ORIGIN AND HISTORY
As Blue-Ribbon Sports, Nike began as a distributor for the Japanese shoemaker Onitsuka Tiger in the early 1960s (now known as Asics). As of 1966, they opened their first retail outlet and launched the Nike brand shoe in 1972.
Despite having only $1200 in the bank when it was started, the firm has grown tremendously. It was founded by Bill Bowerman, a track and field coach, and Phil Knight, a middle-distance runner from Portland who was enrolled at the University of Oregon.
Knight had originally planned to name the business “Dimension 6.” Nike is named after the Greek goddess of triumph and is pronounced “ny’-kee.” It was Jeff Johnson, Nike’s first employee, who coined the term “Nike.”
It was in a waffle iron that the original Nike sneakers were manufactured. Bowerman’s first epiphany moment for footwear invention occurred in 1971, while he and his wife were preparing waffles for breakfast: It prompted the concept for a grooved design on the sole of trainers to aid athletes to grip jogging trails. As a result, in 1974, Nike patented the “Nike Waffle Trainer” (at the cost of Barbara’s waffle iron)
The phrase “Just Do It” was inspired by serial murderer Gary Gilmore, who screamed “let’s do it” moments before being killed by firing squad in 1977. The revelation was presented in the documentary “Art & Copy,” which was released in 2009.
In 1988, the first “Just Do It” campaign was created. The advertisement depicted Walt Stack, an 80-year-old running legend, trudging across the Golden Gate Bridge.
Nike’s success is owed to endorsements by many athletes including Michael Jordan, Mia Hamm, Roger Federer, and Tiger Woods.
According to Forbes, despite the fact that Michael Jordan has not played basketball professionally since 2003, he still makes $60 million each year in royalties from Nike. As a result, he is perhaps the athlete with the largest Nike endorsement contract.
By the early 21st century, Nike had retail outlets and distributors in more than 170 countries, and their logo called “swoosh” with a curved checkmark was perceived in the whole world.
My Own Selected Nike Shoes Consist of:
- Basketball Shoes
- Running Shoes
NIKE INC. 