Brand of the Day: Nike
The co-founder and chairman of the most powerful sports brand in the world, Phil Knight, has announced that he will leave Nike and wants his position to be filled by current president and chief executive Mark Parker.
No departure date has been set for the 77-year-old, however the company announced that it would appoint his successor in 2016.
In a statement released by the company, Knight said that he still planned to stay involved with Nike while also stating “Mark is the best choice to succeed me” when referring to his preferred successor.
Here’s more about the multi-billion dollar brand.
Originally named Blue Ribbon Sports, Nike was founded in in 1964 by Phil Knight and University of Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman. It was renamed Nike, after the Greek goddess of victory, in 1971 by its first employer Jeff Johnson.
The iconic swoosh logo was designed by a graphics design student from Portland State University, Carolyn Davidson. She met Knight in the university one day while sitting in the corridor working on an assignment. Knight saw this and offered her $2 an hour to do some design work for his company.
The Just Do It marketing phrase was inspired by convicted serial killer Gary Gilmore’s last words before being executed. He reportedly said “let’s do this” in 1977 before facing a firing squad.
Nike’s annual sales are around $28bn and it owns around 62 per cent of the US athletic footwear market share. Sketchers is second with 5 per cent.
The Jordan brand of Nike is a subsidiary of the company which stems from a deal with the athlete in 1984. Despite Jordan retiring in 2003, the Jordan brand still generates $2.5bn a year in sales.
