Nike founder Phil Knight, began his empire in 1962, when he started his company Blue Ribbon Sports. Now Nike brings in revenues of $6,470,625,000 and it also currently holds the majority of the athletic shoe market. Now let's see how this man, in twenty four years, turned the idea of a shoe into one of the most powerful force in sports.

It all began in the early 1960s with Knight's University of Oregon's track coach, Bill Bowerman. Knight remembers his coach and quoted he was "always experimenting with shoes." "Intent on helping his runners shave split seconds off their times, Bowerman would cobble shoes with uppers made of lightweight kid and, later nylon" (Hauser 139).

While Knight was a student at Stanford's Business school, he wrote a marketing research paper. In the paper, he argued that low labor costs and high efficiency, could cause athletic shoes to be competitive more in Japan than in Germany. This act would overtake German competitors like Adidas and Puma. "When [Knight] got out of school, he took the advice of one of his professors, who told him the only time you can't fail is when you don't try" (Whipple 5). So in 1962, Knight took a trip to Japan. There he discovered a shoe factory named Onitsuki Tiger Company. He was able to pass himself off as an American shoe importer who was interested in their line. When asked about the name of his company, Knight came up with the name Blue Ribbon Sports. In 1964, Knight teamed up with his old track coach William Bowerman. Each of them put up $500 to import Tigers. These shoes were sold from Knight's car at high school track meets.

In order to keep the business going, Knight taught accounting at Portland State University. In 1967, he began dating Penny Parks, who was one of his students. Six months later, they got married, and eventually had two sons, Travis and Matthew.

By 1971, Knight and Bowerman had changed the company's brand name to Nike. This was named after the goddess of victory according to Greek mythology. But it did not stop there. That same year, the "SWOOSH" logo was created by Caroline Davidson, who was another one of Knight's students. The wings represents the wings of the goddess Nike. She handed Knight the design and she was paid $35. The SWOOSH was introduced, in the spring of 1972, and the rest is history.

By 1978, Blue Ribbon Sports had officially changed its corporate's name to Nike Inc. That year, Nike grossed in $71 million in revenues, and it had $149 million the following year. In 1983, Nike's payroll had grown to 4300, and sales hit $1 billion in 1986.

"Phil Knight's idea of running the company was to make high-quality, low-cost shoes, get some top athletes to endorse them let his sales force sell the product" (Lane 46). In 1973, Nike began paying star track runner Steve Prefontaine to wear Nike shoes. Unfortunately, Prefontaine died in a car crash in 1975. His successor was Chicago Bulls superstar Michael Jordan. Together they introduced the Air Jordan in 1985, which became a huge success. The stars just don't stop with Jordan. Other athletes like Andre Agassi, Ken Griffey, Jr., and a flock of other stars help contribute to Nike's success.

The word in Nike's future, Knight said, is not bigger, but "better." "One of the ways we grew was opting not to care about growth. We went back to quality being the by word: quality of service, quality of advertising, quality of product, quality, of the retail partners we are doing business with" (Hill 83). Knight claims to model after the Disney Company, which is bigger than Nike, and which manages to remain creative.

Today, Knight is credited with not only building a successful company, but also with helping to create a multi billion-dollar industry worldwide. Nike has also drawn praises for its role in helping to pioneer the economic development of countries throughout the Pacific Rim.

In less than a decade, this company has emerged as one of the world's greatest brand names. Among the 1,200 U.S. brands tracked by Young & Rubican, Nike ranks among the top ten, alongside Coke, Disney, and Hallmark. Phil Knight's 35 percent stakes in Nike makes him the sixth-richest man in America, with a recent net worth of $5.3 billion; Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Paul Allen, John Kluge and Larry Ellison are above him on "The Forbes Four Hundred." "This is a guy who chases dreams and catches them," says on former Nike man. "I have never seen him look badly even when he goes for a run" (Hauser 142).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Julie Whipple, "Phil Knight: after 24 years building Nike into a worldwide presence, Knight seeks to perfect his masterpiece," Business Journal-Portland, Sept. 13, 1996, p.5.

Randall Lane, "You are what you wear," Forbes, Oct. 14, 1996, p.45.

Robert L. Hill, "Phil knows business," Oregon Business, Feb. 1991, p.83.

Susan Hauser, "Must be the shoes," People Weekly, May. 4, 1992, p.139.

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