Gross profit

Net profit

Asset value

Equity

Number of employees

Total shareholders equity

Interbrand, $ billion

Millward Brown Optimor, $ billion

Brand Finance, $ billion

Since 1993, Delta-Sport has been the exclusive distributor of Nike on the Russian market, but since 2004 Nike decided to abandon its services and conquer the market on its own. In Russia, the company is represented by Nike LLC, which supplies Nike products for sale through retail chains partner companies (the largest of them is Sportmaster).

Company history

The company was originally founded in 1965 by student Phil Knight, a middle-distance runner at the University of Oregon, and his coach Bill Bowerman. Then it was called Blue Ribbon Sports and specialized in ordering sneakers in Asian countries and then selling them on the American market. Having invested $500 in the business, they purchase 300 pairs of sneakers from the famous Japanese company Onitsuka Tiger. The company's first self-developed product was a sneaker based on a waffle-shaped sole design that Bowerman had learned from a waffle iron.

Bill Bowerman (William Jay Bowerman)

Phil Knight

IN In 1966 the company opened its first retail store. First appeared in 1971 trademark Nike - football boots were released under this name. In 1978, Blue Ribbon Sports was officially renamed Nike, Inc.

The name comes from the ancient Greek spirit of victory Nicky, not from the English word that would read “nike”. Ignorance of this fact led to widespread in the Russian-speaking environment, the incorrect transcription of “Nike”, which was even used in the name of the company’s official representative in Russia.

On October 23, 2007, the company bought the Umbro brand, a manufacturer of sportswear and footwear, for $580 million.

$44 million is what Nike reportedly paid the Indian cricket team in 2009 under a five-year sponsorship contract. Nike puts 13,000 models of shoes and clothing on sale every quarter.

In 2010 Nike signed an 8-year sponsorship contract with Maria Sharapova for $70 million.

Brand history

The history of Nike is inextricably linked with the name of Phil Knight. The author of the Nike myth is Phil Knight. He was a mediocre middle-distance runner at the University of Oregon, and over the years, with a net worth of more than $3.8 billion, he became the sixth richest American. Metamorphosis Explained is a business he started with his athletic trainer Bill Bowerman in 1964.

American-made sports shoes then cost only 5 USD, but their quality left much to be desired. Many athletes returned from the tracks with bloody calluses on their feet. Much more high quality German shoes were different, but they cost six times more - 30 USD.

Knight-Bowerman's idea was simple: high-quality shoes could be designed in the USA, manufactured in Asia and sold in America for more low prices than the popular West German sneakers. Receiving economic education MBA from Stanford in the 1960s, Knight took classes in Frank Shallenberger's class. The task at the next seminar was the strategy for small business development private company, including marketing plan. According to Nike legend, it was at this marketing seminar that Knight came up with the concept for the company.

Japan was chosen as the Asian manufacturer because labor there was much cheaper than in America. In 1963, Knight traveled to Japan. In the Country Rising Sun He entered into an agreement with the Onitsuka factory to sell high-quality Japanese Tigers sneakers in the United States. Returning to America, the 26-year-old businessman began selling Japanese shoes out of the back of his truck near the treadmills. Their project, the progenitor of Nike, was called Blue Ribbon Sports. The company's name was born during negotiations with the Japanese, where Knight represented himself on behalf of a defunct American sneaker distributor, Blue Ribbon Sports, interested in selling Japanese shoes in the United States.

By 1964, Knight had sold $8,000 worth of sneakers and sent an order for a new batch. Bowerman and Knight worked as a team, but they soon hired sales manager Jeff Johnson.

In 1965, Bowerman and Knight changed the name of their company, naming it after the Greek goddess of victory Nike. The new name of the company - Nike, according to legend, was invented by Jeff Johnson, who saw the winged goddess of victory Nike in a dream.

In 1971, Portland University design student Caroline Davidson designed a logo for an unknown company for a modest fee of $35. Twelve years later, in 1983, Phil Knight invited her to a restaurant and presented her with a gold ring, in addition to the emblem invented by Caroline, decorated with a diamond, and also added to his gift an envelope with a certain amount of company shares. This was a fair reward for the sign, the mere presence of which on sports shoes increases its consumer appeal several times. This logo, familiar to everyone today and symbolizing the wing of the goddess, was called SWOOSH, which can be roughly translated into Russian as “flying with a whistle.”

Fitness revolution and jogging fashion of the early 70s. stimulated rapid development business. By 1969, Knight had already sold $1 million worth of sneakers. But the company's net income was small.

