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Nike, Inc. ( or ) is an American
multinational corporation A multinational company (MNC), also referred to as a multinational enterprise (MNE), a transnational enterprise (TNE), a transnational corporation (TNC), an international corporation or a stateless corporation with subtle but contrasting senses, i ...
that is engaged in the design, development, manufacturing, and worldwide marketing and sales of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, in the
Portland metropolitan area The Portland metropolitan area is a metro area in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington centered on the principal city of Portland, Oregon. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) identifies it as the Portland–Vancouver–Hillsboro, ...
. It is the world's largest supplier of
athletic shoe Sneakers (also called trainers, athletic shoes, tennis shoes, gym shoes, kicks, sport shoes, flats, running shoes, or runners) are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but which are now also widely used f ...
s and apparel and a major manufacturer of
sports equipment Sports equipment, sporting equipment, also called sporting goods, are the tools, materials, apparel, and gear used to compete in a sport and varies depending on the sport. The equipment ranges from balls, nets, and protective gear like helmets. ...
, with revenue in excess of US$37.4 billion in its fiscal year 2020 (ending May 31, 2020). As of 2020, it employed 76,700 people worldwide. In 2020, the brand alone was valued in excess of $32 billion, making it the most valuable brand among sports businesses. Previously, in 2017, the Nike brand was valued at $29.6 billion. Nike ranked 89th in the 2018 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue. The company was founded on January 25, 1964, as "Blue Ribbon Sports", by
Bill Bowerman William Jay Bowerman (February 19, 1911 – December 24, 1999) was an American track and field coach and co-founder of Nike, Inc. Over his career, he trained 31 Olympic athletes, 51 All-Americans, 12 American record-holders, 22 NCAA champi ...
and
Phil Knight Philip Hampson Knight (born February 24, 1938) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the co-founder and chairman ''emeritus'' of Nike, Inc., and was previously chairman and CEO of the company. As of October 3, 2022, Knight was ranke ...
, and officially became Nike, Inc. on May 30, 1971. The company takes its name from
Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...
, the Greek goddess of victory. Nike markets its products under its own brand, as well as Nike Golf, Nike Pro,
Nike+ Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...
,
Air Jordan Air Jordan is an American brand of basketball shoes produced by American corporation Nike. The first Air Jordan shoe was produced for Hall of Fame former basketball player Michael Jordan during his time with the Chicago Bulls in late 1984 an ...
,
Nike Blazers The Nike Blazer was the third shoe released under the newly-named sports brand Nike in 1973, originally developed as a basketball shoe. History This sneaker was originally worn by NBA star George "The Iceman" Gervin. This introduced NBA fan ...
, Air Force 1, Nike Dunk,
Air Max Nike Air Max is a line of shoes produced by Nike, Inc., with the first model released in 1987. Air Max shoes are identified by their midsoles incorporating flexible urethane pouches filled with pressurized gas, visible from the exterior of the ...
, Foamposite,
Nike Skateboarding Nike Skateboarding, primarily known as Nike SB, is the Nike brand for its line of shoes, clothing, and equipment for skateboarding. Nike Skateboarding won the 2020 Webby People’s Voice Award for Best Home/Welcome Page in the category Web. His ...
, Nike CR7, and subsidiaries including
Air Jordan Air Jordan is an American brand of basketball shoes produced by American corporation Nike. The first Air Jordan shoe was produced for Hall of Fame former basketball player Michael Jordan during his time with the Chicago Bulls in late 1984 an ...
and
Converse Converse may refer to: Mathematics and logic * Converse (logic), the result of reversing the two parts of a definite or implicational statement ** Converse implication, the converse of a material implication ** Converse nonimplication, a logical c ...
. Nike also owned Bauer Hockey from 1995 to 2008, and previously owned
Cole Haan Cole Haan is an American brand of men's and women's footwear and accessories that serves markets worldwide. The company was founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1928. Cole Haan currently has its headquarters in both New York City and Greenland, New Ha ...
,
Umbro Umbro is an English sports equipment manufacturer founded in 1924 in Wilmslow, Cheshire and based in Manchester. They specialise in football and rugby sportswear featuring their ''Double Diamond'' logo. Umbro products are marketed in over 10 ...
, and
Hurley International Hurley is an American company that sells clothes and accessories marketed towards surfing and swimming. Established in 1979 as a distributor for Billabong clothing in the United States, Hurley was sold to Nike, Inc. in 2002 for an undisclosed p ...
. In addition to manufacturing sportswear and equipment, the company operates retail stores under the Niketown name. Nike sponsors many high-profile athletes and sports teams around the world, with the highly recognized trademarks of "
Just Do It ''Just Do It '' or JDI for short is a trademark of shoe company Nike, and it is one of the core components of Nike's brand. The slogan was coined in 1988 at an advertising agency meeting. The founder of the Wieden+Kennedy agency, Dan Wieden, cr ...
" and the
Swoosh The Swoosh is the logo of American sportswear designer and retailer Nike. Today, it has become one of the most recognizable brand logos in the world, and the most valuable, having a worth of $26 billion alone. Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight fou ...
logo.


