Nike has been one of the most influential shoe brands for almost 50 years. Nike was created in 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman. Bill was Phil’s track coach at the University of Oregon. The company first operated as a distributor for Japanese shoe maker Onitsuka Tiger and most of their sales were at track meets. Otis Davis, a gold medalist and an athlete coached by Bowerman, the first pair of shoes was made for him, contradicting the believe that they were made for Phil. Davis said, “I told Tom Brokaw that I was the first. I don’t care what all the billionaires say. Bill Bowerman made the first pair of shoes for me. People don’t believe me. In fact, I didn’t like the way they felt on my feet. There was no support and they were too tight. But I saw Bowerman made them from the waffle iron, and they were mine”.
During the companies first year of business, 1,300 shoes were sold, grossing 8,000. By the next year, they had reached 20,000 in sales. In 1966, the company opened their first store and by 1967, the company expanded on the East Coast. Bowerman set out to modify the track shoe in 1971, inviting the waffle iron idea into play. The waffle iron idea took place when Bill was having breakfast with his wife and noticed a waffle iron. he immediately took it to the garage and started experimenting. After many tests and different substances, he figured it out. He tested this theory by giving the shoes to a runner who ran like a rabbit. This experiment led to the creation of “The Moon Shoe” in 1972 and later the “Waffle Trainer” two years later. The relationship between Blue Ribbon Sports and Onitsuka Tiger ended in 1972 and BRS prepared to start their own line of shoes, the swoosh nike logo first made an appearance this year.
In 1980, the company had gone public by was not doing as well as expected. The company was advised to sign a deal with a rookie basketball player named Michael Jordan. This contract revolutionized sports marketing and transformed Nike into an
international powerhouse. Now, 40 years later, the Nike Air Jordans are arguably one of the most well known shoes. In 1988, Nike came out with the iconic slogan “Just Do It”. A lot of Nikes success stemmed from their brand signing with well known athletes. The company signed deals with athletes such as Mia Hamm, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Tiger Woods, LeBron James, and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The company has suffered some scandals and setbacks. In the 90s, the company’s reputation faltered after the poor working conditions in the factory’s came to light. Nike later installed reforms, including auditing the factories, however these accusations have circled back around recently. In 1994, Knight stepped down as CEO of the company, continuing to be a chairman until 2016. By this time the company was worth around 32 billion dollars.
