Thesis: The Nike brand started from a small operation and has expanded to become a worldwide product, it has many different branches to create diverse success levels.
Introduction
On January 25, 1964, Blue Ribbon Sports, an American sportswear company, was established
Their headquarters reside in Beaverton, Oregon.
It was founded by University of Oregon’s track and field coach, Bill Bowerman and his former student, Phil Knight.
In 1966, they opened their first retail store and a few years later they designed their brand shoe.
According to. Bill Bowerman declared that “ a shoe must be three things, it must be light, comfortable and it’s got to go the distance.”
In 1978, the company was renamed as their commonly known name, Nike.
Background
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Frustrated Bower wrote to multiple shoe companies to share his thoughts and ideas on how to improve shoes for runners.
With getting no responses, he began to learn how to craft shoes on his own.
He took apart existing shoes and studies them, he also examined metal and plastic spike plates
According to Nike News, one of Bill Bowerman’s Olympic athletes, Kenny Moore, got injured and Bowerman wanted to examine and correct the shoe he had been running in at the time.
He took many observations that helped him answer his question of “How can I make a quality, comfortable running shoe?” Bill Bowerman constructed a quality shoe that met his expectations which allowed him to create Nike’s first shoes, the Cortez’ and Waffle Trainers.
First Shoes
Hard at work, Knight and Bowerman began developing their first pair of shoes for their retail store, The Cortez was the first stable, comfortable shoe for the roads, reports Nike News. The Cortez was designed to be the finest long distance shoe in the world.
The soft sponge midsole through ball and heel absorbs road shock; high-density outer sole for extra miles of wear.
Elevated the heel in this new
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Along with the success of their first shoe, they had an equal or greater success with their next shoe.
According to Business Insider, “One of Nike's first pair of running shoes was inspired by waffles.”
While Bowerman was having breakfast with his wife one morning, he thought that a waffle maker would act as an excellent sole of a shoe that provides traction, "We were making the waffles that morning and talking about (the track).
As one of the waffles came out, he said, 'You know, by turning it upside down — where the waffle part would come in contact with the track — I think that might work,’ The Oregonian reports.
The Waffle Trainer placed Nike on the global athletic footwear map, setting the stage for unparalleled growth.The shoes, as TIME magazine wrote, were ‘’grabbed by the army of weekend jocks suffering from bruised feet.’’
Expansions and Endorsements
From the late 1980s, Nike steadily expanded its business and diversified its product line through various additions to its company
These additions include shoe companies such as:, Cole Haan, Converse, Bauer Sports, and Hurley
1996 created ACG (all conditions