Origins and history

Nike, originally known as Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS), was founded by
University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...
track athlete
Phil Knight Philip Hampson Knight (born February 24, 1938) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the co-founder and chairman ''emeritus'' of Nike, Inc., and was previously chairman and CEO of the company. As of October 3, 2022, Knight was ranke ...
and his coach,
Bill Bowerman William Jay Bowerman (February 19, 1911 – December 24, 1999) was an American track and field coach and co-founder of Nike, Inc. Over his career, he trained 31 Olympic athletes, 51 All-Americans, 12 American record-holders, 22 NCAA champi ...
, on January 25, 1964. The company initially operated in Eugene,
Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...
as a distributor for Japanese shoe maker
Onitsuka Tiger Onitsuka Tiger (co-branded as Asics Tiger since 2022) is a Japanese sports fashion brand started in 1949 by Onitsuka Shōkai (鬼塚商会, Onitsuka Co., Ltd), a sports shoes company founded by Kihachiro Onitsuka. Onitsuka Shōkai changed its nam ...
, making most sales at track meets out of Knight's automobile. According to
Otis Davis Otis Crandall Davis (born July 12, 1932) is a former American athlete, winner of two gold medals for record-breaking performances in both the 400 m and 4 × 400 m relay at the 1960 Summer Olympics. Davis set a new world record of 44.9 seconds ...
, a University of Oregon student-athlete coached by Bowerman and Olympic gold medalist at the
1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...
, his coach made the first pair of Nike shoes for him, contradicting a claim that they were made for Phil Knight. According to Davis, "I told
Tom Brokaw Thomas John Brokaw (; born February 6, 1940) is an American retired network television journalist and author. He first served as the co-anchor of ''The Today Show'' from 1976 to 1981 with Jane Pauley, then as the anchor and managing editor of '' ...
that I was the first. I don't care what all the billionaires say. Bill Bowerman made the first pair of shoes for me. People don't believe me. In fact, I didn't like the way they felt on my feet. There was no support and they were too tight. But I saw Bowerman made them from the
waffle iron A waffle iron or waffle maker is a utensil or appliance used to cook waffles. It comprises two metal plates with a connecting hinge, molded to create the honeycomb pattern found on waffles. The iron is heated and either batter is poured or dou ...
, and they were mine". In its first year in business, BRS sold 1,300 pairs of Japanese running shoes grossing $8,000. By 1965, sales had reached $20,000. In 1966, BRS opened its first retail store at 3107 Pico Boulevard in
Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing t ...
. In 1967, due to increasing sales, BRS expanded retail and distribution operations on the East Coast, in
Wellesley, Massachusetts Wellesley () is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Wellesley is part of Greater Boston. The population was 29,550 at the time of the 2020 census. Wellesley College, Babson College, and a campus of Massachusetts Bay Communit ...
. By 1971, the relationship between BRS and Onitsuka Tiger came to an end. BRS prepared to launch its own line of footwear, which was rebranded as Nike, and would bear the
Swoosh The Swoosh is the logo of American sportswear designer and retailer Nike. Today, it has become one of the most recognizable brand logos in the world, and the most valuable, having a worth of $26 billion alone. Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight fou ...
newly designed by Carolyn Davidson. The Swoosh was first used by Nike on June 18, 1971, and was registered with the
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alexa ...
on January 22, 1974. In 1976, the company hired John Brown and Partners, based in Seattle, as its first
advertising agency An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generally ...
. The following year, the agency created the first "brand ad" for Nike, called "There is no finish line", in which no Nike product was shown. By 1980, Nike had attained a 50% market share in the U.S. athletic shoe market, and the company went public in December of that year.
Wieden+Kennedy Wieden+Kennedy (W+K; earlier styled ''Wieden & Kennedy'') is an American independent global advertising agency best known for its work for Nike, Inc., Nike. Founded by Dan Wieden and David Kennedy (advertising), David Kennedy, and headquartered ...
, Nike's primary ad agency, has worked with Nike to create many print and television advertisements, and Wieden+Kennedy remains Nike's primary ad agency. It was agency co-founder
Dan Wieden Dan Gordon Wieden (; March 6, 1945 – September 30, 2022) was an American advertising executive who co-founded ad firm Wieden+Kennedy. A native of Oregon, he coined the Nike tagline "Just Do It." Early life Wieden was born in Portland, Oregon, ...
who coined the now-famous slogan "
Just Do It ''Just Do It '' or JDI for short is a trademark of shoe company Nike, and it is one of the core components of Nike's brand. The slogan was coined in 1988 at an advertising agency meeting. The founder of the Wieden+Kennedy agency, Dan Wieden, cr ...
" for a 1988 Nike ad campaign, which was chosen by ''Advertising Age'' as one of the top five ad slogans of the 20th century and enshrined in the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
. Walt Stack was featured in Nike's first "Just Do It" advertisement, which debuted on July 1, 1988. Wieden credits the inspiration for the slogan to "Let's do it", the last words spoken by
Gary Gilmore Gary Mark Gilmore (born Faye Robert Coffman; December 4, 1940 – January 17, 1977) was an American criminal who gained international attention for demanding the implementation of his death sentence for two murders he had admitted to committing ...
before he was executed. Throughout the 1980s, Nike expanded its product line to encompass many sports and regions throughout the world. In 1990, Nike moved into its eight-building World Headquarters campus in Beaverton, Oregon. The first Nike retail store, dubbed Niketown, opened in
downtown Portland Downtown Portland is the city center of Portland, Oregon, United States. It is on the west bank of the Willamette River in the northeastern corner of the southwest section of the city and where most of the city's high-rise buildings are found ...
in November of that year. Phil Knight announced in mid-2015 that he would step down as chairman of Nike in 2016. He officially stepped down from all duties with the company on June 30, 2016. In a company public announcement on March 15, 2018, Nike CEO
Mark Parker Mark Parker (born October 21, 1955) is an American businessman. He serves as executive chairman of Nike, Inc. He was named the third CEO of the company in 2006 and served as president and CEO until 13 January 2020. Personal life Parker was born ...
said Trevor Edwards, a top Nike executive who was seen as a potential successor to the chief executive, was relinquishing his position as Nike's brand president and would retire in August. In October 2019,
John Donahoe John Joseph Donahoe II (born April 30, 1960) is an American businessman who is the CEO of Nike. Early in his career he worked for Bain & Company, becoming the firm's president and CEO in 1999. He is on the board of directors at Nike, The Bridgesp ...
was announced as the next CEO, and succeeded Parker on January 13, 2020. In November 2019, the company stopped selling directly through
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...
, focusing more on direct relationships with customers. On June 24, 2021, during an earnings call with investors, CEO John Donahoe stated that "Nike is a brand that is of China and for China", in response to a question about competing against Chinese brands.


Acquisitions

Nike has acquired and sold several apparel and footwear companies over the course of its history. Its first acquisition was the upscale footwear company
Cole Haan Cole Haan is an American brand of men's and women's footwear and accessories that serves markets worldwide. The company was founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1928. Cole Haan currently has its headquarters in both New York City and Greenland, New Ha ...
in 1988, followed by the purchase of
Bauer Hockey Bauer Hockey LLC (renamed Nike Bauer from 2005 to 2008) is a manufacturer of ice hockey equipment, fitness and recreational skates and apparel. Bauer produces helmets, gloves, sticks, skates, shin guards, pants, shoulder pads, elbow pads, hockey ...
in 1994. In 2002, Nike bought surf apparel company
Hurley International Hurley is an American company that sells clothes and accessories marketed towards surfing and swimming. Established in 1979 as a distributor for Billabong clothing in the United States, Hurley was sold to Nike, Inc. in 2002 for an undisclosed p ...
from founder Bob Hurley. In 2003, Nike paid US$309 million to acquire sneaker company
Converse Converse may refer to: Mathematics and logic * Converse (logic), the result of reversing the two parts of a definite or implicational statement ** Converse implication, the converse of a material implication ** Converse nonimplication, a logical c ...
. The company acquired Starter in 2004 and soccer uniform maker
Umbro Umbro is an English sports equipment manufacturer founded in 1924 in Wilmslow, Cheshire and based in Manchester. They specialise in football and rugby sportswear featuring their ''Double Diamond'' logo. Umbro products are marketed in over 10 ...
in 2007. In order to refocus its business lines, Nike began divesting itself of some of its subsidiaries in the 2000s. It sold Starter in 2007 and Bauer Hockey in 2008. The company sold Umbro in 2012 and Cole Haan in 2013. As of 2020, Nike owns only one subsidiary: Converse Inc. Nike acquired Zodiac, a consumer data analytics company, in March 2018. In August 2019, the company acquired Celect, a Boston-based predictive analytics company. In December 2021, Nike purchased RTFKT Studios, a virtual shoe company that makes NFTs. In February 2021, Nike acquired Datalogue, a New York based company focused on digital sales and machine learning technology.


