating with many leading designers. The company also launched clothing and footwear for business travellers to wear on business trips. Puma products are very popular. New models of its shoes are snapped up by fashion-conscious people. Its products are outsourced and distributed in more than 80 countries. Puma is planning a worldwide rollout of its concept stores to expand its market.

* 4. Read the text again, if necessary. Find the term that can be defined as "a group of people or companies authorized by the state to act as a single entity". Type it. PUMA In 1948 Rudolf Dassler left his brother's company Adidas to set up his own shoe company - Puma. After success with its products on football pitches and athletic tracks, Puma became a limited partnership. It had further success at the Olympic Games and World Cups with players such as the famous Brazilian footballer Pele wearing Puma shoes. In the 1970s it had success with tennis shoes and by 1981 many American football stars had used Puma shoes. Later, the tennis stars Martina Navratilova and Boris Becker won the Wimbledon Tournament wearing Puma shoes. In 1986 Puma became a corporation and went public on the Munich and Frankfurt stock exchanges. At that time, Puma introduced many innovations in shoe design such as the "trinomic" and "disc system" shoes. Jochen Zeitz was appointed CEO in 1993 and a year later Puma made some profit for the first time since going public. After that Puma established Puma North America as a wholly-owned subsidiary. In 1998 Puma linked sport and fashion when it launched a collection with Jil Sander, a fashion designer. It also placed products in top Hollywood movies. In 2000 Puma launched www.puma.com. It was successful in the first year of its operation. It also continued to link fashion and clothing, cooperating with many leading designers. The company also launched clothing and footwear for business travellers to wear on business trips. Puma products are very popular. New models of its shoes are snapped up by fashion-conscious people. Its products are outsourced and distributed in more than 80 countries. Puma is planning a worldwide rollout of its concept stores to expand its market.

** 6. Read the text again, if necessary. Choose the photo of the event that is mentioned in it. PUMA In 1948 Rudolf Dassler left his brother's company Adidas to set up his own shoe company - Puma. After success with its products on football pitches and athletic tracks, Puma became a limited partnership. It had further success at the Olympic Games and World Cups with players such as the famous Brazilian footballer Pele wearing Puma shoes. In the 1970s it had success with tennis shoes and by 1981 many American football stars had used Puma shoes. Later, the tennis stars Martina Navratilova and Boris Becker won the Wimbledon Tournament wearing Puma shoes. In 1986 Puma became a corporation and went public on the Munich and Frankfurt stock exchanges. At that time, Puma introduced many innovations in shoe design such as the "trinomic" and "disc system" shoes. Jochen Zeitz was appointed CEO in 1993 and a year later Puma made some profit for the first time since going public. After that Puma established Puma North America as a wholly-owned subsidiary. In 1998 Puma linked sport and fashion when it launched a collection with Jil Sander, a fashion designer. It also placed products in top Hollywood movies. In 2000 Puma launched www.puma.com. It was successful in the first year of its operation. It also continued to link fashion and clothing, cooperating with many leading designers. The company also launched clothing and footwear for business travellers to wear on business trips. Puma products are very popular. New models of its shoes are snapped up by fashion-conscious people. Its products are outsourced and distributed in more than 80 countries. Puma is planning a worldwide rollout of its concept stores to expand its market.

* 3. Read the text again, if necessary. Find the term that can be defined as "a company wholly controlled by another one". Type it. PUMA In 1948 Rudolf Dassler left his brother's company Adidas to set up his own shoe company - Puma. After success with its products on football pitches and athletic tracks, Puma became a limited partnership. It had further success at the Olympic Games and World Cups with players such as the famous Brazilian footballer Pele wearing Puma shoes. In the 1970s it had success with tennis shoes and by 1981 many American football stars had used Puma shoes. Later, the tennis stars Martina Navratilova and Boris Becker won the Wimbledon Tournament wearing Puma shoes. In 1986 Puma became a corporation and went public on the Munich and Frankfurt stock exchanges. At that time, Puma introduced many innovations in shoe design such as the "trinomic" and "disc system" shoes. Jochen Zeitz was appointed CEO in 1993 and a year later Puma made some profit for the first time since going public. After that Puma established Puma North America as a wholly-owned subsidiary. In 1998 Puma linked sport and fashion when it launched a collection with Jil Sander, a fashion designer. It also placed products in top Hollywood movies. In 2000 Puma launched www.puma.com. It was successful in the first year of its operation. It also continued to link fashion and clothing, cooperating with many leading designers. The company also launched clothing and footwear for business travellers to wear on business trips. Puma products are very popular. New models of its shoes are snapped up by fashion-conscious people. Its products are outsourced and distributed in more than 80 countries. Puma is planning a worldwide rollout of its concept stores to expand its market.

