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Taking a Look at Nike Inc.

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Brief Overview Nike, Inc. is a multinational corporation that designs, develops, markets, and sells athletic footwear, apparel, equipment, and accessories for a variety of sports and fitness activities. In 1964, it started its empire as a company that distributed Japanese running shoes, Tiger, in the United States with the name Blue Ribbon Sports in 1964. Nike founders—Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight—had a great coach-student relationship when both were still at University of Oregon; Bowerman was Knight’s coach seeking a better running shoe and Knight loved athletics so much that he could not live without it. This friendship led to the existence of Blue Ribbon Sports. After the success of selling Tiger shoes, the company renamed itself Nike in 1971. Nike is actually the name of the winged Greek goddess of victory and the SWOOSH logo represents her wing. Carolyn Davidson, who was Knight’s student at Portland State University, designed and trademarked the logo in 1971. They introduced the “Just Do It” slogan in 1988 and that immediately boosted Nike into a sports supplier powerhouse. It surged the market share from 18% to 43% in 1988. The slogan inspires consumers to push beyond limits and strive to achieve new goals. Nike has become the number one sporting brand in the world, netting in revenue of $25.3 billion in 2013. Nike, Inc. wholly-owns the following seven footwear and apparel companies that specialize in different sports: Nike Brand, Cole Haan, Converse, Hurley

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