Nike
Nike, Inc. (Greek: Νίκη, Niké, victory; NYSE: NKE) is an American multinational company engaged in the design, development, manufacturing and commercialization of sports equipment: balls, footwear, clothing, equipment, accessories and other sporting goods.
It is one of the largest suppliers of sports equipment in the world under Adidas alone, with revenues of more than 24.1 billion US dollars and a total in 2019 of about 76,700 employees. The brand alone is worth US$47.4 billion, making it the most valuable brand among sports corporations.
The company was founded on January 25, 1964 as "Blue Ribbons Sports" by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman, and officially became Nike Inc., on May 30, 1971. Nike markets its products under its own brand name, as well as under Nike Golf, Nike Pro, Nike+, Air Jordan, Nike Skateboarding, Hurley International and Converse , Nike CR7, among others. Nike also owned Bauer Hockey (Nike Bauer) from 1995 to 2008, and previously owned by Cole Haan and Umbro. In addition to manufacturing sportswear and equipment, the company owns Niketown stores. Nike is a sponsor of many high-level athletes and sports teams around the world, with the famous slogan "Just do it." and the logo, called the Swoosh, created by graphic designer Carolyn Davidson, schematization of a wing of Nike, goddess of Greek mythology that gives its name to the brand.
History and origin
It was founded on January 25, 1957 as "Blue Ribbons Sports" (BRS), by University of Oregon athlete Phil Knight and his coach, William Jay & # 34; Bill & # 34; Bowerman. The company began distributing footwear from the brand Onitsuka Tiger (currently ASICS) until 1971, when BRS launched its first own product, with the brand's emblem designed by Carolyn Davidson.
According to Otis Davis, an athlete, whom Bowerman coached at the University of Oregon, who later went on to win two gold medals at the 1960 Rome Olympics. Bowerman made the first pair of Nike shoes for him, lo which contradicts the claim that they were made by Phil Knight.
In 1964, in its first year in business, BRS sold 1,300 pairs of running shoes for a total profit of $8,000. By 1965 the new company had acquired one full-time employee, and sales had reached $20,000. In 1966, BRS opened its first store located at 3456 Boulevard in Santa Monica, California, next to a beauty salon. In 1967, due to rapidly increasing sales, BRS expanded its retail and distribution operations on the East Coast to Wellesley, Massachusetts.
In 1971, the relationship between BRS and Onitsuka Tiger was coming to an end. BRS is preparing to launch its own line of footwear, which would feature the newly designed Swoosh by Carolyn Davidson. The Swoosh was first used by Nike on June 18, 1971, and on January 22, 1974, it was registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
In 1976, the company hired Seattle-based John Brown and Partners as its first advertising agency. The following year, the agency created the first "brand ad" of Nike, called "There is no finish line," in which no Nike products were shown. By 1980, Nike had achieved a 50% market share of the US athletic shoe market, and the company went public in December of that year.
Together, Nike and Wieden + Kennedy have created print and television commercials. Wieden + Kennedy remains Nike's primary advertising agency. Agency co-founder Dan Wieden, who coined the now famous slogan "Just Do It" for a 1988 Nike ad campaign, which was chosen by Advertising Age as one of the top five slogans of the XX century; and which is enshrined in the Smithsonian Institution. Walt Stack appeared in the first Nike ad "Just Do It", which premiered on July 1, 1988. Wieden credits the inspiration for the tagline of &# 34;let's do it" (let's do it), the last words spoken by Gary Gilmore before he was executed.
Throughout the 1980s, Nike has expanded its product line to encompass many sports and regions around the world.
In the early 1980s, the use of sports shoes for daily use became popular in the United States and this, together with sponsorship strategies, allowed Nike to reach American homes en masse. In the mid-1980s, the company went through a crisis at the hands of its competitor Reebok, this would be overcome thanks to the hiring in 1985 of the rookie basketball sensation named Michael Jordan who would take the brand to unprecedented market levels to date cost of earning repeated fines from the NBA for breaking its clothing standards. It was in this five-year period that the brand's best-known advertising slogan, "Just Do It", was created, even recognized as an autonomous brand in many areas.
