Nike is today one of the best know sport and shoe brand, but like most American
success story, it had humble starts.
Nike's First Step
Back in 1964, Bill Bowerman, a University of Oregon track running coach and Phil Knight, a mid-distance runner, founded Blue Ribbon Sports. At the start, Blue Ribbon Sports did not produced any shoes, but was importing Japanese brand Onitsuka Tiger (known as Asics) to sale them on the US market. The operations were small as both partners sold their shoes at the back of Bill Bowerman's car, but the profits grew fast and in 1966, BRS opened its first retail store in Oregon.
The name of Nike came later on in 1971 by Jeff Johnson, the first company's salesman, who dreamt of the name Nike after the greek goddess of victory. As the relationship with Onitsuka Tiger came to an end, Knight and Bowerman decided to produced their own footwear line, under the Nike brand. At the same time, the Swoosh was created by a student graphic designer for $35.
From Waffle to Lunar Lite
The first Nike shoe came to the market in 1971. It was a soccer shoe called Nike. In 1972, Nike launched its first line of shoe.
The development of Nike's shoe has always been associated with experimentation and testing. The famous 'Waffle design' is probably the best example. In 1974, Bowerman was working a new sole to ensure maximum grip to the new surface on the track., he poured liquid urethane into his wife's waffle maker, and discovered his waffle design to produce the Waffle Trainers.
Since the seventies, technology evolved and Nike kept
on capturing market shares in US and in the World. Today Nike produces lighter
and more performance using new technology such as the Lunarlite Foam or the
Flywire technology. One of the latest and most advanced product is the Nike
Free, a shoe which mirrors barefoot running. This new model is the most tested
product in the last 30 years and therefore follows Bowerman's initial vision
and experimentations.
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