*** 10. The bar chart below shows the results of a survey conducted by the personnel department at Puma. The survey was carried out on two groups of workers: those aged from 18-30 and those aged 45-60. It shows the factors affecting employees' work performance. Write a report for your teacher describing the information shown below. Sample Answer The bar graph shows the results of a survey which was conducted by Puma and gives data on the important factors that determine the work performance of employees. As it is observed, chances for personal development, relaxed working environment, opportunities for promotion and salary are the main motivating factors for young people while comparatively aged people's work performance is affected by the factors like money, competent boss and team spirit. The young employees(more than 80%) put the "chance for personal development" as the most important factor for work performance. Relaxed working environment, promotion prospects and money are three other important factors for performance for this age group. The employees of the young group place the work environment, job security and respect from colleagues as the least preferred reasons for work performance. On the contrary, employees between 45 and 60, consider money and team spirit as the two most important issues for their performance. Job security, relaxed working environment and work environment affect this group the least. Interestingly, the issues which are preferred by the same percentage of both age groups of employees are team spirit (60%), competent boss (50%) and job satisfaction (50%).

** 7. Read the text again, if necessary. Choose the correct items. PUMA In 1948 Rudolf Dassler left his brother's company Adidas to set up his own shoe company - Puma. After success with its products on football pitches and athletic tracks, Puma became a limited partnership. It had further success at the Olympic Games and World Cups with players such as the famous Brazilian footballer Pele wearing Puma shoes. In the 1970s it had success with tennis shoes and by 1981 many American football stars had used Puma shoes. Later, the tennis stars Martina Navratilova and Boris Becker won the Wimbledon Tournament wearing Puma shoes. In 1986 Puma became a corporation and went public on the Munich and Frankfurt stock exchanges. At that time, Puma introduced many innovations in shoe design such as the "trinomic" and "disc system" shoes. Jochen Zeitz was appointed CEO in 1993 and a year later Puma made some profit for the first time since going public. After that Puma established Puma North America as a wholly-owned subsidiary. In 1998 Puma linked sport and fashion when it launched a collection with Jil Sander, a fashion designer. It also placed products in top Hollywood movies. In 2000 Puma launched www.puma.com. It was successful in the first year of its operation. It also continued to link fashion and clothing, cooperating with many leading designers. The company also launched clothing and footwear for business travellers to wear on business trips. Puma products are very popular. New models of its shoes are snapped up by fashion-conscious people. Its products are outsourced and distributed in more than 80 countries. Puma is planning a worldwide rollout of its concept stores to expand its market. 1. Rudolf Dassler is the founder of . 2. Puma was set up in . 3. Puma is a producer of . 4. In 1986 Puma went . 5. Puma introduced many . 6. Puma cooperated with many leading . 7. Puma has never launched . 8. Puma is planning to .

* 1. Read the text. Match the words and phrases to their definitions. PUMA In 1948 Rudolf Dassler left his brother's company Adidas to set up his own shoe company - Puma. After success with its products on football pitches and athletic tracks, Puma became a limited partnership. It had further success at the Olympic Games and World Cups with players such as the famous Brazilian footballer Pele wearing Puma shoes. In the 1970s it had success with tennis shoes and by 1981 many American football stars had used Puma shoes. Later, the tennis stars Martina Navratilova and Boris Becker won the Wimbledon Tournament wearing Puma shoes. In 1986 Puma became a corporation and went public on the Munich and Frankfurt stock exchanges. At that time, Puma introduced many innovations in shoe design such as the "trinomic" and "disc system" shoes. Jochen Zeitz was appointed CEO in 1993 and a year later Puma made some profit for the first time since going public. After that Puma established Puma North America as a wholly-owned subsidiary. In 1998 Puma linked sport and fashion when it launched a collection with Jil Sander, a fashion designer. It also placed products in top Hollywood movies. In 2000 Puma launched www.puma.com. It was successful in the first year of its operation. It also continued to link fashion and clothing, cooperating with many leading designers. The company also launched clothing and footwear for business travellers to wear on business trips. Puma products are very popular. New models of its shoes are snapped up by fashion-conscious people. Its products are outsourced and distributed in more than 80 countries. Puma is planning a worldwide rollout of its concept stores to expand its market.

* 2. Read the text and match the dates to the events. PUMA In 1948 Rudolf Dassler left his brother's company Adidas to set up his own shoe company - Puma. After success with its products on football pitches and athletic tracks, Puma became a limited partnership. It had further success at the Olympic Games and World Cups with players such as the famous Brazilian footballer Pele wearing Puma shoes. In the 1970s it had success with tennis shoes and by 1981 many American football stars had used Puma shoes. Later, the tennis stars Martina Navratilova and Boris Becker won the Wimbledon Tournament wearing Puma shoes. In 1986 Puma became a corporation and went public on the Munich and Frankfurt stock exchanges. At that time, Puma introduced many innovations in shoe design such as the "trinomic" and "disc system" shoes. Jochen Zeitz was appointed CEO in 1993 and a year later Puma made some profit for the first time since going public. After that Puma established Puma North America as a wholly-owned subsidiary. In 1998 Puma linked sport and fashion when it launched a collection with Jil Sander, a fashion designer. It also placed products in top Hollywood movies. In 2000 Puma launched www.puma.com. It was successful in the first year of its operation. It also continued to link fashion and clothing, cooperating with many leading designers. The company also launched clothing and footwear for business travellers to wear on business trips. Puma products are very popular. New models of its shoes are snapped up by fashion-conscious people. Its products are outsourced and distributed in more than 80 countries. Puma is planning a worldwide rollout of its concept stores to expand its market.