Nike History Essay

1. HISTORY1960sBill Bowerman and Phil nickname founded Nike Inc. as aristocratic Ribbon Sports with a handshake and only $1,000 in capital in 1964. The partners first began their relationship at the University of Oregon where Bowerman was Knights track and field coach. While attending Stanford University, Knight wrote a paper about pause Germanys domination of the U.S. domestic athletic shoe patience by distributing low-cost, high-quality Japanese athletic shoes to American consumers. In an attempt to realize his theory, Knight visited Japan and built an agreement with the Onitsuka Tiger company, a manufacturer of quality athletic shoes, to sell Tiger shoes in the United States.Since Bowerman and Knight to each one had full- condemnation jobs, they needed someone to manage the growing requirements of Blue Ribbon Sports. Jeff Johnson, a runner himself, became the first full-time employee of Blue Ribbon Sports in 1965, and promptly became an indispensable man for the start-up com pany. Knight sold Tigers shoes at local track meets grossing $8,000 of sales in their first year. In 1966, Bowerman, who had designed shoes for his university athletes in the past, worked with Tiger and designed the Cortez running shoe. The shoe was a worldwide success for the Onitsuka Tiger Company and was sold at the first Blue Ribbon Sports store. The companys profits grew quickly. During the same year, BRS (Blue Ribbon Sports) also opened its first retail store, located on Pico Boulevard in Santa Monica, California. seventiesIn 1971, BRS, with some creditors support, started manufacturing its own line of shoes, and therefore its relationship with Onitsuka Tiger started to fall apart. Knight and Bowerman were ready to make the jump from being a footwear distributor to designing and manufacturing their own brand of athletic shoes. The first BRS shoe was a soccer shoe that bore the Nike brand name, referring to the Greek Goddess of Victory, and the swosh trademark, which was desig ned by a student at Portland University for a fee of only $35. 1972 pronounced the definite breakup of the BRS/Tiger relationship.BRS soon changed its name to Nike, Inc. and debuted itself at the Olympic trials, which were about to be held in the same year. In 1973, StevePrefontaine was the first prominent track star to wear Nike shoes. The late 70s and earliest 80s also saw other important athletes such as John McEnroe, Carl Lewis, and Joan Benoit sporting Nike shoes. Nike popularity grew so much that in 1979 they claimed 50% of the U.S. commercialise and the company went humans in December of that year with 2,700 employees and by selling 2 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange. 1980sThe 1980s were marked by revenues of more than $1 billion, the formation of Nike International Ltd., and the Just Do It campaign (1988), which was chosen by Advertising Age as one of the sort out five ad slogans of the 20th century. The series of this campaign included three advertisements with a young athlete named Bo Jackson, who espoused the benefits of a newly cross-training shoe. By the mid-1980s, Nike slipped from its position as industry leader, partly because the company had miscalculated on the industry boom, giving new competitors an almost completely open field to develop the business.Fortunately though, the debut of the new signature shoe for an NBA recruit by the name of Michael Jordan in 1985 helped strenghten Nikes bottom line. In 1989, Nikes business exploded, thanks in part to the fabulously popular Bo Knows advertiement campaign. Nike also expanded its product line by including specialty apparel for a variety of sports. By the end of the decade, Nike had regained its position as the industry leader. This was the only time a company in the athletic footwear/apparel industry had accomplished such a challenge. Nike has been in that position invariably since. 1990sIn 1990, Nike surpassed the $2 billion mark in revenue with 5,300 employees worldwide. I n November of the same year, Portland became the first home to a new retail experience called Niketown, which would earn numerous architectural design and retail awards and produce several other Niketown locations both around the USA and internationally.Throughout the 90s, Nikes revenues unploughed increasing and reached $8.8 billion in 1999. These revenues grew because of several improvements in shoe technology and excellent marketing campaigns. In 1992 international revenues reached $1 billion for the first time and accounted for over one-third of our total revenues. Such growth continued throughout the 1990s as Nike kept focusingour on major sporting events ilk the World Cup, and the next generation of celebrity athletes, such as Tiger Woods, Lance Armstrong, and the women playing womens professional basketball (WNBA). At the end of the 90s, Nikes goal, is to become a truly global brand. 2000sAt the beginning of the 2000s, Nike introduced a new footwear cushioning system call ed Nike Shox, which debuted during Sydney in 2000. Just as Nikes products have evolved, so has Nikes get on to marketing. The 2002 Secret Tournament campaign, by being Nikes first truly integrated, global marketing effort, was a multi-faced consumer experience in support of the World Cup, quite different from the traditional big athlete, big ad, big product formula. Secret Tournament incorporated advertising, the Internet, public relations, retail and consumer events to create excitement for Nikes soccer products and athletes in a way no single ad could ever achieve.This new integrated approach has become the founding element for Nike marketing and communications. Today, Nike continues to seek new and innovative ways to develop superior athletic products, and creative methods to communicate directly with consumers (Nike Free, Nike+ and Nike heavens are some examples of this technique) in fact, over 40% of Nike Inc.s sales come from athletic apparel, sports equipment, and subsidiar y ventures. Nike Inc. has been able to attain this premier position through quality production, innovative products, and aggressive marketing. AcquisitionsAs of November 2008, Nike, Inc. owns four key subsidiaries Cole Haan (1988), Hurley International (2002), Converse Inc. (2003), Umbro (2008), and Nike GOLF (2009).