There’s a really good chance that you’ve heard of Nike, because it’s one of the biggest shoe brands in the world. Hailing from America, it is a huge corporation that not only incorporates shoes in the manufacturing process, but sportswear, accessories, and equipment.
It is well known around the world for the infamous ‘tick’ logo, and it is easily one of the world’s biggest supplier of apparel and athletic shoes. Nike sponsors a huge number of sports teams and athletes in countries everywhere.
Let’s do a deep dive into Nike’s history and net worth.
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History
Phil Knight was a track athlete who in 1964 founded a company with his coach, Bill Bowerman, called Blue Ribbon Sports. In 1971, they changed the name to Nike. They sought inspiration for the name from the Greek goddess of victory.
Bowerman and Knight initially distributed sports shoes that were being made by the Japanese brand Onitsuka Tiger. They managed to sell more than 1300 shoes in their first year and made a revenue of $8000. In their second year, they made more than $20,000, and they brought on a full-time employee.
They opened their first retail store in 1966 in Santa Monica, and the brand then expanded to Massachusetts because it was starting to do really well. Nike ended its collaboration with Onitsuka Tiger in 1971, and it officially changed its name then. The logo that everyone knows and loves today was officially introduced mid-1971.
Otis Davis was a student athlete at the University of Oregon, and he was also coached by Bowerman. He ended up winning two gold medals at the summer Olympic games in 1960 and claimed that the Nike shoes he was wearing helped him win.
He backed Bowerman and claimed that while everyone else was wearing shoes from existing companies that were already well-known, it was Nike that made a real difference.
Slogan
Nike’s first marketing agency was John Brown and Partners, and the agency was hired to do their marketing in 1976. The well-known slogan that everyone associates with Nike today, ‘just do it’ was coined in 1988. It was claimed that they were inspired to come up with a slogan like this based on the last words of Gary Gilmore, which were ‘let’s do it’.
Nike moved its headquarters in 1990 to Beaverton, Oregon, and in 1994, Nike purchased Bauer Hockey and in 2003, Converse.
Nike has over the years come up with many different products beyond just shoes. They focus on regular clothes as well, and sports equipment, including for parkour.
Net Worth
Currently, Nike is said to be worth an eye-watering $34.35 billion, and the worth of Nike’s complete assets is said to be $23.26 billion. Nike currently has more than 700 shops around the world, and offices that are spread across 45 countries beyond America.
With Nike being such a success story ever since it first got its start on the West coast of America, there’s no doubt that it will continue to do better in the future.
