The story behind Nike is that of an entrepreneur who started out selling sneakers from his car trunk, and became a global sportswear leader in just a few years.
Entrepreneur Phil Knight, a 1950s athletics enthusiast, was always unsatisfied with the quality of the sports shoes of the time.
He traveled to Japan, and returned to the United States as a distributor of the Onitsuka Tiger brand. However, his trainer and friend, Bill Bowerman, encouraged him to join him in modifying the Tiger shoes with the aim of making them more suitable for the requirements of U.S. athletes.
Thus, in 1960, the Bowerman and Knight company was founded, under the name Blue Ribbon Sports, as distributor of the Tiger brand. Athlete Jeff Johnson joined them shortly afterwards, and became a key figure in the business, on focusing on the importance of advertising.
The team saw a huge increase in sales, meaning they had to relocate from the small premises they started out in, thanks to a successful mail order system, and open their first retail store located in Santa Monica, California.
Once ready to move beyond their link to the Japanese brand, Bowerman, Knight and Johnson decided to make the move from distributors to designers and manufacturers of their own brand of sneakers, which they named Nike, after the Greek goddess of victory.
THE ICONIC LOGO
Created by then Graphic Design student, Carolyn Davidson, the Nike logo is one of the most emblematic of all time and has played a major role in the brand’s success.
The designer has showcased her original sketches and repeatedly explained that the “moving” image she attempted to capture was inspired by the wings of the goddess Nike, although the famous swoosh also suggests a gust of air, or the dust left behind on the track by a runner.
The Nike logo, together with its “Just do it” slogan are recognizable across the world and serve as a quality hallmark for the brand’s products.
INNOVATION AND PERSEVERANCE
Nike’s success is not down to pure luck. As experts in their own fields, Bowerman, Knight and Johnson studied their market and knew, perhaps better than anyone else, just what to do to improve the quality and comfort of their sportswear.
Systematic innovation and the introduction of new marketing strategies were behind Nike’s rapid rise, as it maintained competition with the equally successful Reebok brand throughout the 1980s.
However, Nike secured its leading position in the market through a daring and bold move.
In the mid-1980s, the brand designed exclusive shoes for NBA giant, Michael Jordan, when he was still a rising star. The strategy paid off, and Nike sales went through the roof, as the brand secured worldwide visibility.
The development of new products and the search for new markets, as well as the inclusion of new sports such as American football, have consolidated Nike’s position as a constantly evolving corporation.
Not even the COVID-19 crisis could dent Nike’s sales. In the second quarter of 2020, online sales increased by 82%, representing a 10% rise in overall profits. According to experts, the brand was the most successful among its competitors during the pandemic
In the United States alone, Nike products are sold across a huge network of more than 19,000 retail chains, and sales amount to over 25 billion dollars a year.
Nike’s global presence is largely thanks to its sponsorship of different clubs, teams, athletes and sport stars, meaning its famous swoosh logo and “Just do it” slogan are part of the everyday of millions of people across the world, something Phil Knight could never have imagined when he invested his first £500 in the business.