Finance

Nike was made a member of the
Dow Jones Industrial Average The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), Dow Jones, or simply the Dow (), is a stock market index of 30 prominent companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States. The DJIA is one of the oldest and most commonly followed equity inde ...
in 2013, when it replaced Alcoa. On December 19, 2013, Nike's quarterly profit rose due to a 13 percent increase in global orders for merchandise since April of that year. Future orders of shoes or clothes for delivery between December and April, rose to $10.4 billion. Nike shares (NKE) rose 0.6 percent to $78.75 in extended trading. In November 2015, Nike announced it would initiate a $12 billion share buyback, as well as a two-for-one stock split, with shares to begin trading at the decreased price on December 24. The split will be the seventh in company history. In June 2018, Nike announced it would initiate a $15 billion share buyback over four years, to begin in 2019 upon completion of the previous buyback program. For the fiscal year 2018, Nike reported earnings of US$1.933 billion, with annual revenue of US$36.397 billion, an increase of 6.0% over the previous fiscal cycle. Nike's shares traded at over $72 per share, and its market capitalization was valued at over US$114.5 billion in October 2018. In March 2020, Nike reported a 5% drop in Chinese sales associated with stores' closure due to the COVID-19 outbreak. It was the first decrease in six years. At the same time, the company's online sales grew by 36% during Q1 of 2020. Also, the sales of personal training apps grew by 80% in China.


Logo evolution

;Notes


Products


Sports apparel

Nike produces a wide range of sports equipment and apparel. Their first products were track running shoes.
Nike Air Max Nike Air Max is a line of shoes produced by Nike, Inc., with the first model released in 1987. Air Max shoes are identified by their midsoles incorporating flexible urethane pouches filled with pressurized gas, visible from the exterior of the ...
is a line of shoes first released by Nike, Inc. in 1987. Additional product lines were introduced later, such as Air Huarache, which debuted in 1992. The most recent additions to their line are the Nike 6.0, Nike NYX, and Nike SB shoes, designed for skateboarding. Nike has recently introduced cricket shoes called Air Zoom Yorker, designed to be 30% lighter than their competitors'. In 2008, Nike introduced the Air Jordan XX3, a high-performance basketball shoe designed with the environment in mind. Nike's range of products include shoes, jerseys, shorts,
cleats Cleat may refer to: * Cleat (nautical), a fitting on ships, boats, and docks to which ropes are tied * Cleat, Orkney, a place in Scotland * Cleat (shoe), a type or part of a shoe * ''Cleats'' (comic strip), a comic strip by Bill Hinds * Grouser ...
, baselayers, etc. for sports activities such as association football, basketball, track and field,
combat sports A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a competitive contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the opp ...
, tennis,
American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
, athletics, golf,
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
, and
cross training Cross-training is athletic training in sports other than the athlete's usual sport. The goal is improving overall performance. It takes advantage of the particular effectiveness of one training method to negate the shortcomings of another. In gen ...
for men, women, and children. Nike also sells shoes for activities such as skateboarding, baseball, cycling, volleyball,
wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...
,
cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...
,
lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...
,
cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
, aquatic activities, auto racing, and other athletic and recreational uses. Nike recently teamed up with
Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company ...
to produce the
Nike+ Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...
product that monitors a runner's performance via a radio device in the shoe that links to the
iPod nano The iPod Nano (stylised and marketed as iPod nano) is a discontinued portable media player designed and formerly marketed by Apple Inc. The first generation model was introduced on September 7, 2005, as a replacement for the iPod Mini, usin ...
. While the product generates useful statistics, it has been criticized by researchers who were able to identify users' RFID devices from away using small, concealable intelligence motes in a
wireless sensor network Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) refer to networks of spatially dispersed and dedicated sensors that monitor and record the physical conditions of the environment and forward the collected data to a central location. WSNs can measure environmental c ...
. In 2004, Nike launched the SPARQ Training Program/Division. Some of Nike's newest shoes contain Flywire and Lunarlite Foam to reduce weight. The Air Zoom Vomero running shoe, introduced in 2006 and currently in its 11th generation, featured a combination of groundbreaking innovations including a full-length air cushioned sole, an external heel counter, a crashpad in the heel for shock absorption, and Fit Frame technology for a stable fit. Nike Vaporfly The Nike Vaporfly first came out in 2017 and their popularity, along with its performance, prompted a new series of running shoes. The Vaporfly series has a new technological composition that has revolutionized long-distance running since studies have shown that these shoes can improve run times up to 4.2%. The composition of the sole contains a foamy material, Pebax, that Nike has altered and now calls it ZoomX (which can be found in other Nike products as well). Pebax foam can also be found in airplane insulation and is "squishier, bouncier, and lighter" than foams in typical running shoes. In the middle of the ZoomX foam there is a full-length carbon fiber plate "designed to generate extra spring in every step". At the time of this writing Nike had just released its newest product from the Vaporfly line, the Nike ZoomX Vaporfly NEXT%, which was marketed as "the fastest shoe we’ve ever made" using Nike's "two most innovative technologies, Nike ZoomX foam and VaporWeave material".


