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.
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.
Nike started out from very humbling beginnings. Bill Bowerman wanted a lighter and more durable shoe to give his athletes an advantage during their races on the track. Phil Knight was simply a college athlete who graduated who was not ready to give up his life in the athletic world. From selling their first shoe models from the back of Phil Knights car to a fortune 500 company makes Nike one of the biggest success stories in the world. Although Nikes logo the Swoosh is one of the most famous logos ever, Nike reached its level of greatness by diversifying its company and buying several brands along the way to help increase the strength of the company.
Executive Summary a. What are the key issues? The key issues facing LuLulemon are how to manage the continued growth of their stores through expanding operations to achieve their goal of having three hundred stores worldwide, to build on their community based business model and grow their business towards their future ROI goals while still maintaining their reputation for quality & design and brand image. As well they are looking to build their management team and increase the operating margins of their stores. b.
Her parents instilled strong values, humbleness, and the ability to listen to people and value what they are saying. These human skills attributes layer the foundation and is reflected in the ethical values Barnes has sustained throughout her career. Brenda Barnes received “her undergraduate degree in business and economics from Rockford, Illinois’ Augustana College in 1975… also entered Loyola University, from which she graduated with her M.B.A in 1978” (notablebiographies.com). In 1976, she landed a job as a business manager for Wilson Sporting Goods formerly a division of Pepsi. With determination she strived to succeed in a male dominated company and achieved her goal of becoming head of sales.
1. Spin Master is one of the largest toymaker companies in Canada. It was founded in 1994 by a young and ambitious group of friends by the names of Ronnen Harary, Anton Rabie, and Ben Varadi. Their goal was to prove that they could grow a global corporation in a very competitive industry, and they accomplished it without a doubt. One of the key decisions they made in order to make their company a success was the strategy they used to market their products.
Then answer the following questions about it. TIP: If the company's Web site doesn't describe its mission, choose a different company. Nike’s mission statement is “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world.” The legendary University of Oregon track and field coach and Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman said, “If you have a body, you are an athlete.” Bowerman was a teacher who showed athletes the secrets to achievement. Nike invites you to experience our innovative and inspiring products. a.
Converse Inc designs markets and distributes athletic footwear, apparel and accessories. Hurley International LLC designs markets and distributes action sports and youth lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories and lastly Umbra Ltd a leading United Kingdom-based global football (soccer) brand. Employees Nike employs 38000 people globally Manufacturing Nike has
Now, Nike offers goods that are aimed at numerous athletics, including the following: basketball, football, baseball, volleyball, soccer, track, golf, tennis, and cheer. Although Nike is primarily dominant in the Americas, the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and Africa, it has manufacturing plants in thirty four different countries. As of May 31, 2008, Nike had around 32,500 employees (Datamonitor, NIKE Inc.). The globally dominant company sells its goods through factory stores, company owned stores, third-party stores, and on the internet. When you log onto the company’s website (www.nike.com), the site is offered in fourteen different languages, which pertains to nearly the entire world.
The company is based out of Germany and was founded in 1924 after WW1 by Adolf Dassler and his brother Rudolf Dassler. Each year before WW2 they were selling 200,000 pairs of shoes. Nike’s marketing strategy is an important component of the company’s success. Nike promotes its products by sponsorship agreements with celebrity athletes, professional teams and college athletic teams. From 1972 to 1982 Nike relied mostly on print advertising in highly vertical publications including track and field news.