A Brief History of Nike, Inc.

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Nike, Inc. In Perspective Introduction: In order to understand Nike’s success one needs a brief history of the company. Two entrepreneur spirited men, Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight, established Nike, Inc. They met in 1950, where Bowerman was a track and field coach for the University of Oregon, and continually sought ways to “give his athletes a more competitive advantage.” There he met Knight while he attended the University of Oregon. Knight however obtained an MBA in finance later at Stanford. Knight persuaded the Onitsuka Co. in Japan, the manufacturer of Tiger shoes to make him a distributor of Tiger shoes in the United States. Knight sent Bowerman several pairs out of his first shipment in the hope Bowerman would buy some, instead, Bowerman offered to make Knight his partner and provided him with his footwear design ideas. (Nike, Inc. History) The two entrepreneurs formed Blue Ribbon Sports in 1964, and then in 1965 they hired Jeff Johnson to manage the company’s operations. Johnson proved to be an invaluable team member. Johnson was very proactive with his role managing Blue Ribbon Sports. He produced “brochures, print ads, shot photographs for the company’s catalogues. He established a mail- order system, opened the first Blue Ribbon Sports retail store, and managed shipping/receiving.” (Nike, Inc. History) Johnson was also responsible for some of the earlier designs of Nike shoes, and invented the name Nike in 1971. While the relationship with Onitsuka was ending, they decided to manufacture their own brand of athletic shoes. Nikes brand mark the “Swoosh” was created for them in 1975 by a Portland State University student, Carolyn Davidson. Their “new line of Nike footwear debuted in 1972 in time for the U.S. Track & Fi... ... middle of paper ... .../history-heritage Nike, Inc. Corporate Responsibility Report. (2013). Human Resources and Empowerment. Retrieved from http://www.nikebiz.com/crreport/content/workers-and-factories/3-9-1-our-approach.php?cat=hr Nike, Inc. Corporate Responsibility Report. (Nov 2013). People & Culture – Our Workforce. Retrieved from http://www.nikebiz.com/crreport/content/people-and-culture/6-1-0-our-workforce.php?cat=our-workforce Nike, Inc. (2006). Mark Parker Named CEO, William D. Perez Resigns. Retrieved from http://nikeinc.com/news/mark-parker-named-ceo-william-d-perez-resigns Nike, Inc. (2013). Our Portfolio of Brands. Retrieved from http://nikeinc.com/pages/our-portfolio-of-brands Rupish, Sumit Kumar Chaudhuri. (2006). CEO’s @ Nike: Succession Guaranteed?. IBS Case Development Centre. Retrieved from http://www.ibscdc.org/Case_Studies/Strategy/Succession%20Planning/SUP0001.htm

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