Street fashions

The Nike brand, with its distinct V-shaped logo, quickly became regarded as a status symbol in modern urban fashion and
hip-hop fashion Hip hop fashion (also known as rap fashion) is a style of clothing, dress originating from Urban African Americans, Black America and inner-city youth located in New York City, followed by Los Angeles, then other cities across the United States. ...
due to its association with success in sport. Beginning in the 1980s, various items of Nike clothing became staples of mainstream American youth fashion, especially tracksuits,
shell suit A tracksuit is an article of clothing consisting of two parts: trousers and a jacket usually with front zipper. It was originally intended for use in sports, mainly for athletes to wear over competition clothing (such as running shirt and shorts ...
s,
baseball cap A baseball cap is a type of soft hat with a rounded crown and a stiff bill projecting in front. The front of the hat typically displays a design or a logo (historically, usually only a sports team, namely a baseball team, or names of relevant c ...
s,
Air Jordans Air Jordan is an American brand of basketball shoes produced by American corporation Nike. The first Air Jordan shoe was produced for Hall of Fame former basketball player Michael Jordan during his time with the Chicago Bulls in late 1984 and ...
, Air Force 1's, and
Air Max Nike Air Max is a line of shoes produced by Nike, Inc., with the first model released in 1987. Air Max shoes are identified by their midsoles incorporating flexible urethane pouches filled with pressurized gas, visible from the exterior of the ...
running shoes with thick, air cushioned rubber soles and contrasting blue, yellow, green, white, or red trim. Limited edition sneakers and prototypes with a regional early release were known as Quickstrikes, and became highly desirable items for teenage members of the sneakerhead subculture. By the 1990s and 2000s, American and European teenagers associated with the preppy or
popular clique A clique ( AusE, CanE, or ), in the social sciences, is a group of individuals who interact with one another and share similar interests. Interacting with cliques is part of normative social development regardless of gender, ethnicity, or popular ...
began combining these sneakers,
leggings Leggings are several types of leg attire that have varied through the years. Modern usage from the 1960s onwards has come to refer to elastic close-fitting high-rise garments worn over the legs typically by women, such as leg warmers or tights ...
, sweatpants,
crop top A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydroponics ...
s, and tracksuits with regular
casual chic Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French word. Pronounced Chick. Etymology ''Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English dictiona ...
street clothes such as jeans, skirts,
leg warmers Leg warmers are coverings for the lower legs, similar to socks but thicker and generally footless. Leg warmers are worn to keep the lower legs warm in colder weather. They can be tubular sleeves, long fabric wrappings, or simple pieces of fur or ...
,
slouch socks Slouch socks (slouchy socks) are a type of sock featuring a heavy non-elastic upper that may be pushed down into heavy folds around the ankles or pulled up to the knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and c ...
, and bomber jackets. Particularly popular were the unisex spandex Nike Tempo
compression shorts Compression garments are pieces of clothing that fit tightly around the skin. In medical contexts, compression garments provide support for people who have to stand for long periods or have poor Circulatory system, circulation. These come in va ...
worn for cycling and running, which had a mesh lining, waterproofing, and, later in the 2000s, a zip pocket for a
Walkman Walkman, stylised as , is a brand of portable audio players manufactured and marketed by Japanese technology company Sony since 1979. The original Walkman was a portable cassette player and its popularity made "walkman" an unofficial term for p ...
or MP3 player. From the late 2000s into the 2010s, Nike Elite basketball socks began to be worn as everyday clothes by hip-hop fans and young children. Originally plain white or black, these socks had special shock absorbing cushioning in the sole plus a moisture wicking upper weave. Later, Nike Elite socks became available in bright colors inspired by throwback basketball uniforms, often with contrasting bold abstract designs, images of celebrities, and freehand digital print to capitalise upon the emerging nostalgia for 1990s fashion. In 2015, a new self-lacing shoe was introduced. Called the
Nike Mag The Nike MAG is a limited-edition shoe created by Nike Inc. It is a replica of a shoe featured in the film ''Back to the Future Part II''. The Nike Mag was originally released for sale in 2011 and again in 2016. Both launches were in limited quan ...
, which are replicas of the shoes featured in ''
Back to the Future Part II ''Back to the Future Part II'' is a 1989 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay by Bob Gale and a story by both. It is the sequel to the 1985 film '' Back to the Future'' and the second installment in the ...
'', it had a preliminary limited release, only available by auction with all proceeds going to the Michael J. Fox Foundation. This was done again in 2016. Nike have introduced a premium line, focused more on streetwear than sports wear called NikeLab. In March 2017, Nike announced its launch of a plus-size clothing line, which will feature new sizes 1X through 3X on more than 200 products. Another significant development at this time was the Chuck Taylor All-Star Modern, an update of the classic basketball sneaker that incorporated the circular knit upper and cushioned foam sole of Nike's Air Jordans.


Collectibles

On July 23, 2019, a pair of Nike Inc. running shoes sold for $437,500 at a
Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...
auction. The so-called "Moon Shoes" were designed by Nike co-founder and track coach Bill Bowerman for runners participating in the 1972 Olympics trials. The buyer was Miles Nadal, a Canadian investor and car collector, who had just paid $850,000 for a group of 99 rare of limited collection pairs of sport shoes. The purchase price was the highest for one pair of sneakers, the previous record being $190,373 in 2017 for a pair of signed
Converse Converse may refer to: Mathematics and logic * Converse (logic), the result of reversing the two parts of a definite or implicational statement ** Converse implication, the converse of a material implication ** Converse nonimplication, a logical c ...
shoes in California, said to have been worn by Michael Jordan during the 1984 basketball final of the Olympics that year.


Headquarters

Nike's world headquarters are surrounded by the city of Beaverton but are within
unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...
Washington County. The city attempted to forcibly annex Nike's headquarters, which led to a lawsuit by Nike, and
lobbying In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...
by the company that ultimately ended in Oregon Senate Bill 887 of 2005. Under that bill's terms, Beaverton is specifically barred from forcibly annexing the land that Nike and
Columbia Sportswear The Columbia Sportswear Company is an American company that manufactures and distributes outerwear, sportswear, and footwear, as well as headgear, camping equipment, ski apparel, and outerwear accessories. It was founded in 1938 by Paul Lam ...
occupy in Washington County for 35 years, while
Electro Scientific Industries Electro Scientific Industries, Inc. (ESI) is an American high technology company headquartered in the Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area, specifically in Beaverton, Oregon, since 2021, but from 1963–2021 it was based in the unincorporated ...
and
Tektronix Tektronix, Inc., historically widely known as Tek, is an American company best known for manufacturing test and measurement devices such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and video and mobile test protocol equipment. Originally an independent ...
receive the same protection for 30 years. Nike is planning to build a 3.2 million square foot expansion to its World Headquarters in Beaverton. The design will target LEED Platinum certification and will be highlighted by natural daylight, and a gray water treatment center.


Controversies

Nike has contracted with more than 700 shops around the world and has offices located in 45 countries outside the United States. Most of the factories are located in Asia, including Indonesia, China, Taiwan, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan, Philippines, and Malaysia. Nike is hesitant to disclose information about the contract companies it works with. However, due to harsh criticism from some organizations like
CorpWatch CorpWatch is a research group based in Berkeley, California, USA. Its stated mission is to expose corporate malfeasance and to advocate for multinational corporate accountability and transparency. Recent Projects * Crocodyl: Pratap Chatterjee ...
, Nike has disclosed information about its contract factories in its Corporate Governance Report.


