Teachify Case Studies - Nike
Hi Guys!
In today’s Teachify case study we are going to be taking a look at Nike, the largest sports brand in the world!
The company was originally founded in 1964 in Eugene, Oregon by athlete Phil Knight and his coach, Bill Bowerman as Blue Ribbon Sports. In the beginning Blue Ribbon Sports was a distributor for Japanese shoe manufacturers Onitsuka Tiger. Within its first year Blue Ribbon Sports had sold over 1,300 pairs of Onitsuka Tiger running shoes and by 1966 they had opened their first retail shop in California. The following year, due to the company’s continued successes they expanded their operation out to Massachusetts.
In 1971 Blue Ribbon Sports and Onitsuka Tiger decided to end their partnership. It was at this point that the name Blue Ribbon Sports was dropped and replaced with the name ‘Nike.’ Another important development at this time was the introduction of the ‘swoosh’ logo.
Nike’s successes continued throughout the remainder of the 1970s. By the end of the decade Nike had a 50% market share in the North American sports shoe market. In December 1980 the company went public.
The 1980s was another very successful decade for Nike as they further expanded their range of products and their distribution network. In 1988 Nike adopted its now iconic slogan ‘Just Do It.’ Interestingly enough the inspiration for the slogan came from the final words of US murderer Gary Gilmore before he was exectued.
Throughout the History of the company, Nike has acquired many apparel and footwear companies. These include Converse, Umbro and Starter.
Although initially starting as a footwear manufacturer they have gone on to create apparel for a variety of different sports including football, hockey and basketball. In addition, the Nike trademark has also become a very fashionable brand. Nike’s reputation as a fashionable brand began in the 1980s as many young people began wearing Nike tracksuits and baseball caps.
Despite Nike’s numerous successes they have received widespread criticism for their use of sweatshops in countries like China and Mexico to manufacture their clothing items. It has been claimed that these sweatshops violate various minimum wage and overtime laws. Nike has stated that these practices stopped in 1996, however there are many sources who claim the opposite.
Nike has also received criticism for its connection to the paradise papers scandal. In 2017 confidential documents were discovered which revealed that many companies including Nike had been using off shore accounts to avoid paying taxes.
That said, despite these criticisms of the company, Nike continues to thrive and is still the most popular sports brand today.
Now, let's see what you can remember!
- Who started the Nike brand?
- Until 1971 which sports brand was ‘Blue Ribbon Sports’ partnered with?
- In which year did Nike go public?
- Who was the inspiration for the ‘Just Do It’ slogan?
- Which Nike products became more fashionable in the 1980s?
- What has Nike received criticism for in the past?