In 1975, Bill Bowerman came up with an idea that would become a turning point in the history of Nike. At breakfast, looking at his wife's waffle iron, he decided that if he made the sole of his sneakers grooved, this would, on the one hand, improve the push, and on the other, reduce the weight of the shoe. Soon he fitted the “waffle” sole to sports slippers and invited track and field athletes to try it out. This ingenious invention instantly made Nike an industry leader with a market share of 50% (1979). And after Adidas was left behind in 1980, Nike had only one competitor left - Reebok. Until Michael Jordan came along.

In 1988, a campaign featuring baseball star Bo Jackson debuted. Three videos showed Jackson running, biking and playing basketball. The videos ended with the phrase: “Bo knows.” The next clip played on the coincidence of the names of Bo Jackson and Bo Diddley, a famous musician. The headline of the message was that "Bo doesn't know Diddley."

However, the company did not have to enjoy the laurels of the winner for long. In 1998, Nike's popularity was falling, as it simply became unfashionable to wear what thousands of people around them were wearing. But this was not a surprise for Nike, which was fully armed. In 1998, Knight introduced a new line of products - ACG - "all-weather accessories." In addition, Nike restructured part of its business in separate groups: Nike Golf, Jordan Brand, Nike Hockey, Nike ACG, etc. appeared.

In 1999, Nike copes with troubles. The Internet is being successfully mastered. The company acquires a considerable number of web addresses.

In January 2000, a 30-second video appeared on television featuring track and field sprinter Marion Jones running through the streets to escape a maniac with a chainsaw. The video ends abruptly, sending viewers to whatever.nike.com for the rest of the story. On the electronic page, visitors were given a unique opportunity to watch a television clip in Apple QuickTime and come up with its ending themselves. The most best options broadcast there on the Internet.

In May 2018, Nation News reported that Nike had developed a conveyor belt that pulls the foot into the shoe.

As noted in Nike's patent application, a small motorized conveyor belt is built into the insole or sole of the shoe. As soon as a person places the forefoot into the shoe, it automatically starts and pulls the foot into the shoe.

The source of energy for the shoe conveyor was a battery that can be charged not only from the mains, but also while running in these shoes due to the piezoelectric effect.

At the moment, Nike has not officially announced plans to create such sneakers, so far only a patent application is known.

In December 2017, a sports hijab went on sale - an element of clothing produced by Nike has no analogues.

Jeff Johnson, who was tasked with coming up with a name for the new company within 24 hours, dreamed of the ancient Greek goddess Nike. This is how the name Nike was born.

Knight's first investment in his company was $500. And Phil’s first counter was the trunk of his car.

Knight himself accidentally came up with the slogan for his company. He hung up the phone after listening to a version he didn't like and said "Just do it!"

Bill Bowerman put a rubber strip into a waffle iron to make fun of his wife. The waffle sole was the company's first stand-alone product, and to this day it is considered the most the best option for sports shoes.

Michael Jordan's sneakers, which collaborated with the company, were black and red, but such colors were banned in the NBA. He was fined one thousand dollars for each game in them, but Jordan continued to play in Nike shoes. The scandal with the basketball player's sneakers was good for the company.

In 2008, the Russian Central Election Commission agreed with Nike on the main logo of the presidential company Russian Federation, which was very similar to the legendary “tick”.

The name comes from the name of the Greek goddess of victory, Nike, and not from the English word, which would read "nike". Ignorance of this fact led to the widespread dissemination in the Russian-speaking environment of the incorrect transcription of “Nike”, which was even used in the name of the company’s official representative in Russia.

Nike has been criticized for contracting with factories in countries such as China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Mexico. The activist group Vietnam Labor Watch has documented that factories with which Nike worked were violating Vietnam's minimum wage and overtime laws as early as late 1996, although Nike says it has abandoned such practices.

Nike (Nike) is famous all over the world American company. This is one of the largest companies designing, producing and distributing sportswear, shoes and accessories.

Nike history of creation

The Nike company appeared in a completely unusual way. Ideally, new firms enter the market in two possible options. New company either occupies free space in the market by offering something new, or offers a product of higher quality than its competitors. What makes Nike unique is that when creating the company, its founder used both options at once.

Phil Knight, an ordinary student at the University of Oregon, founded the Blue Ribbon Sports company in 1964. It is this company that later turns into an entire empire, which is now known under the name “Nike”.

What is the backstory of Nike? During his student years, Phil Knight was seriously interested in sports. He was even a middle distance runner on the university team. Knight's coach during those years was Bill Bowerman. In those days there was no special choice of sportswear. Professional athletes could afford $30 sneakers from Adidas, but ordinary American citizens were forced to settle for cheap and low-quality goods of unknown origin.

