Nike's Background

N I K E , I N C .

B A C K G R O U N D

Nike, Inc., was founded in 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Bill Bowerman, the American sportswear company, Oregon, and his former student -Phil Knight. They began their first retail outlet in 1966 and launched the Nike brand shoe in 1972, The company was renamed, Nike, Inc., in 1978 and went public two years later. By the early 21st century, Nike had retail outlets and distributors in more than 170 countries, and its logo—a curved check mark called the “swoosh” —was recognized throughout the world and cost it $35, which is $205 in today’s dollar.

From 1980s Nike gradually expanded its business and diversified its product line through numerous acquisitions, including Converse, Inc. (2003), the shoe companies Cole Haan (1988; sold in 2012), the athletic apparel and equipment company Umbro (2008; sold in 2012) and the sports-equipment producer Canstar Sports, Inc. (1994; later called Bauer and sold in (2008), In 1996 the company created Nike ACG (“all-conditions gear”), which markets products for extreme sports such as mountain biking and snowboarding. In the early 21st century Nike started selling sports-technology accessories, including high-altitude wrist compasses and portable heart-rate monitors.

Diagram above shown Nike Logo Evolution.

Part of Nike’s success is owed to endorsements by athletes like Michael Jordan, Mia Hamm, Roger Federer, and Tiger Woods. The Nike Town chain stores, the first of which began in 1990, pay tribute to these and other company spokespersons while offering consumers a full range of Nike products. In the 1990s the company’s image briefly suffered from revelations about poor working conditions in its overseas factories.

Nike is now the market front-runner in the manufacturing of sportswear and gear and enjoys possessing more than 47% of the market share across the globe. Nike’s mission is to bring innovation and inspiration to every athlete (Nike Inc., 2012). The company has more than 700 shops around the world and has offices situated around 45 countries outside the United States. Most of its factories are in Southeast Asia including China, Taiwan, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, and Malaysia, etc.