How did a small time importer of Japanese shoes in the early sixties become, Nike, one of the largest sportswear manufacturers in the world? Its an interesting story as it comes from some very humble beginnings. It all started with a Graduate of business studies called Philip H. Knight who had some big ambitions. Even if he wasn't initially a designer, his business know how later proved to be the making of the biggest sportswear company in the world.
It all started when Phillip was on one of his many trips to Japan. It was while sightseeing that he noticed the many innovations in the Japanese sports shoes compared to the brands he was used to seeing from Germany. He decided he could sell these shoes back in America and ordered a batch of 200, this was the company's first order.
This young graduate made money by selling his new Japanese Sneakers at athletics events. The shoes sold well but he still had to store them in his parents basement. However he still wasn't actually making any sneakers until his old track coach William Bowerman joined the company in 1964. Bowerman was a keen engineer and not just a runner and these skills would revolutionise the sportswear market.
William was a kept sportsman just like Philip, however he was also an engineer and was keen to come up with new ways of designing shoes. In one experiment he used rubber and fed it into his wife's waffle iron to create the sole. He was so excited about his new creation he called it the waffle sole.
It wasn't until the 1972 Olympics that Nike really started to get some recognition as many athletes at the games choose to wear the new Waffle sole that Bowerman had created. Many remarked that the sole fit their foot much better than existing shoes in the market.
The famous swoosh logo of Nike was actually developed by a part time design student on temporary placement at the company. She was Carolyn Davidson and she only received around thirty dollars for her work at the time. The symbol has become one of the most recognisable brands in the world and is used on all Nike products.
One of the biggest leaps forward in the design of Sneakers was when Nike first introduced the Air sole. It was designed by a former NASA engineer and used pressurised gas to give the soles a never before seen spring. This air cushioning is still seen in the Nike Shoe of today and is as popular as ever.
As far as promotion went Nike proved to be masters of the game. In the late 80s, Nike signed one of the biggest basketball stars to ever live, Michael Jordan. He was paid to wear a new sneaker made just for him called Air Jordans. It proved problematic however as they did not conform to the dress code of the NBA and he was fined thousands of dollars every time he wore them.
Every time Michael wore the special sneakers on the court he was fined five thousand dollars ($5,000) by the NBA. Nike paid the fine for Michael and if anything it only made the brand even more famous. Air Jordans became the most sought after basketball shoes on the planet and number one Christmas present request with many children in the 80s.
As you can see it wasn't a simple road to success for Nike or even a conventional one. It was also a team effort between a young business entrepreneur and a sports fanatic, but you could say it all started with a bored engineer who looked at his wife's waffle iron and decided to just do it.
It all started when Phillip was on one of his many trips to Japan. It was while sightseeing that he noticed the many innovations in the Japanese sports shoes compared to the brands he was used to seeing from Germany. He decided he could sell these shoes back in America and ordered a batch of 200, this was the company's first order.
This young graduate made money by selling his new Japanese Sneakers at athletics events. The shoes sold well but he still had to store them in his parents basement. However he still wasn't actually making any sneakers until his old track coach William Bowerman joined the company in 1964. Bowerman was a keen engineer and not just a runner and these skills would revolutionise the sportswear market.
William was a kept sportsman just like Philip, however he was also an engineer and was keen to come up with new ways of designing shoes. In one experiment he used rubber and fed it into his wife's waffle iron to create the sole. He was so excited about his new creation he called it the waffle sole.
It wasn't until the 1972 Olympics that Nike really started to get some recognition as many athletes at the games choose to wear the new Waffle sole that Bowerman had created. Many remarked that the sole fit their foot much better than existing shoes in the market.
The famous swoosh logo of Nike was actually developed by a part time design student on temporary placement at the company. She was Carolyn Davidson and she only received around thirty dollars for her work at the time. The symbol has become one of the most recognisable brands in the world and is used on all Nike products.
One of the biggest leaps forward in the design of Sneakers was when Nike first introduced the Air sole. It was designed by a former NASA engineer and used pressurised gas to give the soles a never before seen spring. This air cushioning is still seen in the Nike Shoe of today and is as popular as ever.
As far as promotion went Nike proved to be masters of the game. In the late 80s, Nike signed one of the biggest basketball stars to ever live, Michael Jordan. He was paid to wear a new sneaker made just for him called Air Jordans. It proved problematic however as they did not conform to the dress code of the NBA and he was fined thousands of dollars every time he wore them.
Every time Michael wore the special sneakers on the court he was fined five thousand dollars ($5,000) by the NBA. Nike paid the fine for Michael and if anything it only made the brand even more famous. Air Jordans became the most sought after basketball shoes on the planet and number one Christmas present request with many children in the 80s.
As you can see it wasn't a simple road to success for Nike or even a conventional one. It was also a team effort between a young business entrepreneur and a sports fanatic, but you could say it all started with a bored engineer who looked at his wife's waffle iron and decided to just do it.
About the Author:
About us : Kicksgear is a great new site giving information on Cheap nike shox and the latest bulletins on the Cheap Air Jordans that are also coming on to the market
No comments:
Post a Comment