The Company that Went Swoosh

The Company that Went Swoosh

The Company that Went Swoosh

It is a company that is synonymous with sports, there is a good chance that you have at least one item of clothing or trainer that has the iconic swoosh on it. Nike is a worldwide sports apparel company that hasn't been around for more than a century but has accomplished something many dream that they could. Some of which they have acquired themselves such as converse and umbro. But how did this Mega company get started.

Nike was founded in Oregon by Philip Knight and Bill Bowerman. Both were at members of the University of Oregon track team, Knight was middle distance runner who came from Portland and Bowerman was a nationally known track and field coach. In 1950 Bowerman was seeking many ways of getting his athletes a legal competitive edge, which lead to him experimenting with different track surfaces to re-hydrating drinks to the styles and innovations of running shoes. He was disappointed that many of the companies he tried chime his ideas to ignored him, so he had to put shoes together him and repair them himself for his athletes. Knight was one of the athletes that took part in Bowerman's track program and when he graduated from the Oregon, he earned his MBA in finance from Stanford University. This is where he wrote a paper that proposed that Japan could make a running shoe that could rival their German counterparts. After hearing nothing from a few Asian manufacturers, he took a shot at the dark and contacted Onitsuka Tiger (who are now ASICS) and agreed to distribute their shoes in America. He contained Bowerman as soon as he got the sample shoes just to sell them to him but Bowerman had other ideas and wanted to be a partner so he could pass on his ideas.

This formed Blue Ribbon Sports in 1964 and ordered 300 pairs of shoes, while Knight sold the shoes, Bowrman began researching the shoes to see if he could do any improvement s and make them lighter. He would get the University of Oregon runner to test out his developments, at the same time business was doing well as Knight was selling the shoes out of his car. It was in 1965 that they opened their first retail store and also around this time they hired Jeff Johnson as they couldn't keep up their manage with the BRS stuff and their everyday jobs. He was invaluable to them as he helped market the company and even got a mail order system running But he defined the company in another way. This was the time that the bond with Onitsuka was broken as Knight and Bowerman felt that they wanted to make their own athletic shoes rather than distribute other companies ones. So they parted and feeling that they needed a fresh start changed the name of the company to Nike which Johnston came up with.

The name Nike comes from the Greek goddess of the same name and she was the goddess of victory which relates to both Knights and Bowermans background. With the name they also needed a logo/symbol that will define the brand especially as they were going to release their own athletic shoes. Carolyn Davidson was a graphic design student who studied at Portland State University who created the international renowned symbol that we still see today called the Swoosh. She gave Knight and other execs a few designs but they chose the Swoosh with Knight stating 'I don't love it but I think it will grow on me.' She billed the company $35 and continued to work for them for twelve more years leaving in September 1983. Knight never forgot her contribution to company as when she left he gave her a diamond ring which was engraved with the swoosh and he gave her some of Nike's stock.

Their first shoe that carried was called Nike and was released in the summer of 1971. The following year was the year that they had their line up of Nike shoes, it was also around this time that Bowerman developed the Waffle designed show. In 1978 the company officially named themselves Nike. Inc and their first professional athlete that was signed was Ilie Nastase, he was the blueprint of their sponsorship ethos. As the company would use athletes as a way to market their items for many years to come, which they still do today.

Many years later and Nike has not only become one of the biggest sport clothes company in the world but they have become a worldwide brand that is instantly recognizable. You can't go to a sporting event without seeing the symbolic swoosh. Their Headquarters are in Portland near Beaverton, so if you are staying in the Oregon rentals in that area you may see some of the top executives that work there but more importantly there is a special complex that the Nike sponsored athletes that visit from time to time so you might be able to see your favourite sporting star. Nike started from two guys with a vision, I don't think they envisioned this amount of success though.

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