This paper will also determine the various roles that host governments have played as well as summarize the strategic and operational challenges that face global management for the Nike Corporation. Bill Bowerman, a track and field coach at the University of Oregon, and Phil Knight, a talented middle-distance runner from Portland, “shook hands to form Blue Ribbon Sports, pledged $500 each, and placed their first order of 300 pairs of shoes in January 1964” (Nikebiz, para. 1). In 1965, they hired their first employee, Jeff Johnson, to manage the growing requirements. In 1971, he conjured up the name Nike.
From 1972 to 1982 Nike relied mostly on print advertising in highly vertical publications including track and field news. It was not until 1982 when Nike aired its first national television ad and in 1990, they earned an Emmy Award twice for best commercials. Nike lures customers with marketing around their brand image which is attained by their distinctive logo know as the “ Nike Swoosh” and the now famous slogan “ Just Do It” which was chosen as one of the top 5 ad slogans of the 20th century. Whereas, Adidas marketing strategy isn’t as good as Nike’s, they are starting to go in the right direction. They are using more sports celebrities to sponsor their apparel.
1. Introduction Nike, Inc. is a multinational corporation from America that design, promote, marketing and selling clothing, shoes, equipment and services. It was found on January 25, 1964 by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight as Blue Ribbon Sports and get changed to Nike on May 30, 1971. Nike is commonly known for the Swoosh logo and their slogan ‘Just do it’. It’s one of the world’s biggest sport equipment and clothing provider and manufacturer which is valued at S$10,7 billion and over 44,000 employees all over the world.
Nike continuously diagnoses the current cultural problems within its organization and strives to find plausible solutions to these problems. Nike is an American multinational corporation that designs, develops, and manufactures footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories and services worldwide. The company headquarters are in Beaverton, Oregon and is one of the only two Fortune 500 companies headquartered in Oregon. Nike is one of the world’s largest supplies of athletic shoes and apparel. It is also a major manufacturer of sports equipment with revenue in excess of 24.1 billion dollars in the 2012 fiscal year.
With more than 44,000 employees across six continents and with their mission “to harness diversity and inclusion to inspire ideas and ignite innovation”, Nike is an organization that conducts both domestic and global marketing. In this situation, it is inevitable that Nike is influenced by environmental factors much. Let’s start with this example to see what happened in Nike’s history: Nike had introduced its "Air" line of basketball shoes in 1996 with a stylized, flame-like logo of the word Air on the shoe's backside and sole.Yet, there was a problem. Arab-American groups thought that the way “Air” was written on the shoe looked too similar to “Allah” written in Arabic. Nike recalled thousands of shoes, covered the logos with patches and the shoes made their way to the outlets.
(New Balance.Com) Current chair Jim Davis purchased the company in 1972 and has more than tripled the companies shoe sales and workforce. He has focused New Balance’s strategy on issues such as, local production, environmental sustainability, and producing high quality athletic shoes and athletic apparel. Under his leadership, New Balance has prospered even in the fact of the 2006-2008 economic crises that had a negative effect on the retail and manufacturing industries. The target markets for New Balance Minimus line was designed for the minimal runner looking for the latest cutting edge product to enhance a hyper-real sensory running experience. It gives a completely different experience for the runner by
Nike has been able to brand its company by establishing solid partnerships, mergers and/or subcontracts with other companies and corporations, such as Converse, Hurley International, LLC, Umbro, LTD., etc. Their world headquarters is situated in Beaverton, Oregon but they operate in six continents and directly employ over 35,000 people. Nike’s mission is stated to be to inspire every athlete in the world with their products and services. On the company website, Nike states the following: “Our goal is to carry on his legacy of innovative thinking, whether to develop products that help athletes of every level of ability reach their potential, or to create business opportunities that set Nike apart from the competition and provide value for our shareholders.” Mostly all of Nike’s products are manufactured by independent contractors, with footwear and apparel being created outside the U.S. and equipment products produced both within the U.S. and abroad. Nike now takes a holistic approach to its production and marketing of products so that the company continues to grow in products and profits, but also shrinks in its waste energy and water uses in the environment.
As soon as they obtained the sponsorship deal with the team GB, they set four key objectives: • To ensure a clear association as Sportswear Partner of London 2012, Team GB and Paralympics GB • To engage and excite the 14-19 year old audience in order to drive brand preference in the UK • To deliver a Licensed Product Return on Investment • To become the most talked brand in 2012 To succeed, they begin to create the Great Britain athletes kits: It was a big challenge because the kits have to show Adidas is an innovative brand and in the same time the designer must meet the commercial sales target. So they call the famous stylist
Carolyn Davidson, a graphic design student from Portland State University, created and designed the brand’s trademark “Swoosh” for BRS. While revamping the company’s new image, they wanted a famous athlete and University of Oregon graduate, Steve Prefontaine to endorse Nike. Prefontaine was primarily a long-distance runner, who once held the American record in the seven distance track events from the 2,000 meters to the 10,000 meters. Along with the new branding came an innovative sneaker technology, Nike Air in 1979. During this time the company completed an initial public offering (IPO) and became a publicly traded company.
They accepted the challenge to expand and to become the best Mercedes Benz dealer and service shop in Puerto Rico. After accepting the challenge the family designed their plan to achieve the excellence. During the planning process the family prepared long term goals and short term goals. Since the beginning on the new journey as a Mercedes Benz dealership they organize their personnel and build a customer oriented dynamic organization. They guided their employees and mobilized them on a daily basis for years.