Marketing Mix Of Nike

sale of Nike’s high-margin products to high-end customers. Regardless of the low cost of the World Shoes, they

The current image of Nike is of a brand which provides goods of all ages for people who are athletic or sporty and have a casual lifestyle with fashionable taste. Their main items for selling are sporting goods of all types which include shoes, shirts etc. however, another image of Nike is that it fulfills the self esteem needs of the buyer as Nike products are not cheap and not all classes of people can afford them. Also Nike is often preferred over other brands as it

Nike is the leading and yet renowned supplier of athletic apparel and shoes. The company controls close to 33% of the global athletic shoe market (Dogiamis & Vijayashanker,2009).Nike was founded by Bill Power and Phil Knight in 1962 as a Blue Ribbon Support and then was later on renamed to Nike in the year 1968 (Patrow,2003).The company supplies very high quality product in close to 100 countries with major markets being located in the U.S,U,K, Asia Pacific as well as in the Americas. The company has managed to attain its lead and legendary position via the application of innovative and yet attractive product design which is backed by quality production as well as well crafted marketing strategies.

Nike has totally changed the sports footwear and sportswear market. Nike's huge selection of merchandise consists of specialized workout equipment, footwear, clothing, accessories and sports components. Nike is among the world's biggest brands and a leader in the sportswear industry because of their advertising, innovative products and sponsorship of top teams and

NIKE, Inc. designs, develops, markets and sells footwear, apparel, and equipment, accessories and services. Its athletic footwear products are designed primarily for specific athletic use, although a large percentage of the products are worn for casual or leisure purposes. It focuses on NIKE Brand and Brand Jordan product offerings in seven key categories: running, basketball, football, men's training, women's training, NIKE sportswear, and action sports. It also markets product designed for kids, as well as for other athletic and recreational uses such as baseball, cricket, golf, lacrosse, outdoor activities, football, tennis, volleyball, walking, and wrestling.

6). This strategy is a major component of Nike’s business strategic level plan. In applying this strategy, Nike has attained a great deal of consumer insight, which it uses to offer uniquely designed premium products to the athletes. Still on product differentiation, Nike focuses more on research and development at a greater level. These unique features to Nike, have transformed the competition levels in this competitive industry, leading to a trend of a paradigm shift in the market. Most consumers opt for Nike branded sports products and apparels, at the expense of the other brand names.

The cost to the retailer is approximately 35.50$ which includes in the Research and development ($0.25), promotion/advertising ($4.00), Sales/distribution/admin ($5.00) and Nike’s operating profit ($6.23). While the cost of the user is $70.00 which holds in it the Retailer’s rent ($9.00), personnel ($9.50), other ($7.00) and Retailer’s operating profit ($9.00) (Break Down of Nike’s cost, 1995). In the first quarter of 2015, the revenues for Nike increased 15% from 7.4$ to $8.0billion. Gross margin elevated 46.6%. The increase was due to higher margin products and higher average prices. Selling/administrative expense exceeded 21% , reaching to $2.5 billion. Operating expense increased 19% to $1.6 billion and the net income increased 23% to $962 million (Leonard, 2015). Nike’s Inventories were $4.0 billion, short-term investments and cash were $1.0 billion, $4.6 billion, which was lower compared to the last year. (Nike News,

Currently, Nike stand as a leading figure in producing high quality sports and fitness equipment and apparels. Bearing just a simple start of selling Japanese imported shoes from a station wagon has transformed

Brands use different strategies to create competitive advantages to beat with their rivals. Some companies use “Overall Cost Leadership” to increase profit by reducing costs and increase market share by lowering price. Some companies use “Focus Strategies” to select a group of market and tailor its strategy to serve that group. The others use “Product Differentiation” as a strategy to obtain a premium price by making unique products. Nike, with its differentiation strategy, the company is continuing to separate its self from the competitors by using its superior technology and innovation. This paper mainly discusses on the company’s product differentiation and analysis how the company using this strategy to build its brand image and become a market leader in sportswear industry. A brief discuss about Nike competitive advantage which related to its broad differentiation aspect and the company product life cycle are also presented on this paper.

This form of marketing can be described as brand positioning or brand architecture. Brand positioning can be best described as a motivational reason to buy one's product over others, "is guided, directed and delivered by the brand's benefits/reasons to buy; and it focuses at all points of contact with the consumer" (Management study guide, 2011). Nike creates value and sustains competitive advantage over other competitors with this technique because image is a big factor in today's markets, a large number of consumers are likely to develop product intimacy; those who care more about the quality rather than the price. This takes us to Nike's price strategy, which they target consumers who focus more on product intimacy and care less about the price. Giving Nike the advantage over other competitors setting higher prices for its products; consumers who believe a product to be of high quality are prone to pay a higher price.

NIKE‘s unique value proposition has been on the innovative design, finesse and quality of their Product line. Innovation has been a constant driving factor of NIKE since its inception.

Competition is very fierce due to the number of companies competing for sales. Lots of money goes to marketing and promotions using various channels to reach the young demographic group of consumers who spend the most money on Nike’s products. Growth is slowing down in the athletic footwear industry. But new markets are emerging with high growth rates. These markets include extreme sports market and the corporate merchandise market.

The sportswear industry is very price sensitive and most competitors prices are about the same. Nike sells its products in Nike shops and the selling of its products direct to the consumers conflicts with other resellers of the brand. Most of Nike’s earnings are derived from selling into retailers.

Nike, Inc. has been the world’s leading innovator and provider in athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for 50 years. Their mission has been to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world; if you have a body, you are an athlete. Arguably one of the most innovative companies in the world, Nike has built its brand into an iconic world-class powerhouse that continues to dominate the market with no signs of slowing up. Nike’s marketing and advertising have been breakthrough, aspirational, and legendary over the years, featuring high-profile athletes and heroes.

The report is about Nike, regarding the case study. The report elaborates on the aspects including buyer behaviour, brand image, consumer decision making, and marketing research techniques applicable to Nike. 3.0 Introduction Nike is the worlds number one sports shoe company. In the US Nike dominates 35% (source: see appendices) of the sports shoe market and its products are sold in more than 140