Sweatshops

In the 1990s, Nike received criticism for its use of
sweatshop A sweatshop or sweat factory is a crowded workplace with very poor, socially unacceptable or illegal working conditions. Some illegal working conditions include poor ventilation, little to no breaks, inadequate work space, insufficient lighting, o ...
s. Later on that year, many protests occurred in big cities such as in Washington, DC and Boston in order to show public outcry for Nikes use of child labor and sweatshops. Nike has been criticized for contracting with factories (known as
Nike sweatshops Nike, Inc. has been accused of using sweatshops and worker abuse to produce footwear and apparel in East Asia. After rising prices and the increasing cost of labor in Korean and Taiwanese factories, Nike began contracting in countries elsewhere ...
) in countries such as China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Mexico. Vietnam Labor Watch, an activist group, has documented that factories contracted by Nike have
violated Violated may refer to: * ''Violated'' (EP), a 1996 EP by Stuck Mojo * ''Violated'' (1996 film), a Nigerian romantic drama film * '' Violated!'', a 1974 film directed by Albert Zugsmith. {{dab ...
minimum wage and overtime
laws in Vietnam Law of Vietnam is based on communist legal theory and French civil law. In 1981 major reforms were made to the judicial and legal system. New laws introduced since: * Penal Code 1912 History 1946: * September 2, 1945 President Ho announced I ...
as late as 1996, although Nike claims that this practice has been stopped. The company has been subject to much critical coverage of the often poor working conditions and
exploitation Exploitation may refer to: *Exploitation of natural resources *Exploitation of labour ** Forced labour *Exploitation colonialism *Slavery ** Sexual slavery and other forms *Oppression *Psychological manipulation In arts and entertainment *Exploi ...
of cheap overseas labor employed in the
free trade zone A free-trade zone (FTZ) is a class of special economic zone. It is a geographic area where goods may be imported, stored, handled, manufactured, or reconfigured and re-exported under specific customs regulation and generally not subject to cu ...
s where their goods are typically manufactured. Sources for this criticism include
Naomi Klein Naomi A. Klein (born May 8, 1970) is a Canadian author, social activist, and filmmaker known for her political analyses, support of ecofeminism, organized labour, left-wing politics and criticism of corporate globalization, fascism, ecofascism ...
's book ''
No Logo ''No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies'' is a book by the Canadian author Naomi Klein. First published by Knopf Canada and Picador in December 1999, shortly after the 1999 Seattle WTO protests had generated media attention around such issue ...
'' and Michael Moore documentaries. Campaigns have been taken up by many colleges and universities, especially
anti-globalisation The anti-globalization movement or counter-globalization movement, is a social movement critical of economic globalization. The movement is also commonly referred to as the global justice movement, alter-globalization movement, anti-globalis ...
groups, as well as several anti-sweatshop groups such as the United Students Against Sweatshops. As of July 2011, Nike stated that two-thirds of its factories producing Converse products still do not meet the company's standards for worker treatment. A July 2011
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
article stated that employees at the company's plants in Indonesia reported constant abuse from supervisors.


Child labor allegations

During the 1990s, Nike faced criticism for the use of child labor in Cambodia and
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
in factories it contracted to manufacture soccer balls. Although Nike took action to curb or at least reduce the practice, they continue to contract their production to companies that operate in areas where inadequate regulation and monitoring make it hard to ensure that child labor is not being used. In 2001, a BBC documentary uncovered occurrences of child labor and poor working conditions in a Cambodian factory used by Nike. The documentary focused on six girls, who all worked seven days a week, often 16 hours a day.


Strike in China factory

In April 2014, one of the biggest strikes in mainland China took place at the
Yue Yuen Industrial Holdings Yue Yuen Industrial (Holdings) Limited is a Taiwanese footwear manufacturer headquartered in Hong Kong and established by its Taiwanese parent company, Pou Chen Group. It is the largest branded athletic and casual footwear manufacturer in the ...
Dongguan Dongguan (; ) is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. An important industrial city in the Pearl River Delta, Dongguan borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the north, Huizhou to the northeast, Shenzhen to the ...
shoe factory, producing amongst others for Nike. Yue Yuen did underpay an employee by 250 yuan (40.82 US Dollars) per month. The average salary at Yue Yuen is 3000 yuan per month. The factory employs 70,000 people. This practice was in place for nearly 20 years.


Paradise Papers

On November 5, 2017, the
Paradise Papers The Paradise Papers are a set of over 13.4 million confidential electronic documents relating to offshore investments that were leaked to the German reporters Frederik Obermaier and Bastian Obermayer, from the newspaper'' Süddeutsch ...
, a set of confidential
electronic document An electronic document is any electronic media content (other than computer programs or system files) that is intended to be used in either an electronic form or as printed output. Originally, any computer data were considered as something inter ...
s relating to
offshore investment Offshore investment is the keeping of money in a jurisdiction other than one's country of residence. Offshore jurisdictions are used to pay less tax in many countries by large and small-scale investors. Poorly regulated offshore domiciles have ser ...
, revealed that Nike is among the corporations that used
offshore companies The term "offshore company" or “offshore corporation” is used in at least two distinct and different ways. An offshore company may be a reference to: * a company, group or sometimes a division thereof, which engages in offshoring business pr ...
to avoid taxes. Appleby documents detail how Nike boosted its after-tax profits by, among other maneuvers, transferring ownership of its Swoosh trademark to a Bermudan subsidiary, Nike International Ltd. This transfer allowed the subsidiary to charge royalties to its European headquarters in Hilversum,
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, effectively converting taxable company profits to an account payable in tax-free
Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...
. Although the subsidiary was effectively run by executives at Nike's main offices in Beaverton, Oregon—to the point where a duplicate of the Bermudan company's seal was needed—for tax purposes the subsidiary was treated as Bermuda. Its profits were not declared in Europe and came to light only because of a mostly unrelated case in US Tax Court, where papers filed by Nike briefly mention royalties in 2010, 2011 and 2012 totaling $3.86 billion. Under an arrangement with Dutch authorities, the tax break was to expire in 2014, so another reorganization transferred the intellectual property from the Bermudan company to a Dutch ''commanditaire vennootschap'' or limited partnership, Nike Innovate CV. Dutch law treats income earned by a CV as if it had been earned by the principals, who owe no tax in the Netherlands if they do not reside there.


