Nike Shoes – An Historical Landmark in the Sporting World

Ask any kid today; he or she would say “Nike” if you tell them “shoes.” Nike has become a synonym itself for the word shoes. No wonder it did, for it has a long success behind it. The name of the company is fully justified and can never be called a misnomer for in Greek Nike is the goddess of victory. The company has its headquarters today in the Portland metropolitan area and has about a revenue excess of about $20billion (USD) today.

In 1967, Nike was the first product that was sold by the company (then called by its founders Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight as Blue Ribbon Sports Inc) and it was a soccer cleat. The famous waffle soles and air soles were created by the Nike Company and was commercialised by them for the first time in the world in 1972 and 1979 respectively and the company earned a huge profit for the shoes made the athletes happier. This gave the company the idea to go public in 1980.

In 1984, the company’s prestigious Air Jordans were created after an agreement that was signed by the then Super Start of NBA, Michael Jordan. That was the first time ever, a range of shoes was created for basketball alone or rather for Michael Jordan alone. Later this brand swept the market clean of other shoes. Apart from the Jordans, the company also released another elite class of sport shoes called Air Force 1 later.

From 1988 to 1996, many developments pushed the company higher. A store called Nike Town was established in Oregon (presently the Head Quarters) in 1990, just after the famous tagline “Just Do it” was created in 1988. Now, it is a large enterprise that manufactures all types of sports apparel after many acquisitions and expansions and is the favourite brand for millions.