In the early 60’s American sports shoes cost about $ 5, and athletes got what they paid for. Running shoes were of extremely poor quality, often resulting in painful blisters, and other injuries as a result of poor design. However, the only other alternative were expensive high quality German designed shoes, which were not readily available, or affordable to the masses.
If you are an athlete, or someone familiar with sports gear at all, chances are you are familiar with Nike. Nike was established by a couple of students from the University of Oregon. Phil Knight, who was a runner, and Bill Bowerman was his athletic trainer.
After experiencing much discomfort from their running shoes, In 1964, Knight and Bowerman developed their business plan to sell inexpensive shoes by designing them in America, manufacturing in Japan, and selling it in the United States at lower prices than the German footwear. The first batch was literally sold from the back of a truck, where the pair earned their first 8 thousand dollars. The partners decided to continue to cooperate with the Japanese and the project was named Blue Ribbon Sports.
In 1965, the friends changed their company name to Nike, after the Greek goddess of victory, when the manager of the company saw her in a dream. By this time, Knight had already managed to sell over a million dollars worth in shoes. Talk about a success story. These days, there are dozens of Nike shoes, ranging from Nike air max shoes, to dunks, to shocks. You can even customize your own pair of air max shoes on their highly sophisticated website, picking your own colors, and even able to include your initials in the design.
Nike is praised for having top of the line quality products, as well as credited with the creation of several cutting edge sports designs, such as the air max shoes, which boast extra cushioning and support for the people wearing them.
Whether you have your own pair of air max shoes, love Nike, or hate them, they are an American success story, and one of the most recognizable symbols world wide.