Nike began in 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports and was founded by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight. Through innovative products, strategic acquisitions and partnerships with athletes, Nike grew to become the leading sportswear company in the world. Key events in Nike's growth included launching the Nike brand in 1972, signing Michael Jordan in 1984 which led to the popular Air Jordan line, and acquiring brands like Converse. Today Nike operates over 1,100 stores globally and has annual revenue of over $34 billion.

1. (1000logos, 2021)
ABSTRACT
When we think sports, we think Nike. This is
not a coincidence. This is because Nike has
taken the world by a storm to become the
leading company is sports and its related
apparels. Through the company’s innovative
way of thinking and its relentless pursuit for
success, Nike grew from ground up to its global
household name it is today. The company’s
iconoclastic marketing and branding strategies
were the most important driving forces of its
success. Nike did not just wake up to be a
company in this report we will look at the origin
of the company, the growth of the company and
some achievements of the company, Nike.

2. INTRODUCTION
Nike, Inc., whose headquarters is in Beaverton, Oregon, near the
Portland metropolitan area is a multinational sporting goods
company. The company, Nike, Inc., is dominating the sporting
goods industry by the manufacturing, designing, developing,
marketing, and selling of footwears, sports apparels, equipment’s,
and accessories while also providing their services across various
product categories. They do not limit themselves to one sport, they
involve themselves with running, soccer, football, basketball,
baseball, lacrosse, training, cricket, and tennis. (Kim, 2020). For the
2017 budgetary year, the company, Nike, Inc., announced almost
$34.4billion in revenue, which dominates that of all its major
competitors like Adidas (approximately $22.4 billion in 2017) and
Under Amour3 (approximately $4.8 billion in 2018) (Kim, 2020).

3. BODY OF REPORT
Nike, Inc., or as it was called some time ago blue lace sports, from the time of 1964-1978 was established in 1964 by Bill Bowerman an Olympic style events
mentor and his previous understudy Phil Knight (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, 2019). Together, in 1966 they opened their first retail outlet and in
1972 the Nike brand shoe was dispatched. In 1978, the organization was subsequently renamed Nike, Inc., and opened to the world two years after. Nike had
retail outlets and wholesalers in 170 nations and its logo, the curved check mark called 'the swoosh' was perceived everywhere on the world by the mid-21st
century (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, 2019). From the last part of the 1980s, Nike extended its business consistently and started broadening its
product offering through different buys. Such purchases include shoe companies like, Cole Haan, and Converse Inc., Canstar Sports which was a sports
equipment producer that was later called Bauer, and Umbro, which specializes in athletic apparel and equipment. Nike created the all-conditions-gear (Nike
ACG) in 1996, that markets products for extreme sports some of which include, snowboarding and mountain biking (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica,
2019). The company began selling sports technology accessories, such as high-altitude wristwatches and portable heart rate monitors. Endorsements from
athletes such as Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, and Mia Hamm, helped in the company’s success.
Moving on, this report will look at the growth of the company, Nike, Inc., since its founding. It should be intriguing to know the company Nike, Inc., the leading
supplier in athletic shoes and apparels began with just a thousand U.S. dollars (Gren, 2019). The Nike dream began on January 8th, 1964. Also, in 1964, the
started selling their items out of the rear of Knight's vehicle. Following a time of business BRS (Blue Ribbon Sports) as it was called prior to changing to Nike,
sells more than 1,000 sets of shoes and piles up $20,000 in salts. Two years in the wake of beginning the business Blue Ribbon Sports store opened their first
retail location in Santa Monica, CA (Rodriguez, 2017). On the 4th of December 1974, the ‘Waffle Trainer’ Nikes’ first commercially produced sneakers,
becomes the number one sneaker sold in the U.S. Despite this success, the company Nike, does not stop there. To additionally improve the world of sports, in
the year April first, 1982, they collaborate with a planner named Bruce Kilgore to make the 'Nike Air Force 1' the first ever basketball shoe produced by the
organization. (Rodriguez, 2017).

