Nike inc

Nike, Inc. is an American multinational corporation that is engaged in the design, development,
manufacturing, and worldwide marketing and sales of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories,
and services. The company was founded on January 25, 1964, as "Blue Ribbon Sports", by Bill
Bowerman and Phil Knight, and officially became Nike, Inc. on May 30, 1971. The company
takes its name from Nike, the Greek goddess of victory.

In addition to manufacturing sportswear and equipment, the company operates retail stores
under the Niketown name. Nike sponsors many high-profile athletes and sports teams around
the world, with the highly recognized trademarks of "Just Do It" and the Swoosh logo.
In 2020, the brand alone was valued in excess of $32 billion, making it the most valuable brand
among sports businesses and it has kept growing ever since, maintaining it’s number one spot
.
Nike, originally known as Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS), was founded by University of Oregon
track athlete Phil Knight and his coach, Bill Bowerman, on January 25, 1964. The company
initially operated in Eugene, Oregon as a distributor for Japanese shoe maker Onitsuka Tiger,
making most sales at track meets out of Knight's automobile. In its first year in business, BRS
sold 1,300 pairs of Japanese running shoes grossing $8,000.

While in business school, after seeing that the Japanese are experimenting with different shoe
designs, Phil Knight saw an opportunity to import japanese sneakers because he thought their
designs are interesting but also, he knew the prices of shoes are much lower there and so he
would be able to make a lot more profit.

While travelling in japan, Phil met the owner’s of Onitsuka, a japanese shoe producer and he
was so excited that he bought a book called “How to do business with the japanese” and tried to
memorise as much as he could. The owners were interested because they were already looking
for a way to distribute their shoes in America. He paid just 3,33$ per shoe.

By 1971, the relationship between BRS and Onitsuka Tiger came to an end. BRS prepared to
launch its own line of footwear, which was rebranded as Nike, and would bear the Swoosh newly
designed by Carolyn Davidson. The Swoosh was first used by Nike on June 18, 1971, and was
registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on January 22, 1974. In 1976 the
company hired John Brown and Partners, based in Seattle, as its first advertising agency. The
following year, the agency created the first "brand ad" for Nike, called "There is no finish line", in
which no Nike product was shown. By the 80s Nike had attained a 50% market share in the U.S.
athletic shoe market, and the company went public in December of that year.

The Nike brand, with its distinct V-shaped logo, quickly became regarded as a status symbol in
modern urban fashion and hip-hop fashion due to its association with success in sport. Beginning
in the 1980s, various items of Nike clothing became staples of mainstream American youth
fashion, especially tracksuits, shell suits, baseball caps, Air Jordans, Air Force 1's, and so on.
Limited edition sneakers and prototypes with a regional early release became highly desirable
items for teenagers.

By the 2000s, American and European teenagers began combining these sneakers, leggings,
sweatpants, crop tops, and tracksuits with regular casual chic street clothes such as jeans, skirts
and bomber jackets and this was just a step towards the integration of sportswear into fashion.
 Why is Nike so popular? Nike has a lot of partnerships with celebrities which is a big part of
their marketing strategy. On top of that, they have jumped on new ways of advertising and selling
products more quickly than their competitors. For example, Nike created its website and offered
e-commerce before other athletic shoe brands, and they had a strong social media presence
before their competitors. The company has put a lot of effort into sustainability, which is important
to its target market. For instance, Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe program collects worn out athletic shoes
to be recycled so they don’t end up in landfills. The recycled material is turned into a product
called Nike Grind that is then used to create tennis and basketball courts, tracks, fields,
playgrounds, and new equipment, apparel, and footwear. More than 1.5 million pairs of shoes
are collected and recycled through this program each year. So you could say they always take
advantage of new trends and are on the look out for new ways to boost their public image.

Maybe you’ve never heard of the Nike Mag self-lacing trainers, inspired by the shoes worn by
Marty McFly in Back to the Future II. This pair made headlines when it was finally released in
2016, an entire 27 years after the film came out. Aside from the visual recall, the shoes boast of
the ability to fit well on the feet thanks to the self-lacing technology. They were sold by the
Michael J. Fox Foundation in November 2016, at the price of $200,000 and they are one of the
most expensive shoes ever sold and one of the most exclusive pair that Nike has ever made.
The 2011 release was limited to 1,510 pairs, while the 2016 release was limited to 89 pairs so
there are just around 1600 existing pairs.