It was then that Knight decided to seriously work on correcting the current situation. Soon he developed a not very complex, but quite interesting commercial scheme. According to popular legend, at a regular marketing seminar, Knight came up with the concept of his future company. Knight's idea was to order sports shoes from Asia and sell them in the United States at affordable price. It was then, in 1964, that Phil Knight and coach Bill Bowerman took the first step by creating a small company called Blue Ribbon Sports.

After some time, Knight enters into his first contract with the Japanese company Onitsuka Tiger, which undertakes to sew sports shoes for colleagues from the United States. Since Knight's company was not registered, in the first months sales were carried out on the street, where the 26-year-old businessman sold sneakers from a minivan.

Oddly enough, Knight’s business began to develop at a rapid pace. During the first year of the company's existence, the founders' profit amounted to 8 thousand dollars. After calculating the revenue, Knight realized that it was time to develop and hire workers. Soon a sales manager appeared in the company - Jeff Johnson, whose appearance brought several changes to the company at once. The name changed first.

The company was named Nike after the Greek goddess of victory, Nike.

The second change was in policy. Johnson was confident that the company's advancement directly depended on individual approach to every client. To do this, Johnson found out and wrote down the phone numbers of all buyers, most of whom were athletes, called them and asked about the quality of the purchased goods. He was also interested in product defects, upon discovery of which Johnson offered new models. Johnson kept a whole file cabinet where he recorded all customer reviews and suggestions. It was this strategy that became the key to the company's success.

Development

The end of the 60s of the last century was marked by development in the history of Nike. It was then that the first branded store opened in Santa Monica, California. In 1968, the company released a new type of sneakers.

The new models were made using advanced lightweight materials and had good shock-absorbing properties.

In the early 70s, a company partner in Japan decided that the overseas company was making a lot of money. This was exactly the case, because compared to the first year, the company increased its annual income many times over, which in 1971 amounted to $1.3 million. After this, the Onitsuka Tiger company tried to buy out the share of its American partner and raised prices for the supplied goods. Knight foresaw this development of events and had previously managed to contact another Japanese company, Nisho Iwai. At the same time, the founders of the brand, together with the sales manager, decided to start their own production in the United States. Moreover, they had everything they needed for a successful start.

In the same year 71, the company received a new logo, which was soon to become popular throughout the world. The logo was created by Portland State University student Carolyn Davidson. Then the girl created the famous emblem in the form of a stroke, which symbolized the wing of the Greek goddess for almost nothing, receiving 30 dollars for her work. Years later, as the company gained momentum, Knight offered a generous reward. Carolyn received as a gift a number of company shares and an exclusive figurine of the Nike logo, which was studded with diamonds.

The company’s popularity grew after another innovation – sneakers with “waffle” soles. A similar sole was produced using a completely new technology. Such a sole made it possible to significantly reduce the weight of the shoe, while simultaneously increasing momentum during running. The idea to create a revolutionary technology belongs to Knight's coach. It is said that Bowerman came up with it completely by accident when he was looking at his wife’s waffle iron.

The company's debut occurred in 1972, when the United States Olympic training camp took place before the Summer Games.

The following years brought the company dizzying fame. In 1978, the company first entered the international market. Next year, Nike will launch sportswear production. Knight and his wife worked on the creation of the first clothing models.

In those years, fitness was gaining popularity. This was the main impetus that influenced the sales of Nike shoes with lightweight soles, which strengthened the company’s position in the global market.

Since that time, the company considered Adidas its main competitor. Since then, companies have been competing for a leading position in the sports products market. In 1973, Nike managed to gain half the market share.

Nike Air sneakers

Each of us has heard the name of the legendary series of sports sneakers “Nike Air”. What is her story?

In 1979, former NASA aeronautical engineer Frank Paris develops a completely unusual method for making sneaker soles. He offers his technology to many sports shoe companies and even Nike, but he is rejected everywhere. But Paris's determination and persistence ultimately lead to Nike agreeing to use the engineer's method in production.

The innovation of the aircraft engineer was that he was the first to propose the use of a special shock absorption system, which was supposed to significantly extend the “life” of the shoes.

Paris was not mistaken in his calculations, since it turned out that the new technology not only extended the life of the sneakers, but also made them several times more comfortable.

Michael Jordan is the star of the company

A well-known rule of successful advertising is that to promote a product well, you need to collaborate with stars. Nike decided not to experiment again and not take risks by starting to collaborate with sports stars and organizations.

