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, 2013) 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, 2013) 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 & Field, held in Eu... ... middle of paper ... ...l. Nike wholly owns Converse Inc., Hurley International, LLC, and Nike Golf. (Nike, Inc. 2013) Nike is unlike many corporations, as Nike embraces diversity, and promotes it from within to inspire new ideas. “Diversity & Inclusion is fundamental to Nike’s performance. It’s what makes us better. It’s what makes us smarter. It helps our business grow and helps us connect with consumers.” (Gina A. Warren, VP Global Diversity & Inclusion, Nike, Inc. 2013) An entire division dedicated to innovative thinking and ideas is a brilliantly sound part of Nike’s unique success. Nike, being publicly traded regularly posts releases on their website of projected/real quarterly earnings and statements. This is a presentation on the business principles and functionality of Nike. Each section will outline different strengths and or strategies, which have made Nike the industry leader.
Since its creation, Nike has proven itself as a popular brand and it has created niches by selling products such as footwear, apparels and various types of sports equipment. This paper will attempt to trace the product development of Nike shoes from its origins in conception and design to the manufacturing and production process located in contract factories in developing countries to advertising and marketing of Nike as a cultural commodity and finally, the retailing of the footwear around the world.
At the meeting, management revealed plans to address both top-line growth and operating performance. To boost revenue, the company would develop more athletic-shoe products in the midpriced segment3a segment that Nike had overlooked...
In 1965 two men by the names of Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight started Blue Ribbon Sports, now known as Nike, the business almost instantly became a top competitor. In 2012 Nike was said to have a net worth of 67 billion dollars, and co-founder Phil Knight a net worth of 18.7 billion dollars. The amount of profit Nike has attained is eye- opening, which made individuals that much more infuriated when they discovered Nike was accused of having sweatshops internationally. The accusations began in 1991 when activist Jeff Ballinger published a report, documenting the harsh conditions workers were forced to work in. Acknowledging the fact that Nike’s business plan was more about making profit than treating employees with any dignity. Nike’s strategy seemed to be to enter into poor nations where individuals were desperate for work. In 1996 it has been ...
Nike Incorporated is the number one leading sportswear and equipment provider in the world. They manufacture anything from casual clothes to sports equipment, shoes to socks, and basketballs to golf balls. As a result of its massive success, Nike employs nearly 30,000 people worldwide while manufacturing in 700 shops around the globe and has 45 offices outside the United States. Its extensive reach into the global market has Nike producing more exclusive products than any other manufacturer in the world. Nike’s headquarters is located in the metropolitan area of Portland, Oregon.
The corporation should invest more money in research and innovation since this is what has helped them to make a product that rivals their competitors. At the same time, it is imperative for them to improve their machinery for cheap labor costs which will help the company increase its production allowing it to meet the demand in the market. By improving production leading to lower costs of making shoes, apparel, and equipment, Nike will achieve higher demand assuming a quality product is maintained in that process. They will stand a better chance of competing in the industry (Hill, 2009). The organization is already in a better position for meeting the demand, customer taste, and needs. The company should improve quality by focusing on developing lightweight products that are more durable compared to those offered by the competitors. Also, Nike can keep up their success by continuing to reinvent and improve their items and continue to meet the current demand by using new technology. It can also use the Internet to communicate with consumers (Hill, 2009). By developing new technology, Nike will allow the customers to suggest and design their shoes online. To achieve this goal, it is fundamental to enhance areas such as their website to make it more user-friendly. Finally, the company should pay attention to small startup organizations that enter the
Many global companies like Nike, Inc. are seen as role models both in the market place as well as in society in large. That is why they are expected to act responsibly in their dealings with humanity and the natural world. Nike benefits from the global sourcing opportunities, therefore areas such as production and logistics have been outsourced to partner companies in low-wage countries like China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand. As a result the company is limited nowadays to its core competencies of Design and Marketing.
