Strategic Analysis Nike

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

The factors that drive Nike’s decision to stick with its current organizational structure include its well-established brand name in the industry. The company positioned itself as a brand

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.

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.

Swoosh! Inside Nike," the top to the bottom narrative from CNBC on Nike, the world's biggest shoe and attire company. CNBC presents the significant figures in the realm of Nike-prime supporter Phil Knight, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, LeBron James, Charles Barkley and others each giving their own perspectives of how Nike has moved to its transcendent position. During "Swoosh! Inside Nike," ball legend Michael Jordan depicts how Nike charmed him in 1984 and how his function with Nike's main shoe planner, Tinker Hatfield, has achieved numerous fiercely fruitful renditions of the Air Jordan (Swoosh!

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.

Before the Internet era, Nike had already established itself. It had done well though TV ads and celebrities getting on board like Bo Jackson. However, when the new era came, it changed everything for Nike. They needed to be able to change with the new era. If millions of people use Facebook, IG, and Twitter, Nike needed to expose themselves in those areas as well. Therefore, they became more up-to-date, and gained more attention that way with the millennial crowd. This allowed Nike to become more holistic in the modern world. This new community created insane amounts of data, which Nike used to track behaviors, creates online groups of Nike fans, and builds meaningful relationships between the brand and its customers. Nike adopted a range of digital exercises such as a strong emphasis on storytelling, being an authentic brand, understanding and communication with customers on their terms, being extraordinary and shareable, and allowing complete customization.

Nike was founded under the name Blue Ribbon Sports in 1964. In 1972 the first pair of sports shoes was sold and experienced enormous growth and achieved a 50% market share within the sports shoe market in the US only eight years later.

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.

Nike's management's bet on celebrities marketing. These athlete celebrities including Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods had introduced and placed Nike and its

Nike has an umbrella of brands under its name like Nike Golf, Nike Pro, Nike+, Air Jordan, Air Force 1, etc. Nike is a highly recognizable brand across the globe as because of it’s swoosh logo and the trademark “Just Do It.”. Nike is endorsed by many famous sports personality which makes the brand more desirable.

Nike's grand strategy is Growth . The company feels the international marketplace (rather than the domestic) is where the majority of growth will be realized in the next five years. Product Differentiation is the product strategy that Nike has utilized and will continue to use as design creativity is one of Nike's core competencies.

Meaningfulness as a brand the meaning of Nike is the “greek goddess of victory”. Likability of the brand the symbol of the brand reminds the minds the sign of ok in addition it is associated with victory and winning. These all have a positive effect on peoples minds. Adaptability is how the brand responds to change nike has changed its logo many times in years which shows how Nike uses adaptability for brand equity. Transferability is the capability of the brand to add new products nike always adds to their portfolio of products they also change their logo according to gender ,product etc. Protectability is the last of these elements which is about protection and legal registration nike has protected their brand elements with the swoosh appearing alongside the trademark “just do it” since

Strong Global Brand: Nike is the most valuable sports brand in the world. Its “Swoosh” logo is instantly recognizable around the globe. Its long partnership with legendary basketball player Michael Jordan has driven strong sales of the company’s basketball sneakers, including the retro business, which makes up about half of the Jordan shoe business. In fact, one of every two basketball shoes in the U.S. last year carried that Jordan brand. Nike’s ability to maintain and enhance its iconic brands has allowed it to enjoy continued success for decades.