Colin Kaepernick

In September 2018, Nike announced it had signed former American football quarterback
Colin Kaepernick Colin Rand Kaepernick ( ; born November 3, 1987) is an American civil rights activist and football quarterback who is a free agent. He played six seasons for the San Francisco 49ers in the National Football League (NFL). In 2016, he knelt du ...
, noted for his controversial decision to kneel during the playing of the US national anthem, to a long-term advertising campaign. According to Charles Robinson of
Yahoo! Sports Yahoo! Sports is a sports news website launched by Yahoo! on December 8, 1997. It receives a majority of its information from STATS, Inc. It employs numerous writers, and has team pages for teams in almost every North American major sport. B ...
, Kaepernick and Nike agreed to a new contract despite the fact Kaepernick has been with the company since 2011 and said that "interest from other shoe companies" played a part in the new agreement. Robinson said the contract is a "wide endorsement" where Kaepernick will have his own branded line including shoes, shirts, jerseys and more. According to Robinson, Kaepernick signed a "star" contract that puts him level with a "top-end NFL player" worth millions per year plus royalties. In response, some people set fire to their own Nike-branded clothes and shoes or cut the Nike swoosh logo out of their clothes, and the
Fraternal Order of Police The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) is a fraternal organization consisting of sworn law enforcement officers in the United States. It reports a membership of over 355,000 members organized in 2,100 local chapters (lodges), state lodges, and th ...
called the advertisement an "insult"; others, such as
LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest p ...
,
Serena Williams Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American inactive professional tennis player. Considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for ...
, and the National Black Police Association, praised Nike for its campaign. The
College of the Ozarks College of the Ozarks is a private Christian college in Point Lookout, Missouri. The college has an enrollment of 1,426 and over 30 academic majors in Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science programs.https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/college ...
removed Nike from all their athletic uniforms in response. During the following week, Nike's stock price fell 2.2%, even as online orders of Nike products rose 27% compared with the previous year. In the following three months, Nike reported a rise in sales. In July 2019, Nike released a shoe featuring a
Betsy Ross flag The Betsy Ross flag is a reconstructed early design for the flag of the United States, which is conformant to the Flag Act of 1777 and has red stripes outermost and stars arranged in a circle. These details elaborate on the 1777 act, passed ea ...
called the Air Max 1 Quick Strike Fourth of July trainers. The trainers were designed to celebrate Independence Day. The model was subsequently withdrawn after
Colin Kaepernick Colin Rand Kaepernick ( ; born November 3, 1987) is an American civil rights activist and football quarterback who is a free agent. He played six seasons for the San Francisco 49ers in the National Football League (NFL). In 2016, he knelt du ...
told the brand he and others found the flag offensive because of its association with slavery. Nike's decision to withdraw the product drew criticism from Arizona's Republican Governor,
Doug Ducey Douglas Anthony Ducey (, né Roscoe Jr.; born April 9, 1964) is an American businessman and politician serving as the 23rd governor of Arizona since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Ducey was previously the CEO of Cold Stone Creamery, a c ...
, and Texas's Republican Senator Ted Cruz. Nike's decision was praised by others due to the use of the flag by white nationalists, but the Anti-Defamation League, Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism has declined to add the flag to its database of "hate symbols."


Hong Kong protests

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence criticized Nike for "siding with the Chinese Communist Party and silencing free speech". He claimed that after Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey was criticized by the Chinese government for Daryl Morey#Twitter comments on Hong Kong, his tweet supporting the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, 2019 Hong Kong protests, Nike removed Rockets merchandise from its stores in China. He stated that the brand "promotes itself as a so called Social justice, social-justice champion, but when it comes to Hong Kong, it prefers checking its social conscience at the door."


Nike Vaporfly Shoe

On January 31, 2020, the World Athletics issued new guidelines concerning shoes to be used in the upcoming 2020 Summer Olympics, Tokyo 2020 Olympics. These updates came in response to criticisms concerning technology in the Nike Vaporfly running shoes, which had been submitted beginning around 2017–2018. These criticisms stated that the shoes provided athletes with an unfair advantage over their opponents and some critics considered it to be a form of technology doping. According to Nike funded research, the shoes can improve efficiency by up to 4.2% and runners who have tested the shoe are saying that it causes reduced soreness in the legs; sports technologist Bryce Dyer attributes this to the ZoomX and carbon fiber plate since it absorbs the energy and "spring[s] runners forward". Some athletes, scientists, and fans have compared this to the 2008 LZR Racer, LAZR swimsuit controversy. Some of the major changes in the guidelines that have come about as a result of these criticisms include that the "sole must be no thicker than 40mm" and that "the shoe must not contain more than one rigid embedded plate or blade (of any material) that runs either the full length or only part of the length of the shoe. The plate may be in more than one part but those parts must be located sequentially in one plane (not stacked or in parallel) and must not overlap". The components of the shoes are not the only thing that had major changes; starting April 30, 2020, "any shoe must have been available for purchase by any athlete on the open retail market (online or in store) for a period of four months before it can be used in competition". Prior to these new guidelines World Athletics reviewed the Vaporfly shoes and "concluded that there is independent research that indicates that the new technology incorporated in the soles of road and spiked shoes may provide a performance advantage" and that it recommends further research to "establish the true impact of [the Vaporfly] technology."


Lil Nas X Satan Shoes

On March 29, 2021, American rapper Lil Nas X partnered with New York-based art collective MSCHF to release a modified pair of Nike Air Max 97s called Satan Shoes. The shoes are black and red with a bronze pentagram, featuring the Bible verse Luke 10:18 and are filled with "60cc and 1 drop of human blood." Only 666 pair were created and were sold at a price of $1,018. Nike immediately iterated that they were uninvolved in the creation and promotion of the shoes and did not endorse the messages of Lil Nas X or MSCHF. Nike filed a trademark lawsuit against MSCHF with the New York federal Court, in an effort to stop the distribution of the shoes. On April 1, a federal judge ordered a temporary restraining order blocking the sale and distribution of the shoes pending a preliminary injunction.


Forced Uyghur labor allegations

In December 2021, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights filed a criminal complaint in a Dutch court against Nike and other brands, alleging that they benefited from the use of forced Uyghurs, Uyghur labor in Xinjiang.


Environmental record

In 2007, New England-based environmental organization Clean Air-Cool Planet ranked Nike among the top three companies (out of 56) in a survey of climate-friendly companies.


Recycling

Nike has also been praised for its Nike Grind program, which closes the Product lifecycle (marketing), product lifecycle, by groups such as Climate Counts. Since 1993, Nike has worked on its Reuse-A-Shoe program. This program is Nike's longest-running program that benefits both the environment and the community by collecting old athletic shoes of any type in order to process and recycle them. The material that is produced is then used to help create sports surfaces such as basketball courts, running tracks, and playgrounds. Nike France made their Reuse-A-Shoe program available online so that they could make it easier for consumers to send in their old shoes. In 2017, it was estimated that 28,000,000 shoes were collected since its start in 1993.  Nike limited the mail-in option of the program because they are aware that the emissions from shipping would offset the good, they are trying to do.  They work with the National Recycling Coalition to help limit transportation of recycled shoes.  During transportation most of the vehicles that are used are using diesel or fuel oil. Diesel oil emits 22.44 pounds of Carbon Dioxide per gallon.   A campaign that Nike began for Earth Day 2008 was a commercial that featured basketball star Steve Nash wearing Nike's Trash Talk Shoe, which had been constructed in February 2008 from pieces of leather and synthetic leather waste from factory floors. The Trash Talk Shoe also featured a sole composed of ground-up rubber from a shoe recycling program. Nike claims this is the first performance basketball shoe that has been created from manufacturing waste, but it only produced 5,000 pairs for sale.


Sulfur hexafluoride

Sulfur hexafluoride is an extremely potent and persistent greenhouse gas that was used to fill the cushion bags in all "Air"-branded shoes from 1992 to 2006. 277 tons was used during the peak in 1997.