Phil Knight started his shoe company by selling shoes from the back of his car. As he became more successful in 1972 he branded the name Nike. In the 1980’s Nike Corporation quickly grew and established itself as a world leader in manufacturing and distributing athletic footwear and sports' attire. The Nike manufacturing model has followed is to outsource its manufacturing to developing nations in the Asia Pacific, Africa, South and Latin Americas; where labor is inexpensive. It quickly became known for its iconic “swoosh” and “Just do it” advertisements and products. Its highly successful advertising campaigns and brand developed its strong market share and consumer base. But, the road has not always been easy for Nike; in the late 1990’s they went through some challenging times when their brand become synonymous with slave wages and child labor abuses. During this period, Nike learned that it paramount that the company understands its stakeholders’ opinions and ensures their values are congruent with their stakeholders. Nike learned that their stakeholders were concerned with more than buying low cost products; their customers were also concerned with ethical and fair treatment of their workers. Because Nike was unwilling to face the ethical treatment of its employees, the company lost its loyal customers and damaged its reputation. Nike has bounced back since the late 1990’s and revived its reputation by focusing on its internal shortfalls and attacking its issues head on. Nike nearly collapsed from its missteps in the late 1990’s. They have learned from their mistakes and taken steps to quickly identify ethical issues before they become a crisis through ethics audits. This paper is based on the case study of Nike: From Sweatsh...
This essay analytically evaluates Nike and the company’s recovery from its ethical and strategic missteps to its progressive practices in becoming a socially responsible leader in its industry. In spite of Nike’s efforts in striving to develop a better reputation, the company has room for improvement in achieving higher ethical standards. The first section of this paper supplies a brief company background of Nike and the accusations against the company, establishing the context for its ethical and strategic errors. The second section assesses Nike’s response to societal and consumer concerns regarding its contract manufacturing. The third section explores the challenges Nike faces in the future. This paper closes by reviewing Nike’s current areas of concern and future challenges and the opportunities for further consideration.
The History of Nike There are many sports brands and companies in our world. Adidas, Puma, Champion, and Nike are some well-known ones. Nike had a unique start to its company though. Many people just take our clothing for granted and assume that the clothing lines started with some rich guy who wanted to earn some more money. This may be true in some cases, but Nike didn’t start that way.
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.”
Nike’s major competitors are New Balance, Reebok, and Adidas. Other competitors could include different brands of sports equipment and apparel.
Nike Inc. was founded in 1962 by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight as a partnership under the name, Blue Ribbon Sports. Our modest goal then was to distribute low-cost, high-quality Japanese athletic shoes to American consumers in an attempt to break Germany's domination of the domestic industry. In 2000 Nike Inc. not only manufactured and distributed athletic shoes at every marketable price point to a global market, but over 40% of our sales came from athletic apparel, sports equipment, and subsidiary ventures. Nike maintains traditional and non-traditional distribution channels in more than 100 countries targeting its primary market regions: United States, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Americas (not including the United States).
The article that I chose to review was titled “Nike’s Earnings Face a Tougher Bracket.” Nike is not a standalone player in the world of sports products when dealing with Jerseys, Shoes, and other products that have made this company dominate the sports world. This article made it clear that because of fierce competition with other brand names such as Adidas AG its stocks have been on the worst losing streak since the financial crises. Nike makes 45% of its revenue in the United States, but because of companies such as Adidas investing money in the U.S to gain a foothold in the North American market, Nike has been losing money due to the competition. Because of the competition, Nike has failed to meet investors’ expectations in terms of revenue due to the slow growth rate which has been the lowest in the past five years.
Nike American Sportswear generated revenue of 7495 million US dollars in 2014, which was almost double of 2009 revenue of Nike Sportswear (Statista, 2015).The sales of (Athletic) Sportswear of Nike 90 million US dollars, however, the sale of Adidas Sportswear (Competitor of Nike) was 25 million US dollars, which was not even one third of Nike Sportswear sales (Statista, 2015).Nonetheless, the return on assets and equity are 13.41% and 26.43% respectively (Yahoo Finanace, 2015).
Nike is the number one innovator in the world in athletic footwear, apparel, equipment, and accessories. This worldwide company operates in an extremely different organizational structure than other companies, such as Reebok and Adidas. Nike operates tremendous marketing strategies and develops inventive designs to inspire athletes around the world. This company is one of the largest suppliers in the world in athletic footwear and apparel, main producer of sports equipment, and making Nike the most valuable brand among sports companies. The task for Nike is to join diversity and inclusion to encourage ideas and innovation. Around the world, this company is a popular brand.