History of Nike
Learn here how we started and
our journey to sucess
Nike
Our journey and turning points
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The beginning
Nike, Inc., formerly (1964–78) Blue Ribbon Sports, American sportswear company headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon. It was founded in 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Bill Bowerman, a track-and-field coach at the University of Oregon, and his former student Phil Knight. They opened their first retail outlet in 1966 and launched the Nike brand shoe in 1972. The company was renamed Nike, Inc., in 1978 and went public two years later.
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The Ideas
From the late 1980s Nike steadily expanded its business and diversified its product line through numerous acquisitions, including the shoe companies Cole Haan (1988; sold in 2012) and Converse, Inc. (2003), the sports-equipment producer Canstar Sports, Inc. (1994; later called Bauer and sold in 2008), and the athletic apparel and equipment company Umbro (2008; sold in 2012).
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Turning Point
A turning point came in 1987 when Nike increased its marketing budget from $8 million to $48 million to persuade customers its shoes were the best. A large part of this advertising budget soon went to pay celebrities like Michael Jordan millions of dollars to wear and champion its products.
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Nike 2021
NIKE Direct sales were $4.0 billion, up 20 percent on a reported basis, and up 16 percent on a currency-neutral basis. ... NIKE Brand digital sales increased 59 percent, or 54 percent on a currency-neutral basis, with strong double-digit increases in all geographies.