In recent years, it has shifted the focus of its business from production, which is currently carried out by external companies, to brand image, as a symbol of the spirit of sport and self-improvement.
Umbro Acquisition
Nike, manufacturer of sports clothing and footwear, in November 2008, acquired the Umbro brand in an operation that valued the British firm at 285 million pounds sterling (340 million euros). Umbro saw in this purchase an opportunity to expand its international business. The sports brand had to refine its profit expectations for 2008 due to the drop in sales of the England soccer team jersey
Umbro has agreed to Nike's proposal after assessing that its financial performance will have fewer imbalances when going from a year with a major soccer tournament (such as a World Cup or the Euro Cup) to another without such tournaments.
And the fact is that the drop in sales of the English team's jersey had an impact on its listing on the Stock Market. Umbro warned that earnings in 2008 would miss forecasts after poor equipment sales in 2007. Shares suffered on this announcement and closed at 165 pence.
Nike has said that Umbro shareholders will receive 193.06 pence per share, representing a premium of approximately 61% to the stock's closing price.
Nevertheless, Nike sold Umbro in May 2012 for a price of 174 million euros to the world's leading brand management company Iconix Brand Group as Nike's idea was to focus on its brands with higher growth potential.
Brand
The isotype, called "swoosh" It is called that because it was the sound that was heard when running, it was created by design student Carolyn Davidson in 1971.
Products
Nike manufactures a wide range of sports equipment. Their first products were track running shoes. Today they also make shoes, jerseys, shorts, and other accessories for a wide range of sports, including track, baseball, ice hockey, tennis, soccer, lacrosse, basketball, and cricket. Nike Air Max, is a line of shoes first released in 1987. The most recent additions to the line are the Nike 6.0, Nike NYX, and Nike SB, shoes designed for skateboarding. Nike has recently introduced cricket shoes called the Zoom Air New Yorker, designed to be 30% lighter than its competitors. In 2009 Nike introduced the Air Jordan XX3, a performance basketball shoe.
Nike recently partnered with Apple Inc. to produce the Nike+ product that monitors a runner's performance through an in-shoe radio device that links to an iPod or iPhone. The product generates useful statistics, but has been criticized by researchers. In 2004, Nike launched the SPARQ/Division Training Program. It also launched Daddy Yankee tennis shoes in honor of said celebrity to achieve maximum popularity in the United States and the entire world. This production was Phil Knight's idea, signing a million-dollar contract to use his prestige in the sale, listening to his songs, since they sold like hot cakes throughout Latin America.
Some of the new Nike shoes contain Flywire and Lunarlite foam to reduce weight. On July 15, 2009, the Nike+ FuelBand smart wristband was released in stores. Among its features, it stands out the execution of the records of products at a distance, the calories burned, a punctual record of the time and it also provides runners with new online routes with which they can continue running.
The 2010 Nike Pro Combat Collection jersey was worn by teams from the following universities: Miami, New York, Boise State University, Florida, Oregon State University, Texas Christian University, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, and Pittsburgh.
Manufacturing
Nike has more than 500 locations worldwide and offices in 45 countries outside of the United States. Most of the factories are located in Asia, including Indonesia, China, Taiwan, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan, the Philippines, Malaysia, and the Republic of Korea. Nike does not dare to reveal information about the contract with the companies it works with. However, due to harsh criticism from some organizations such as Barbie.com, Nike has disclosed information about its factory contract in its Corporate Governance Report.
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Sponsorships
Nike+, for its part, is the brand's alliance with Apple that allowed, in 2006, the launch of an intelligent shoe equipped with a sensor that connects to the iPod Nano and allows to know the running performance. At a megaglobal level, Nike was responsible in 2008 for organizing the race with the most participants in history, it was on August 31 and was called The Human Race. It involved more than a million participants who ran 10 km simultaneously in 25 cities from various countries.