Toxic chemicals

In 2008, a project through the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found workers were exposed to toxic isocyanates and other chemicals in footwear factories in Thailand. In addition to inhalation, dermal exposure was the biggest problem found. This could result in allergic reactions including asthmatic reactions.


Water pollution

In July 2011, environmental group Greenpeace published a report regarding water pollution impacting the Yangtze, Yangtze River emitted from a major textile factory operated by Nike supplier Youngor Group. Following the report, Nike, as well as Adidas, Puma (brand), Puma, and a number of other brands included in the report announced an agreement to stop discharging hazardous chemicals by 2020. However, in July 2016 Greenpeace released a follow-up report which found that Nike "does not take individual responsibility" for eliminating hazardous chemicals, stating that Nike had not made an explicit commitment to riding itself of perfluorinated compounds, and that "Nike does not ensure its suppliers report their hazardous chemical discharge data and has not made a commitment to do so". Back in 2016 Nike started to use water free dyeing materials so that they can help reduce their water use in their Southeast Asian factories.


Carbon footprint

Nike reported Total carbon footprint, CO2e emissions (Direct + Indirect) for the twelve months ending 30 June 2020 at 317 Kt (+12/+4% y-o-y)Alt URL
/ref> and plans to reduce emissions 65% by 2030 from a 2015 base year. This Science Based Targets initiative, science-based target is aligned with Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. According to a study done in 2017, Nike contributed 3,002,529 metric tons of Carbon Dioxide in 2017 combined from different sectors in the company like retail, manufacturing, management, and more. Partnership with Newlight In 2021, Nike announced they were working with Newlight Technologies to find more eco-friendly materials for their sneakers. They specifically mentioned Newlight’s AirCarbon product which is a bioplastic that can be used to make shoes. The bioplastic is used as a replacement to leather, plastic, and other materials that are like that. Newlight was reported saying that the goal is to reduce Nike’s carbon footprint.


Marketing strategy

Nike promotes its products through Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship agreements with celebrity athletes, professional teams and college athletic teams.


Advertising

In 1982, Nike aired its first three national television ads, created by newly formed ad agency
Wieden+Kennedy Wieden+Kennedy (W+K; earlier styled ''Wieden & Kennedy'') is an American independent global advertising agency best known for its work for Nike, Inc., Nike. Founded by Dan Wieden and David Kennedy (advertising), David Kennedy, and headquartered ...
(W+K), during the broadcast of the New York Marathon. The Cannes Advertising Festival has named Nike its Advertiser of the Year in 1994 and 2003, making it the first company to receive that honor twice. Nike also has earned the Emmy Award for best commercial in 2000 and 2002. The first was for "The Morning After," a satirical look at what a runner might face on the morning of January 1, 2000, if every dire prediction about the Year 2000 problem, Y2K problem came to fruition. The second was for a 2002 spot called "Move," which featured a series of famous and everyday athletes in a variety of athletic pursuits.


Beatles song

Nike was criticized for its use of the The Beatles, Beatles song "Revolution (Beatles song), Revolution" in a 1987 commercial against the wishes of Apple Records, the Beatles' recording company. Nike paid US$250,000 to Capitol Records Inc., which held the North American licensing rights to the recordings, for the right to use the Beatles' rendition for a year. That same year, Apple Records sued Nike Inc., Capitol Records Inc., EMI, EMI Records Inc. and Wieden+Kennedy for $15 million.According to a July 28, 1987, article written by the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
.
Capitol-EMI countered by saying the lawsuit was "groundless" because Capitol had licensed the use of "Revolution" with the "active support and encouragement of Yoko Ono, a shareholder and director of Apple Records." Nike discontinued airing ads featuring "Revolution" in March 1988. Yoko Ono later gave permission to Nike to use John Lennon's "Instant Karma" in another advertisement.


New media marketing

Nike was an early adopter of internet marketing, email management technologies, and using broadcast and narrowcasting, narrowcast communication technologies to create multimedia marketing campaigns.


Minor Threat advertisement

In late June 2005, Nike received criticism from Ian MacKaye, owner of Dischord Records, guitarist/vocalist for Fugazi and The Evens, and front man of the defunct punk band Minor Threat, for appropriating imagery and text from Minor Threat's First Two 7"s on a 12", 1981 self-titled album's cover art in a flyer promoting
Nike Skateboarding Nike Skateboarding, primarily known as Nike SB, is the Nike brand for its line of shoes, clothing, and equipment for skateboarding. Nike Skateboarding won the 2020 Webby People’s Voice Award for Best Home/Welcome Page in the category Web. His ...
's 2005 East Coast demo tour. On June 27, Nike Skateboarding's website issued an apology to Dischord, Minor Threat, and fans of both and announced that they have tried to remove and dispose of all flyers. They stated that the people who designed it were skateboarders and Minor Threat fans themselves who created the advertisement out of respect and appreciation for the band. The dispute was eventually settled out of court between Nike and Minor Threat.


Nike 6.0

As part of the 6.0 campaign, Nike introduced a new line of T-shirts that include phrases such as "Dope", "Get High" and "Ride Pipe" – sports lingo that is also a double entendre for Recreational drug use, drug use. Boston Mayor Thomas Menino expressed his objection to the shirts after seeing them in a window display at the city's Niketown and asked the store to remove the display. "What we don't need is a major corporation like Nike, which tries to appeal to the younger generation, out there giving credence to the drug issue," Menino told ''The Boston Herald''. A company official stated the shirts were meant to pay homage to extreme sports, and that Nike does not condone the illegal use of drugs. Nike was forced to replace the shirt line.


NBA uniform deal

In June 2015, Nike signed an 8-year deal with the NBA to become the official uniform supplier for the league, beginning with the 2017–18 season. The brand took over for Adidas, who provided the uniforms for the league since 2006. Unlike previous deals, Nike's logo appear on NBA jerseys – a first for the league. Initially, the Charlotte Hornets, owned by longtime Nike endorser Michael Jordan, were the only team not to sport the Nike swoosh, instead wearing the Jumpman (logo), Jumpman logo associated with Jordan-related merchandise. However, beginning with the 2020–21 season, the Jumpman replaced the swoosh on the NBA's alternate "Statement" uniforms.


