History of Nike and Ecommerce
History of Nike and E-commerce
Nike is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. Nike, originally known as “Blue Ribbon Sports” was founded by University of Oregon track and field coach Bill Bowerman and student athlete Philip Knight in January of 1964. Blue Ribbon Sports was operated out of Knight’s automobile trunk, as a distributor for Japanese shoe make Onitsuka Tiger. Three years later in 1967, Blue Ribbon Sports opened up its first retail store in Santa Monica, California. In 1971, Blue Ribbon Sports and Onitsuka Tiger’s relationship was coming to a closure. BRS was ready to launch its own line of footwear, which would call attention to the newly designed Swoosh. The swoosh was first used by Nike in June of 1971, and officially patent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on January 22, 1974. The summer of 1971 carried the first shoe with a swoosh design on it, a soccer shoe, named Nike. In February of 1972, BRS introduced its first line of Nike shoes, with the name Nike derived from the Greek goddess of victory. Blue Ribbon Sports officially renamed itself to Nike, Inc. in 1978. The nike.com website was initially launched in August of 1996. The purpose was to provide information to Nike customers. At the time, there were no e-commerce capabilities on the site. Nike’s main goal was brand building. Different sports received their own separate pages, with tips and advice from Nike athletes, news and updates on sports events, and detailed product information, including design inspirations and athlete endorsements. Despite the lack of e-commerce and no efforts to drive traffic to the site through advertising expenditures, the nike.com site logged 14 million visitors in 1998. Nike.com first served as an information and marketing showpiece for Nike shoes and apparel. In February of 1999, Nike shifted its emphasis to “direct-to-consumer” selling of products. According to Nike, “the move to
Nike is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. Nike, originally known as “Blue Ribbon Sports” was founded by University of Oregon track and field coach Bill Bowerman and student athlete Philip Knight in January of 1964. Blue Ribbon Sports was operated out of Knight’s automobile trunk, as a distributor for Japanese shoe make Onitsuka Tiger. Three years later in 1967, Blue Ribbon Sports opened up its first retail store in Santa Monica, California. In 1971, Blue Ribbon Sports and Onitsuka Tiger’s relationship was coming to a closure. BRS was ready to launch its own line of footwear, which would call attention to the newly designed Swoosh. The swoosh was first used by Nike in June of 1971, and officially patent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on January 22, 1974. The summer of 1971 carried the first shoe with a swoosh design on it, a soccer shoe, named Nike. In February of 1972, BRS introduced its first line of Nike shoes, with the name Nike derived from the Greek goddess of victory. Blue Ribbon Sports officially renamed itself to Nike, Inc. in 1978. The nike.com website was initially launched in August of 1996. The purpose was to provide information to Nike customers. At the time, there were no e-commerce capabilities on the site. Nike’s main goal was brand building. Different sports received their own separate pages, with tips and advice from Nike athletes, news and updates on sports events, and detailed product information, including design inspirations and athlete endorsements. Despite the lack of e-commerce and no efforts to drive traffic to the site through advertising expenditures, the nike.com site logged 14 million visitors in 1998. Nike.com first served as an information and marketing showpiece for Nike shoes and apparel. In February of 1999, Nike shifted its emphasis to “direct-to-consumer” selling of products. According to Nike, “the move to
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