Nike
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facts about Nike
- Nike, Inc. is a clothing, footwear, sportswear, and equipment supplier based in the United States.
- It is the world's leading supplier of athletic shoes and apparel.
- Its is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon.
- It has 44,000 employees worldwide.
- Nike and Precision Castparts are the only Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the state of Oregon.
- It was founded as Blue Ribbon Sports by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight on January 25, 1964.
- Phil Knight is a track runner while Bill Bowerman is his coach.
- It officially became Nike, Inc. on May 30, 1978.
- Nike is actually the Greek goddess of victory.
- The company initially operated as a distributor for Japanese shoe maker Onitsuka Tiger which now became ASICS.
- The "Swoosh" logo was a design created in 1971 by Carolyn Davidson, a graphic design student at Portland State University. Its Swoosh logo and the "Just do it" are amongst the worlds greatest trademarks.
- She met Phil Knight while he was teaching accounting classes and she started doing some freelance work for his company, Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS).
- In June 1972, the first running shoes bearing the "Swoosh" were introduced at the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon.
- Originally, the mark was simply referred to as "the stripe."
- In 1975, Nike print ad with the tag "There is no finish line" was introduced.
- In 1978, Tennis 'bad boy' John McEnroe is signed by Nike to an endorsement contract.
- By 1980, Nike had attained a 50% market share in the U.S. athletic shoe market, and the company went public in December of that year.
- In 1982, the Air Force 1 basketball shoe becomes the first Nike court shoe to make use of the Air technology.
- Nike entered the golf game in 1986, just a year after introducing the Air Jordan basketball sneaker.
- Nike produces around 50,000 product styles a year and sells in 160 countries.
- The company has 28,000 employees! Nike’s operations contribute to 1.36 million tonnes of CO2 each year.
- Michael Jordan makes more money from Nike annually than all of the Nike factory workers in Malaysia combined.
- It owns four key subsidiaries: Cole Haan, Hurley International, Converse Inc. and Umbro.
- Tiger Woods, Stewart Cink, Lucas Glover, Michelle Wie, Trevor Immelman, Rafael Nadal and Paul Casey amongst others are sponsored by Nike.
- With 38% in global sports footwear market, it is the most successful sports footwear manufacturer in the world!
more facts
- The Nike company was founded in January 1964 by track runner, Philip Knight and his coach, Bill Bowerman as “Blue Ribbon Sports”, before becoming “Nike” in 1978
- Nike’s footwear has a 38% share of the sports footwear market, making it the most successful sports footwear manufacturer in the world!
- Nike has a net worth of £83 billion
- Nike’s best ever selling shoe is the “Nike Air Force 1 Mid”
- The world famous Nike “swoosh” logo was designed by graphic design student, Carolyn Davidson in 1971. Davidson got paid only $35 for the logo design!
- Nike’s world famous, “Just do it” slogan was coined by their advertising agency, Weiden and Kennedy in 1988
- Michael Jordan is Nike’s highest paid endorser, earning a cool $40 million annually from his Nike ‘Jordan’ brand
- The name “Nike” was chosen in reference to the Greek Goddess of victory
- Nike’s most expensive shoe will be an addition to their LeBron James range, called the “LeBron X’s”which are soon to be launched, costing approximately $315 per pair!!
- As of 2011, Nike employed over 38,000 people worldwide!