Sponsorship

Nike sponsors top athletes in many sports to use their products and promote and advertise their technology and design. Nike's first professional athlete endorser was Romanian tennis player Ilie Năstase. The first track endorser was distance runner Steve Prefontaine. Prefontaine was the prized pupil of the company's co-founder,
Bill Bowerman William Jay Bowerman (February 19, 1911 – December 24, 1999) was an American track and field coach and co-founder of Nike, Inc. Over his career, he trained 31 Olympic athletes, 51 All-Americans, 12 American record-holders, 22 NCAA champi ...
, while he coached at the University of Oregon. Today, the Steve Prefontaine Building is named in his honor at Nike's corporate headquarters. Nike has only made one statue of its sponsored athletes and it is of Steve Prefontaine. Nike has also sponsored many other successful track and field athletes over the years, such as Sebastian Coe, Carl Lewis, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Michael Johnson (sprinter), Michael Johnson and Allyson Felix. The signing of basketball player Michael Jordan in 1984, with his subsequent promotion of Nike over the course of his career, with Spike Lee as Mars Blackmon, proved to be one of the biggest boosts to Nike's publicity and sales. Nike is a major sponsor of the athletic programs at Penn State University and named its first child care facility after Joe Paterno when it opened in 1990 at the company's headquarters. Nike originally announced it would not remove Paterno's name from the building in the wake of the Penn State sex abuse scandal. After the Freeh Report was released on July 12, 2012, Nike CEO Mark Parker announced the name Joe Paterno would be removed immediately from the child development center. A new name has yet to be announced. In the early 1990s, Nike made a strong push into the association football business making endorsement deals with famous and charismatic players such as Romário, Eric Cantona or Edgar Davids. They continued the growth in the sport by signing more top players including: Ronaldo (Brazilian footballer), Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Francesco Totti, Thierry Henry, Didier Drogba, Andrés Iniesta, Wayne Rooney and still have many of the sport's biggest stars under their name, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Neymar, Harry Kane, Eden Hazard and Kylian Mbappé among others. Nike has been the official ball supplier for the Premier League since the 2000–01 season. In 2012, Nike carried a commercial partnership with the Asian Football Confederation. In August 2014, Nike announced that they will not renew their kit supply deal with Manchester United after the 2014–15 season, citing rising costs. Since the start of the 2015–16 season, Adidas has manufactured Manchester United's kit as part of a world-record 10-year deal worth a minimum of £750 million. Nike still has many of the top teams playing in their uniforms, including: FC Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain F.C., Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool F.C., Liverpool (the latter from the 2020–21 season), and the national teams of Brazil, France, England, Portugal and the Netherlands among many others. Nike has been the sponsor for many top ranked tennis players. Brand's commercial success in the sport went hand in hand with the endorsement deals signed with the biggest and the world's most charismatic stars and number one ranked players of the subsequent eras, including John McEnroe in the 1980s, Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras in the 1990s and Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal,
Serena Williams Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American inactive professional tennis player. Considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for ...
and Maria Sharapova with the start of the 21st century. Nike has sponsored Tiger Woods for much of his career, and remained on his side amid the controversies that shaped the golfer's career. In January 2013, Nike signed Rory McIlroy, the then No 1 golfer in the world to a 10-year sponsorship deal worth $250 million. The deal includes using Nike's range of golf clubs, a move Nick Faldo previously described as "dangerous" for McIlroy's game. Nike was the official kit sponsor for the Indian cricket team from 2005 to 2020. On February 21, 2013, Nike announced it suspended its contract with South African limbless athlete Oscar Pistorius, due to him being charged with premeditated murder. Nike consolidated its position in basketball in 2015 when it was announced that the company would sign an 8-year deal with the NBA, taking over from the league's previous uniform sponsor, Adidas. The deal required all franchise team members to wear jerseys and shorts with the Swoosh logo, beginning with the 2017/18 season. After the success of partnership with Jordan, which resulted in the creation of the unique
Air Jordan Air Jordan is an American brand of basketball shoes produced by American corporation Nike. The first Air Jordan shoe was produced for Hall of Fame former basketball player Michael Jordan during his time with the Chicago Bulls in late 1984 an ...
brand, Nike has continued to build partnership with the biggest names in basketball. LeBron James was given the Slogan "We are All Witnesses" when he signed with Nike. Similar to "Air Jordan", LeBron's brand became massively popular. The slogan was an extremely accurate way to describe the situation LeBron was heading into in the NBA as he was expected to be the new king of the NBA. Some have had signature shoes designed for them, including Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd, Vince Carter and more recently
LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest p ...
, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Paul George, among others. A news report originating from CNN reported that Nike spent $11.5 billion, nearly a third of its sales, on marketing and endorsement contracts in the year 2018. Nike and its Jordan brand sponsored 85 men's and women's basketball teams in the NCAA tournament.


Ties with the University of Oregon

Nike maintains strong ties, both directly and through partnerships with
Phil Knight Philip Hampson Knight (born February 24, 1938) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the co-founder and chairman ''emeritus'' of Nike, Inc., and was previously chairman and CEO of the company. As of October 3, 2022, Knight was ranke ...
, with the
University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...
. Nike designs the University of Oregon football program's team attire. New unique combinations are issued before every game day. Tinker Hatfield, who also redesigned the university's logo, leads this effort. More recently, the corporation donated $13.5 million towards the renovation and expansion of Hayward Field. Phil Knight has invested substantial personal funds towards developing and maintaining the university's athletic apparatus. His university projects often involve input from Nike designers and executives, such as Tinker Hatfield.


Causes

In 2012, Nike is listed as a partner of the Product Red, (PRODUCT)RED campaign together with other brands such as Girl Distribution Company, Girl, American Express, and
Converse Converse may refer to: Mathematics and logic * Converse (logic), the result of reversing the two parts of a definite or implicational statement ** Converse implication, the converse of a material implication ** Converse nonimplication, a logical c ...
. The campaign's mission is to prevent the transmission of HIV and pregnancy, HIV from mother to child. The campaign's byline is "Fighting For An AIDS Free Generation". The company's goal is to raise and send funds, for education and medical assistance to those who live in Epidemiology of HIV/AIDS, areas heavily affected by AIDS.


Program

The Nike Community Ambassador Program, allows Nike employees from around the world to go out and give to their community. Over 3,900 employees from various Nike stores have participated in teaching children to be active and healthy.


See also

* Bruce Brenn * Nike timeline * Breaking2 - A project by Nike to break the 2 hour marathon barrier. * List of companies based in Oregon


Notes


References


Further reading


"The Swoon of the Swoosh" by Timothy Egan
at ''The New York Times Magazine'', September 13, 1998


External links

* * 2018 FIFA World Cup
Nike says Iran World Cup saga is 'misleading'


from the New York Stock Exchange website {{Authority control Nike, Inc., 1964 establishments in Oregon 1970s fashion 1980s fashion 1990s fashion 2000s fashion 2010s fashion 2020s fashion Athletic shoe brands American companies established in 1964 Clothing companies established in 1964 Companies based in Beaverton, Oregon Companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Multinational companies headquartered in the United States Nike brands, * Retail companies established in 1964 Shoe brands Shoe companies of the United States Sporting goods manufacturers of the United States Sportswear brands Swimwear manufacturers Watch manufacturing companies of the United States 1980s initial public offerings Pages including recorded pronunciations