In-Depth Records
Description:
Jesse Owens and Muhammad Ali broke records in their adidas athletic shoes. The heart of the adidas product line is athletic shoes, but the three-stripe logo appears on apparel and other jock accoutrements. Bankruptcy once had it on the ropes, but it made a comeback by shifting production to Asia and beefing up its marketing. The #2 maker of sporting goods worldwide, behind NIKE, it has inked deals with football and basketball athletes, as well as the New York Yankees. The firm won sponsorship rights to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Its purchase of Salomon, the French maker of ski and golf gear, was short-lived. It sold the unit to Amer Sports Corp. and bought Reebok in 2006 for some $3.8 billion.

Basic Record
Description:
Advance Publications gets its marching orders from the printed page. A leading US newspaper publisher, Advance owns some 25 daily newspapers around the country, including "The Star-Ledger" (New Jersey), "The Cleveland Plain Dealer," and its namesake "Staten Island Advance." It also owns American City Business Journals (more than 40 weekly papers) and Parade Publications ("Parade Magazine" Sunday insert). The company is a top magazine publisher through its Condé Nast unit. Aside from print publishing, Advance is a major online publisher with 10 regional news Web sites and owns television assets. Samuel "Si" Newhouse Jr. and his brother, Donald, own the company.