Over the past decade, Nike has been the best shoe-making company all over the world. Its product has been ranked among the best in various global award brands thus making it a company of its own. This can be closely attributed to its mission which aims at bringing inspiration and sparking innovation to every athlete across the globe. This section of the market plan thus majorly focuses on Nike’s history and its unique product that has been able to meet the ever-changing consumer taste. It also focuses on the SWOT analysis thus bringing to us an insight into why Nike’s shoes are distinctive and enjoy a share of about 60% of the market.
1. Company History
Nike came into existence in 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports under the partnership of Phil Knight and Bowerman (Brohi n.p). It was then named Nike, Inc. in 1978. the founders of this multinational sports shoe company were a coach and his students. Knight was a track runner under the watch of Bowerman and this was a major inspiration for why they had to design a better shoe that could provide a conducive atmosphere for their running as a sport. Nike then went into the public markets in 1780 and at the turning of the Millennium, it grew into the world’s largest running shoe supplier. It supplied about 1300 pairs of shoes in its first year of becoming a multinational company. Nike was known for its most valuable shoes and then it supplies its product to more than 170 countries across the world. Its current main headquarters is at Beaverton in Oregon U.S. (Brohi n.p).
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2. Product History
Nike running shoes are a popular brand not only in the United States but all over the world. This can be traced back to the 1980s when it became a multinational company. Its shoe design has undergone several revolutions to meet the ever-changing consumer tastes. The earliest Nike Shoes were produced in 1960 by its founders, Knight and Bowerman. Its founders then signed a deal with a Japanese company to be granted permission to supply its running shoes to the United States in 1964 (Bramani 210). Luckily, Nike known as the Red Ribbon Sports in those times was permitted to supply its shoes and the first shipment took place in early 1964. The shoes by then were referred to as tiger shoes which were later changed to moon shoes in 1972. There were then frequent changes in the design of the shoe to suit the technological advancement in the world. The latest Nike shoe design is the Oprah design of 2011 which mimics Oprah’s tree in the sole. All these revolutions have gone a long in making Nike shoes unique and being an outstanding brand in the market.
3. Product Features
Nike shoe is one that you can think of when buying shoes. It is the brand you can wear since its features provide unmeasurable comfort and effectiveness in its purpose. The running Nike shoes, in particular, are the coolest due to their aerodynamic and good-looking designs. For instance, the flywire Nike running shoe incorporates the use of current technology in its design. The flywire employs cable suspension technology in a way that it has high-strength threads to provide support, especially where the foot requires it. This has gone along to reduce up to 18 percent of the foot weight thus making it effective for running.
The variety of colors used by Nike in the making of their running shoe also contributes to it being the most valuable brand in many countries. This makes it fancy and more stylish thus preferred by a lot of people across the globe (Bramani 210). In addition, Nike's running shoes are durable and since durability is a fundamental focus to any athlete, Nike shoes, therefore stand out to be the preferred brand. The result of all these designs is that Nike running shoes have acquired great demand among customers all over the world.
4. Product Extras
Technology advancement has played a vitally important role in the marketing of Nike running shoes. The Nike company has been able to use technology to provide better shopping services to its customers. An example of this is the creation of the Nike App at Retail that intuitively links the world of technology to physical retail shops (Lowe 500). Athletes can now use the app to view the available shoes in the market and where to find them. The use of the Nike website in informing its customers more about its products in the market has immensely contributed to the marketing of the Nike running shoes. Nike customers can get notifications about products and also get their inquiries settled via the website. This kind of consumer satisfaction has greatly contributed to the selling of Nike running shoes.
5. Visuals
A visual and a link for a Nike running shoe: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.16best.net%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F03%2F16-2.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.16best.net%2Fbest-nike-running-shoes%2F&tbnid=L0ZCFzbZ_vSkfM&vet=12ahUKEwiHx5qx_pvoAhXLwIUKHZkFA0oQMygMegUIARDbAg..i&docid=L3TPvD2zhyRbXM&w=640&h=480&q=nike%20running%20shoes&safe=active&ved=2ahUKEwiHx5qx_pvoAhXLwIUKHZkFA0oQMygMegUIARDbAg
6. SWOT Analysis
Nike has taken an influential role in the shoe industry for years. The corporation’s success has been driven by its strengths. The corporation, however, has its weaknesses.
a. Strengths
The governing board at Nike comprises both independent directors and management directors. This greatly benefits the Company as it ensures that people who are directly involved in the company activities are present in crucial discussions. The presence of a few management officials who have no direct involvement assists in bringing “outside the box” ideas to the table (Shtal et al. 39).
Nike also has a very significant target market as it produces a wide variety of running shoes. The large target market provides a platform in which Nike maintain their already high status. Nike also conducts high consumer awareness. This is how the company builds its trademark. Another strength that Nike has is that it produces high-quality products which in turn help in building consumer confidence. Lastly, Nike manufactures its shoes through low-wage factories thus reducing the production cost.
b. Weaknesses
Nike tends to sell its products at very high prices which consumers sometimes fail to agree with. Nike has also been constantly targeted for the past 20 years for maintaining poor labor conditions. This is a very detrimental weakness. Retailers at Nike also have more power than the company itself when it comes to pricing.
c. Opportunities
Nike conducts aggressive market research to find avenues for improvement. This way it has the potential of exploiting emerging markets. Nike also has efficient product integration as the production of shoes depends on manufacturers who operate independently.
d. Threats
The worst threat facing Nike Is the production of counterfeit running shoes which are gradually taking over the market.
7. Evaluation of SWOT
Nike has gotten the support of influential celebrities such as Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods as their endorsers which again boosts consumer awareness. Continuous market research helps Nike to keep profiles of the buying habits of their consumers up to date with the latest trends in the running industry (Korena and Martina 45). The production of shoes in low-wage companies also enables the corporation to concentrate on the image of the market and market development.
Production of high-quality products is advantageous as it builds on customer confidence but the high prices of some commodities seem unrealistic to consumers and may even segregate the market. Nike, however, already evaluated the lower and mid-level price athletic shoes market. This will help them snatch back the lost customers.
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