The company concluded large number contracts, but the contract concluded in 1985 is still considered the most famous and most scandalous in the history of Nike. During these years, the company's popularity began to gradually decline. It was then that Nike decided to sign a contract with NBA star Michael Jordan. And the reason for the current crisis situation was another experiment by the company with the production of casual shoes, which never found buyers.

Immediately after signing a contract with Nike, Jordan began actively advertising the company. He wore Nike sneakers not only during basketball games, but also in everyday life. The company even released an exclusive series of sneakers called “Air Jordan” especially for him. The irony, however, was that these sneakers were the reason Jordan continually paid $1,000 in fines. The reason for the fines was the black and red coloring of the sneakers, which was officially banned in the NBA. Mike was not at all embarrassed by this, since advertising brought him quite a lot of income.

Nike today

Today the Nike brand is known throughout the world and is one of the main symbols of sports. The company has consolidated its position in markets around the world. It offers everything you need for almost all sports. The company has repeatedly acted and continues to act as a sponsor of various sporting events. Nike is successfully promoting its products in the field of football, where its competitor has traditionally been in the lead. A significant share of the company's success comes from the multi-million army of fans of the Nike brand.

It was Nike that first created a special social network dedicated to basketball. The company does everything to always be aware of new trends in the fashion world, never moving away from customers and fans. Thanks to the social network, every fan has a unique opportunity to personally participate in the creation of the “sneaker of their dreams.” All you need to do is come up with a model and order it from the manufacturer.

Nike successfully cooperates not only with sports companies, but also with technology manufacturing companies. The fruit of cooperation with Apple was the “Nike+iPod” set, which is a set of audio player and sneakers that are connected to each other. In this way, each athlete gets the opportunity to monitor various statistical data about the progress of the training directly on the player screen.

The concept of the brand is that every person with a body is an athlete. That is why the company strives to produce goods for different customers.

As in any story, there is also dark sides. Nike has been and continues to be criticized for numerous human rights and safety violations. Since the company's products are manufactured in the third world, it has been criticized more than once for very low prices. salaries($40 per month). Also the reason for criticism was a scandal involving the use of child labor in production. The brand's management, of course, is trying to maintain control over everything, but Nike's volumes simply do not allow this.

In any case, it cannot be denied that Nike is one of the most large companies for the production of sporting goods in the world. The company has factories in 55 countries around the world. The number of company employees is 30 thousand people. The brand's headquarters is located in Beaverton, Oregon, United States.

Recently, a wave of counterfeit goods, or fakes (from the English “fake” - cunning, deception, fraud, fake) has swept not only the Russian sales market, but has become a serious problem for manufacturers all over the world. Brands of well-known sports companies are especially susceptible to the epidemic of counterfeits. “Nike” is simply a favorite of fake producers. As the creator of specific professional clothing and footwear, Nike applies enhanced requirements and standards in the production process, since from comfort and compliance hygiene standards The sports results and health of athletes depend. This especially applies to sports shoes. According to Nike anti-counterfeit spokesman Richard Stanwix 98% (!) their shoes sold on the Internet are fake. Of course, manufacturers, as well as distributors of the original product, are struggling with this. We, buyers, can also help them in this difficult matter by buying real goods, not fakes.

In light of this, we would like to consider the main signs by which you can distinguish original Nike sneakers from fakes and give you some useful tips.

Three types of fakes:

In the first case, probably the most harmless, customers are invited to buy company products from their official factories, which were rejected or for some other reason did not end up in the company’s official stores.

Second option- a copy of this or that thing. If with ordinary everyday clothes this option can still be somehow implemented at the proper quality level, due to the fact that many products do not require special technological equipment, then with sports equipment everything is much more complicated. For its production it is necessary to use only high quality materials and fabrics. They must meet all the requirements placed on them, be it density, wear resistance, strength, ability to pass air and moisture, etc. In addition, production is impossible without high-quality technological equipment that will ensure the implementation of all developments.

Third option- an ordinary fake, homemade at a quick fix using low-quality materials.

How to distinguish a fake from the original?

In fact, everything is quite simple, follow simple instructions and pay attention to the little things. For illustration, photos of Nike Air Max Skyline SI sneakers (original), Nike Air Max 90 (fake) and photos of the same but original model will be used.

• First of all, it is recommended to buy professional sports equipment in specialized stores, who supply from official manufacturers. If there are no official suppliers of clothing of the desired brand in your city, you can try to find an online store selling the goods you are interested in. You should refrain from shopping in stores stock clothes, since there is a very high chance of buying counterfeit goods.