4. As one would expect the sneaker immediately becomes a huge success among basketball players and eventually among the young youths. Three years later, still
relishing in their success of the ‘Air Force’ brand, the popular basketballer, Michael Jordan, signs a contract with Nike, Inc., to release the ‘Air Jordan 1’which led
to the hit new brand, ‘Air Jordan’s’upon its release to the public (Rodriguez, 2017). Take note that the ‘Air Jordan’brand shoe was not made available to the public
till a year after its release. By the 5th of December 1987, Nike sales reach a total of over a billion dollars in the company’s history. On the 11th of July 1989, the
company, Nike, Inc., signs the superstar athlete Bo Jackson, and later launches a campaign known as ‘Bo Knows’ which later helps Nike to generate a lot of funds
(Rodriguez, 2017). In the primary quarter of 2002, April twentieth, a new line devoted to skating shoes and clothes 'Nike SB' was dispatched. Although it did spark
controversy in the skating world as other skating companies termed them as ‘too commercial’. Afterward, the organization Nike, Inc., started supporting skating
crews and planning trademark trainers for skaters like Paul Rodriguez. The Nike ‘SB Dunk’ was the first Nike skate shoe. By July 22nd, 2008, utilizing NASA
created innovation, the organization starts dealing with and discharges the 'Nike Lunar' that considers the best solace and sturdiness (Rodriguez, 2017). The ‘Nike
Lunar’ provides the wearer with breathability, responsiveness, and durability. Seeing as the technology was a huge success it became staple in almost all Nike shoes
till this date (Rodriguez, 2017). Now, since its founding the company Nike, Inc., has come to acquire other businesses like, its two subsidiary brands, Hurley, and
Converse. Hurley focuses on designing and distributing action sports and youth lifestyle apparel and accessories across the North American regions, and the brand
reported approximately $600 million in revenue in 2017. While the Hurley brand mainly targets consumers in North America, Converse, another wholly owned
subsidiary of Nike, operates at the international level. The primary focus of Converse is designing, distributing, and licensing casual sneakers, apparels, and
accessories unlike its parent brand or Hurley, which heavily deal with sporting goods. In 2017, Converse brand reported more than $2 billion in revenue,
representing a 2% increase from the previous year (Kim, 2020). Today, Nike, Inc., is a multinational, multibillion dollar company that provides its consumers with
the best services. They dominate the market with their ever-existing passion for innovation and how to better serve their consumers.

5. The last part of this report will mention a few achievements of the multinational, multibillion dollar company Nike, Inc. Based on a
report by (Lee, 2015), some of the achievements of Nike, Inc., incorporate, the elimination of the SF6- a climate warming gas used in
air-sole padding units in 1996, the revealing of the names of their factories to foster greater industry transparency and collaborations in
2005, the use of recycled plastic bottles which they turned into recycled polyester to make jerseys for Brazil, Netherlands, and Portugal
in the year 2010. It does not stop here. (Nike, Inc.,, n.d.) says, in 2006 October 18th Nike was named the country’s ‘Best Workplaces for
Commuters’. Still 2006, by 9th November, Nike was named top 10 for ‘Social Responsibility Reporting’. By January 8th, 2007, the
company was named in the ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’ by Fortune Magazines. To summarise the company’s’ achievement,
(Kim, 2020) says Nike currently operates more than 1,100 stores in the United States and around the world, including its subsidiary
brands (i.e., Converse and Hurley). Nike has nearly 400 retail stores and distribution centres in the U.S., which account for
approximately 46% of the company’s total revenue in 2017. The company also operates more than 750 retail stores all around the globe,
including Converse stores. For fiscal year 2017, international sales of Nike brand and Converse accounted for 54% of the company’s
total revenue. Among the company’s international markets, almost half of the revenue comes from the North American market (around
$15 billion), followed by Western Europe ($6.2 billion), Greater China ($4.2 billion), and emerging markets (e.g., Argentina, Uruguay,
Chile, Korea, and Mexico, $4 billion).

6. CONCLUSION
In conclusion, just as Rome was not built in a day, the
multinational, multibillion-dollar company Nike, Inc.,
took years to become the leading manufacturer in the
sports industry. The companies drive for innovation and
better services to their customers propelled the
company to do better than they already are. The
company does not save money, being cost sensitive in
their pursuit for greatness, the company spends money
to make more money whilst ensuring the proper state of
mind and body of their workers.

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https://www.industryleadersmagazine.com/the-evolution-of-nike/
Kim, M. (2020). How Phil Knight made Nike a leader in the sport industry: examining the success factors.
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Lee, I. (2015, June 22). Enotes Editorial. From Enotes.com: https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-
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Nike, Inc.,. (n.d.). Nike. From News.Nike.com: https://news.nike.com/awards
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https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nike-Inc. Accessed 2 February 2021.