Headquarters
Nike's world headquarters are surrounded by the city of Beaverton, but are within unincorporated Washington County, Oregon. The city attempted to forcibly annex Nike's headquarters to its turf, leading to a lawsuit from Nike, and pressure from the company that eventually resulted in Oregon Senate Bill 887 of 2005. Under the terms of that bill, Beaverton was specifically prohibited from forcibly annexing land that Nike and Columbia Sportswear have occupied in Washington County for 35 years, while Electro Scientific Industries and Tektronix receive the same protection but at the 30 years Nike is planning the construction of its world headquarters in Beaverton with an expansion of 3.2 million square feet. The design will aim for LEED Platinum certification and will be covered by natural light, and a wastewater treatment center.
Controversy
Nike has contracted more than 1,000 stores worldwide and has offices located in 45 countries outside of the United States. Most of the factories are located in Asia, including Indonesia, China, Taiwan, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Malaysia. Nike is hesitant to reveal information about the contractor companies it works for. However, due to harsh criticism from some organizations such as CorpWatch, Nike has disclosed information about its contract factories in the Corporate Governance Report.
Sweatshops
Nike has been criticized for contracting out factories (known as Nike sweatshops) in countries including China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Mexico. Today there are no factories outside of Asia. Labor Watch Vietnam, an activist group, has found that Nike-contracted factories have violated Vietnam's minimum wage and overtime laws since 1996, though Nike claims the practice has stopped. The company has come under much criticism: working conditions are often very poor and the exploitation of cheap overseas labor employed in the free trade zones, where its products are typically made. Sources for these criticisms include Naomi Klein's book, No Logo and Michael Moore's documentaries. There are many campaigns being done by many colleges and universities, especially against globalization, as well as various anti-sweatshop groups like United Students Against Sweatshop.
Allegations of child labor
During the 1990s, Nike came under fire for its use of child labor in Cambodia and Pakistan in factories contracted to manufacture soccer balls. Although Nike has taken steps to curb or at least reduce the practice, they continue to contract their production to companies that operate in areas where inadequate regulation and supervision make it difficult to ensure that child labor is not being used.
In 2001, a BBC documentary uncovered occurrences of child labor and poor working conditions in a Cambodian factory used by Nike. The documentary focused on six girls, who worked seven days a week, often 16 hours a day.
Strike at Chinese factory
In April 2014, one of the largest strikes in mainland China took place at the Yue Yuen Holdings Dongguan shoe factory, producing, among others, for Nike. Yue Yuen paid less than 250 yuan ($40.82) per month. The average salary at Yue Yuen is 3000 yuan per month. The factory employs 70,000 people. This practice had been in place for almost 20 years.
Environmental registration
According to New England-based environmental organization Clean Air-Cool Planet, Nike ranks in the top three companies (out of 56 total) in a survey of climate-friendly companies. Nike has also been praised for its Nike Grind program (which closes the product life cycle) by groups like Climate Counts. One campaign Nike started for Earth Day 2008 was a commercial that featured basketball star Steve Nash wearing recycled Nike shoes, which had been constructed in February 2008 from pieces of leather and faux fur waste. of factory floors. The recycled shoe also featured a ground-up rubber composite sole from a shoe recycling program. Nike claims this is the first performance basketball shoe to have been created from manufacturing waste, but it only produced 5,000 pairs for sale.
Another project that Nike has started is the Nike Reuse-A-Shoe program. This program, started in 1993, is Nike's longest running program that benefits both the environment and the community by collecting old shoes of any kind for processing and recycling. The material that is then produced is used to help create sports surfaces such as basketball courts, racetracks and playgrounds.
A project through the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found workers exposed to toxic isocyanates and other chemicals in shoe factories in Thailand. Besides inhalation, dermal exposure was the biggest problem encountered. This could result in allergic reactions including asthmatic reactions.
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