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“When we go to battle and win, we say it is Nike.” This statement is referring to the winged goddess of victory, Nike. This name also represents one of the top leading sportswear and equipment makers in the world, Nike Inc. However, the company did not start out with this name. In 1962, a Stanford graduate and former track runner Phillip Knight, created Blue Ribbon Sports. This was a cover name for Knight’s small-scale shoe business in which he imported athletic shoes from Onitsuka Tiger Co. of Japan, and sold them out of the trunk of his car. Knight’s right-hand man was his track coach from Oregon, Bill Bowerman. Bowerman was determined to make a lighter, more durable track shoe for his athletes. He came up with the “chicken and waffle” design which helped increase traction in track shoes without the added weight. This design was a jumpstart to the success that Blue Ribbon Sports would soon experience. In 1966, the company gained enough profits to go from selling their shoes out of the trunks of their cars, to being able to purchase its first retail space. After Blue Ribbon Sports parted ways with Onitsuka Tiger Co., they launched their new line of athletic shoes with the world renowned “swoosh” we know of today and the brand name Nike. The “swoosh” represents the wing of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory. The first product that was represented by the new symbol was a soccer shoe. A fitness revolution in the late 70’s, where Americans were viewing running and exercising as a fun activity, had an extreme impact on Nike’s sales and helped the company grow tremendously. By 1979, Nike was starting to sell athletic apparel along with their athletic shoes, and was starting to be seen as one of the most well-known shoe companies in the world. By the 80’s and 90’s, Nike’s profits were increasing substantially each year. In 1996, Nike was named Marketer of the Year and was extremely profitable that year. To keep an edge on its competitors, Nike came out with a diverse line of shoes for different sports as well as sporting equipment. As stated earlier, the soccer shoe was the first product that was released with the new swoosh emblem and brand name Nike. The first full-time employee, Jeff Johnson, had a dream about Nike, the Greek goddess of victory. He proposed this name to Blue Ribbon Sports for their first shoe that was about to be released. Phillip Knight had the idea to call the shoe “Dimension 6”, however it was declined and won over by Johnson’s inspiration. The first Nike shoe with the new symbol, the swoosh, was a soccer cleat called “The Nike”. Over the past couple decades, Nike soccer shoes have grown rapidly, and they have topped several large soccer shoe manufacturers in the world. After developing their first soccer shoe, they started to develop shoes with different styles, weights, and traction. Today, Nike constantly innovates different designs and styles of soccer shoes with increasing technology to stay ahead of their competitors. They have a testing site at their headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon where they test their shoes and receive feedback from some of the top soccer players in the world. They are able to get pointers from the best who can give a great input on the positives and negatives of what should go into a shoe, because they play in them on a daily basis. They also send their shoes out to younger, amateur athletes to test the shoes and write daily journals with their opinion as well. Nike is constantly looking for ways to improve their soccer shoe by designing shoes with better comfort, traction, and looks so a soccer player can get the most out of playing the sport they love. Nike produces a vast line of soccer cleats, apparel, replica jersey’s, and equipment for the soccer community. Many of the cleats vary in size, color, shape, and traction. Some of the lines of Nike cleats include Total 90’s, Mercurial Vapor, Air Legends, and Tiempo. The new Tiempo Ronaldinho’s are one of the lines of shoes that are named after some of the top soccer players in the world. Nike offers anything one would need to go out and play in a soccer match. Nike soccer merchandise includes shin guards, soccer socks, uniforms, warm-ups, bags, and soccer balls. For the die-hard soccer fans, they offer several replica jersey’s representing favorite soccer teams around the world. Some of these teams include Arsenal, the Celtic Football Club, Brazil, and the United States. Today, Nike has several famous athletes who sponsor them. Wayne Rooney and Ronaldinho, two highly-respected soccer players, are among these athletic sponsors. Mia Hamm, an icon of U.S. women’s soccer is also a Nike sponsor. Some of the top soccer teams in the world that are sponsored by Nike are Manchester United, Barcelona, and Arsenal. Nike is also touting into social networking to bring the world-spread soccer community together. Joga Bonito was created by Nike along with Google, and it is a social network for soccer fans, players, coaches, etc. to interact and show video clips of soccer tricks, games, and advertisements. Many soccer fanatics watch these clips for fun, but also to learn tricks and explore the different styles of play around the world. Nike is one of the top companies in the world today, and just to think that it all started from the trunk of a car! |
| WHY SHOP WITH US? |
| World Soccer Shop is the USA's premier soccer store for authentic soccer gear for fans, players, teams, soccer coaches and referees. In addition to being partners with the World's top players and teams World Soccer Shop is a leading retailer of adidas, Nike, Puma, and more. World Soccer Shop scours the world to find rare and unique soccer jerseys and apparel for your favorite soccer teams and we add to our club selection daily. In short, we never stop working to bring you the best possible soccer store in the world. Whether you're searching for your favorite team's jerseys or jerseys for your club, World Soccer Shop has it all. We live, breath and eat soccer 24/7. We're passionate about soccer and just as passionate about the level of service that you deserve. |