• If possible, please visit before making a purchase. manufacturer's website to see what a particular model actually looks like.

• It is recommended that you refrain from making purchases from online stores that do not have an exact physical address. Serious online stores, as a rule, have offices in the real world.

• Be sure to realize that real Nike Zoom BB III or Nike Zoom LeBron VI sneakers cannot cost 50-70 dollars, even with a super discount dedicated to Mother Teresa's Day. Quality and brand cost money.

• Pay attention to the stitching places - the seams should be even, made of the same type, quality and color of thread.

• On real products, the leather is always soft, evenly colored, without wrinkles or unevenness.

• Glued seams in sneakers should not have any smudges or frozen drops of glue.

• Sneakers must be packed in a branded box. If the seller told you that there is no box for the sneakers, it was lost, delayed at customs, or it was stolen by aliens - you should think about the advisability of making a purchase in this store.

• You shouldn’t go looking for “real Nike from America” with your dogs. All Nike production has long been moved to countries where labor is cheaper than in the States. However, quality control has not been canceled.

• One more detail that Nike is very meticulous about should not be missed. This is a label sewn onto inside sneaker tongue. On branded shoes, it is stitched very neatly, and it displays information about the size, country of origin and Nike patents. Counterfeit manufacturers often consider the label an unnecessary luxury.

• One more distinguishing characteristic- this is the sole. Nike branded sneaker sole — matte, as it consists of a complex composite material. Manufacturers of fakes save on the sole and use material with a high percentage of rubber. The more rubber in the sole, the more shiny it is.

• The next point is the AIR system. Most fakes have no air cushion at all. There is a certain visual resemblance, similar to chambers with compressed air, but in reality these turn out to be voids that are pressed through when walking, killing both the sole and the foot. You should definitely refrain from buying basketball shoes on E-bay. E-bay is a graveyard of counterfeits. Registering an account there is a matter of two minutes, and in principle they do not check the reliability of sellers there. Rescue of drowning people at a private auction is the work of the drowning people themselves.

And now let's look at everything clearly:

1. Workmanship

Original Nike Air Max Skyline SI:

An even seam, neatly sewn labels, the absence of “burrs” and glue stains, and especially dried drops - this is the minimum that sneakers must meet.

Fake Nike Air Max 90 (black-varsity red-metallic silver):

2. Quality of materials

Next, we look at the materials, the sole should not be too shiny, “plastic” and slippery; if there is a layer of foam, then it should be foam, and not a piece of plastic or rubber. The smell like you're in a chemical plant should also make you immediately stop buying such products.

Original Nike Air Max 90 (black-varsity red-metallic silver):

Fake Nike Air Max 90 (black-varcity red-metallic silver):

If you put a fake and an original side by side, the differences are immediately obvious. Fake copies color scheme The model and its shape, the materials used are completely different, both in the main part and in the insert at the lacing point, as well as the upper and inner parts of the sneaker.

3. Box

The presence of a box is also prerequisite, because You can often judge the originality of a product by looking at the box. Its absence is enough reason to doubt.
This is what a box for Nike branded shoes looks like:

The next difference between fake sneakers and the most difficult to check is the absence of compressed air chambers in the sole of the sneaker. The same famous Air system used in Nike sneakers. Other companies use similar technologies, but the names are different. The difficulty is that to check you need to cut air chambers. In original sneakers, they will burst with a characteristic pop, because... there the air is under pressure. Thus, the counterfeits are technologically completely different from the originals. Which, of course, negatively affects not only the quality of the shoes, but also your health.

5. “Made in China”

Also, don’t look for sneakers made in the USA, Germany, England, etc. , because most of the factories are concentrated in Asian countries, which is due to the low cost of production per unit of product, and quality control in all factories of a particular brand is the same. If your Nike sneakers say “Made in China”, there is no reason to worry: all the original sneakers produced by this company throughout its history bear the same inscription.

6. Dimensions

The seller offers a full line of sizes of rare models - sure sign that they want to sell you a fake.

7. Verified places

The main rule that will allow you to avoid counterfeiting is to buy sneakers only in trusted places, especially for online stores, where there is often no opportunity to touch the product with your hands. Don’t chase a low price; in most cases, the result of such a purchase will disappoint you too quickly. The price level for certain models can always be tracked on the Internet on the websites of official manufacturers, along with the colors of the models that were produced at one time or another.

A specialist just needs to look at the label sewn to the tongue to definitely answer the question of whether it is a fake or not. But this is often very difficult for an ordinary buyer to do. Therefore, the main weapon is information. Do not fall for the bait of unscrupulous sellers! Happy shopping!

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