Today’s article is about Nike, a multinational corporation that specializes in the production of casual and athletic footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services. Founded in 1964 by track athlete Bill Bowerman and his coach Phil Knight, its evolution into one of the world’s largest and most successful manufacturers of sports equipment is the stuff that legends are made of.
Conceived as Blue Ribbon Sports, the company assumed its current name in 1978. Interestingly, the name comes from Greek mythology, where Nike was the goddess of victory. The famous Swoosh logo was designed by Carolyn Davidson and was first used on June 18, 1971.
Part of the reason behind Nike’s massive success is the fact that, even though it is one of the highest quality brands of sports footwear in the world today, its products are still available at affordable, fair prices. Consumers can always get some sort of discounts if they know where to look for them and this sort of availability is what puts Nike apart from its main competitors.
Nike has a policy on outsourcing its manufacturing, and it’s headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon, USA. With 567 factories in 42 countries across the globe, Nike employs 1.02 million people. It has a market capitalization of $109 billion and currently clocks sales worth of over $100 million per day.
Boasting a presence in more than 981 online stores (as of May, 2017), the company sells around 900 million items of footwear, apparel and equipment each year.
Holding almost a quarter (24.75%) of the global athletic footwear market, it was rated as the 16th most valuable brand in the world. You won’t be surprised that Nike spends over a $100 per second on marketing and advertising, considering it makes around $1000 per second in sales.
As one of the most recognizable brands in the world currently, Nike has garnered worldwide appreciation, which in turn catapulted the company to its current valuation of $29.6 billion. For instance, on the occasion of the FIFA World Cup 2014, designer Nerea Palacios ingeniously contrived Football World Cup kits tailored to the thematic elements of the Houses from G.R.R. Martin’s dragon-dwelling universe of Game of Thrones.
All of these Game of Thrones Football kits were resourcefully refurbished from original Nike kits. And, while Palacios was at it, he had also made a small request (see at the corner of each image) that simply said – ‘I WANT TO WORK FOR NIKE’ in the Game of Thrones’ cover font.
Finally, the company has announced plans to use 100% renewable materials by 2025. Amidst increasing competition, Nike’s single-minded focus on innovation and the need to create new ideas will be what drives its next phase of growth.
Following is an amazingly detailed infographic that explores the footwear giant’s inspiring evolution over the years:
The article was submitted as a guest post by Josh Wardini, Community Manager at Webmastersjury.