Nike is an American multinational corporation that was founded as Blue Ribbon Sports (RBS) in 1964 by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman. At the time, Knight was a track athlete in the University of Oregon while Bowerman coached the track athletes at the University. Bowerman began the quest for lighter and long-lasting racing shoes for the runners while Knight wanted to make a livelihood while also making sure that he did not have to relinquish his dedication and love for athletics. As such, the desire for superior quality running shoes and Knights interest in his marketing strategy led to the formation of a sporting company. With the enthusiasm of Bowerman regarding the quality of running shoes and the knowledge that Knight gained while attending a marketing class in the early 1960s, the latter became aware that high quality shoes could be produced in Japan at low priced and be distributed in the United States. Consequently, Knight traveled to Japan in 1963 where he held a meeting with the representatives of the Onitsuka Company. In order to gain audience with the Japanese company, Knight pretended to be a representative of an American distributing company that had an interest in distributing the Tiger shoes to athletes in America. He coined the name Blue Ribbon Sports as the company he was representing and the executives of the Japanese company became interested in the idea of manufacturing and shipping running shoes to America for distribution through its subsidiary, the Tiger Company. Soon after, Knight made his first order and together with Bowerman began selling the Tiger running shoes from their cars. They made sales worth 8,000 dollars by 1964 and the affiliation between Onitsuka Company and Blue Ribbon Sports became more profound due to the rapid increase in the sales.
The company also acquired several footwear and apparel companies such as the 1988 acquisition of Cole Haan, the Bauer Hockey six years later in 1994, Hurley International in 2002, Converse in 2003, Starter during 2004, and Umbro in 2008. However, Nike has sold some of these acquisitions in a bid to focus on its major business of footwear. Some of the acquisitions that the company has so far sold include Starter, Bauer Hockey, Cole Haan, and Umbro. However, since the year 2013, Nike has retained only two major subsidiaries: the Hurley International and the Converse Inc. (Brettman n pag.).
Work Cited
Brettman, Allan. "With Cole Haan Sale, Nike Can Focus On More Important Things, Analysts
Say". The Oregonian. 16 Nov. 2012. Web. 27 Apr. 2016. http://www.oregonlive.com/playbooks-profits/index.ssf/2012/11/with_cole_haan_sale_nike_can_f.html
"Registration Number 72414177". TSDR. U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. 22 Jan. 2014. Web.
