Nike - to Bring Inspiration and Innovation to Every Athlete in the World

Business Management Project

"To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world."

         Cherie[pic 1]

        Very few people and even fewer brands have managed to become synonymous with pop culture in the 20th century. But in the last few decades, Nike has become the king of the sporting world, as well as part of the daily lives of millions of people everywhere. While you are walking on the streets, or when you look down, there is a high possibility that 1out of 5 people is wearing Nike shoes. Most popular among students in school, the brand Nike is known for its lightness and comfort, in addition to the fact that Nike provides a variety of shoes for people with different usages.

        During the 1960s, it was Germany’s Adidas and Puma sneakers that dominated the global market on every level and in every sport. American businessman Phil Knight was convinced that the way to compete with the Germans was to introduce cheap but high-quality running shoes from Japan. But though he had a great idea and a solid plan, Phil didn’t have the money to achieve his goal. This native Oregonian – who, according to Forbes is the 56th richest person on the planet and the 24th richest in America, with an estimated net worth of $16.3 billion – back then was nothing more than a young man with a freshly minted MBA from Stanford University.  As for their now iconic logo, they used a design created by Carolyn Davidson, who was inspired by the wings of the Goddess of Victory. The now famous Swoosh was first used by Nike on June 18, 1971. Today, the Swoosh logo and the “Just Do It” slogan are among the world’s greatest and most recognizable trademarks. The new Nike line of footwear, which would go on to dominate the world of sports footwear for the next four decades, made its debut in 1972 at the U.S. Track & Field Trials in Eugene, Oregon – and the rest is history.  Today Nike dominates the global sports footwear market with a 38% market share. The company employs more than 40,000 people around the world and generates more than $21 billion a year in sales.  The brand born just a relatively short while ago with a $1000 investment and a handshake is today worth more than $10 billion.

        News broke out again with the title “Nike has done it again”. The company’s introduction of the Air Jordan 11 on the Friday before Christmas generated long lines of people waiting, sometimes all night, to be amongst the first to shell out $180 for these shoes at retailers around the country. And $180 is only the list price. Some re-sellers have been listing them on eBay for $349 or even $1,000. Many may wonder, how did Nike do it? How did one single shoe become the biggest hit of the day. The answer for these questions is effective marketing, we do it with more effective branding and using the news media to promote our products.

        Since 2008, Jordan Brand has brought sneaker enthusiasts a surprise every December with a release of the Air Jordan 11, plus some low tops and other color ways sprinkled in throughout the year. We will be improving our AJ 11 Retro Concord in favors of our customers. As for our new product line, the sneaker will be added with air sole to minimize the pressure on ones foot, and at the same time it acts like a cushion to project one’s ankle. The new sole of the sneaker allows the one’s wearing them to react faster due to the rubber elastic bottom that “grabs” the ground as a person moves. Moreover, to reduce ankle injuries, we improved our original shoelaces into five separated parts. Each part connected to the sides of the sneaker, in order to secure one’s ankle while playing, hoping in reducing risks of getting injured. By using a different fabric on the sneaker, we are able to make it more permeable, light and included a sense of fashion to increase one’s comfort level and requirements.

        In order to successfully sell our AJ11, we will need to propose a market plan. Central to market planning is the development of a firm’s marketing mix. This is a collective term that includes the key elements that ensure the successful marketing of a product. The four “Ps” of the marketing mix is product, price, promotion and place.

        The product we will be promoting is our brand new Air Jordan 11 Retro Concord collection, and the official price for this shoe will be $150 US dollars. There will be many ways for our customers to purchase this item, it will be available on the official Air Jordan and Nike website and in both Nike and Air Jordan retail store that are located all over the world. Furthermore, we will be promoting our new product line through various ways in which our customers will be informed about this new product and hope to persuade them to purchase it. We strongly believe that the communication methods use to attract the consumer to buy the product is very important. We will be using promotion methods such as television advertising, and we will be hanging posters around each store to inform the customers about this product. Most importantly, we strongly believe a productive way in promoting this shoe is allowing the customers to know part of its history.