Nike, i really love Nike. i grew up with it, when i was a small kid around 3 or 5 i started wearing Nike. Ever since I fell in love with it.(i'm not making it like a god, i just enjoy wearing Nike). Well, many of you might criticize Nike. i tell you, Nike is in the same list of companies to be criticize at example like Coca-cola, McDonalds, and many famous companies. People always want to find fault in this companies. Cos they are the fastest growing companies in the world. i think people just want to be sure that they can trust these companies.
Anyway, back to the brand Nike, the Nike company choose the name Nike, cos i think it sounds cool. The real meaning of the word Nike is The goddess of victory. So, now i think i want to tell you the history of the Nike Company.
Nike, Inc. (IPA: /ˈnaɪki/) (NYSE: NKE), headquartered in the United States near Beaverton, Oregon, is the world's leading supplier of athletic shoes, apparel and sports equipment. The company takes its name from Nike, the Greek goddess of victory. Nike markets its products under its own brand as well as Nike Golf, Nike Pro, Air Jordan, Team Starter, and subsidiaries including Bauer, Cole Haan, Hurley International and Converse.
Origins and History
Nike, originally known as Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS), was founded by University of Oregon track athlete Phil Knight and his coach Bill Bowerman in January 1964. The company initially operated as a distributor for Japanese shoe maker Onitsuka Tiger, making most sales at track meets out of Knight's car. Many top Oregon runners began wearing the shoes, and the shoe's popularity grew quickly. The company's first self-designed product was based on Bowerman's "waffle" design in which the sole of the shoe was inspired by the pattern of a waffle iron.
The company's profits grew quickly, and in 1966, BRS opened its first retail store, located on Pico Blvd. in Santa Monica, Calif. In 1971, with the relationship between BRS and Onitsuka Tiger nearing an end, BRS prepared to launch its own line of footwear, which would bear the newly designed "Swoosh." [Sources: 'Swoosh' by J.B. Strasser and 'Just Do It' by Scott Stewart.]
The first shoe to carry this design was a soccer/football cleat named "Nike," which was released in the summer of 1971. In February 1972, BRS introduced its first line of Nike shoes, with the name Nike derived from the Greek goddess of victory. In 1978, BRS, Inc. officially renamed itself to Nike, Inc. Beginning with Ilie Nastase, the first professinal athlete to sign with BRS/Nike, the sponsorship of athletes became a key marketing tool for the rapidly growing company.
By 1980, Nike had reached a 50% market share in the United States athletic shoe market, and the company went public in December of that year. Its growth was due largely to 'word-of-foot' advertising (to quote a Nike print ad from the late 1970s), rather than television ads. Nike's first national television commercials ran in October of 1982 during the broadcast of the New York Marathon. The ads were created by Portland-based advertising agency [[Wieden+Kennedy]], which had formed several months earlier in April 1982.
Together, Nike and Wieden+Kennedy have created many indelible print and television ads and the agency continues to be Nike's primary today. It was agency co-founder Dan Wieden who coined the now-famous slogan "Just Do It" for a 1988 Nike ad campaign, which was chosen by Advertising Age as one of the top five ad slogans of the 20th Century, and the campaign has been enshrined in the Smithsonian Institution.
Throughout the 1980s, Nike expanded its product line to include many other sports and regions throughout the world. Don't understand i give you the key dates.- 1962: Philip H. Knight founds Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS) to import Japanese running shoes.
- 1963: BRS takes its first delivery of 200 shoes from Onitsuka Tiger Co.
- 1964: BRS becomes partnership between Knight and William Bowerman.
- 1966: The company's first retail outlet opens.
- 1968: Company is incorporated as BRS, Inc.; the Bowerman-designed Cortez shoe becomes a big seller.
- 1971: BRS begins manufacturing its own products overseas, through subcontractors; the Swoosh trademark and the Nike brand are introduced.
- 1972: At the U.S. Olympic Trials, the Nike brand is promoted for the first time; company enters its first foreign market, Canada.
- 1978: Company changes its name to Nike, Inc.
- 1979: First line of clothing is launched and the Nike Air shoe cushioning device debuts.
- 1980: Nike goes public.
- 1981: Nike International, Ltd. is created to spearhead overseas push.
- 1985: Company signs Michael Jordan to endorse a version of its Air shoe, the "Air Jordan."
- 1988: Cole Haan, maker of casual and dress shoes, is acquired; "Just Do It" slogan debuts.
- 1990: First NikeTown retail outlet opens in Portland, Oregon.
- 1994: Company acquires Canstar Sports Inc., the leading maker of skates and hockey equipment in the world, later renamed Bauer Nike Hockey Inc.
- 1995: Company signs golfer Tiger Woods to a $40 million endorsement deal.
- 1996: The Nike equipment division is created.
- 1999: Company begins selling its products directly to consumers via its web site.
- 2003: Converse Inc. is acquired for $305 million.
Nike i like you. see you in next post.
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