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- Herausgeber: Business Book Summaries
- Kategorie: Lebensstil
- Sprache: Englisch
The must-read summary of Julie Strasser and Laurie Becklund's book: "Swoosh: The Unauthorized Story of Nike and the Men Who Played There".
This complete summary of the ideas from Julie Strasser and Laurie Becklund's book "Swoosh" reveals the fascinating story of Phil Knight and how he founded a small shoe company (Blue Ribbon Sports) in 1964 which became the most successful sporting apparel business in the United States. Based on interviews and archival material, this book tells the rise, fall and recovery of Nike. The authors describe the six men who, along with Knight, made the small company a billion-dollar giant.
Added-value of this summary:
• Save time
• Understand key concepts
• Expand your knowledge
To learn more, read "Swoosh" and discover the story behind Nike's success.
Das E-Book können Sie in Legimi-Apps oder einer beliebigen App lesen, die das folgende Format unterstützen:
Seitenzahl: 42
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014
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Book PresentationNike by Julie Strasser and Laurie Becklund
Important Note About This Ebook
Summary of Nike (Julie Strasser and Laurie Becklund)
1. The Tiger Years (1964-1971)
2. Transition (1972-1976)
3. The Private Years (1977-1980)
4. The Public Years (1981-1990)
Book PresentationNike by Julie Strasser and Laurie Becklund
Important Note About This Ebook
This is a summary and not a critique or a review of the book. It does not offer judgment or opinion on the content of the book. This summary may not be organized chapter-wise but is an overview of the main ideas, viewpoints and arguments from the book as a whole. This means that the organization of this summary is not a representation of the book.
Summary of Nike (Julie Strasser and Laurie Becklund)
1. The Tiger Years (1964-1971)
The founder of Nike was Philip Hampson Knight.
Knight acquired the nickname “Buck” early in life and it stuck with him. He attended the University of Oregon majoring in accounting, and later went to Stanford School of Business. While at the University of Oregon, he joined the track team and was coached by Bill Bowerman who was legendary for developing successful mile track runners.
Phil was a very good runner, and he raced with a lot of success. As luck would have it, though, his on-track performance was eclipsed by another university team member Jim Grelle who later went on to represent the United States at the Olympics.
While at Stanford, Phil Knight wrote a paper about a small business idea as an assignment. In the paper, he discussed the concept of what would happen if the Japanese did to German running shoes what they had already done to German cameras. Knight concluded his paper by saying that with cheap Japanese labor, an American distributor could sell track shoes that rivaled Adidas in quality but undercut them in price.
Before settling into a career somewhere in corporate America, Knight decided to get some overseas experience. With the financial help of his family, he had enough money to travel to the Far East. In 1962, Knight ended up in Japan, where he immediately fell in love with the country and the people. While there, he noticed some imitation Adidas running shoes in a sporting goods store. The shoes were Tiger brand, manufactured by Onitsuka Co. Ltd of Kobe.
Just before leaving Japan, Phil went and visited Onitsuka Co. He introduced himself as an American shoe importer, and was pleasantly surprised to receive a warm welcome. Knight assured the Japanese company their shoes looked good, and promised to place an order when they sent some samples of a new leather shoe they were developing. When they asked the name of Phil Knight’s company, he replied, “Blue Ribbon Sports” - the first name that came to mind.
Unbeknown to Knight, Kihachiro Onitsuka, the founder of Onitsuka Co. Ltd. had just spent a few months studying the American market. Many Japanese companies used the large trading companies to represent them overseas, but Onitsuka had decided instead to appoint American distributors with experience in specific sports. Onitsuka saw Knight as the ideal way to move into the American market for running shoes. At the time, Onitsuka manufactured 66 shoe models and had annual sales of around $8 million.
When Knight returned from his trip, he approached his old track coach, Bill Bowerman, and asked if he would like to become involved in a company importing Tiger brand running shoes from Japan. Bowerman agreed, seeing it as a way to produce good running shoes for his track team. He also told Knight he expected to be cut in on the financial benefits in some way or another.
Bowerman and Knight decided to form a legal business partnership called Blue Ribbon Sports. They each contributed $500 to start the company and shook hands. There were no business plans, no contracts, no lawyers - just a handshake and a shared interest in the sports shoe business.
Blue Ribbon placed its first order for 300 pairs of Tiger shoes in February 1964. The order was worth $1,107 - $3.69 a pair. They hoped to sell the shoes for $6.95 a pair, which would undercut Adidas. It took around four months for that first shipment of shoes to be sold out.
There was a hiccup when Blue Ribbon tried to place an order for another 1,000 pairs of shoes. Onitsuka told Knight they already had an American distributor, based in New York, and that Blue Ribbon would have to work through him. Knight jumped on a plane and went back to Japan to see Onitsuka personally, and eventually succeeded in having Blue Ribbon designated as Onitsuka’s exclusive agent for the 13 western states of the United States of America. Onitsuka and Blue Ribbon Sports signed a one-page exclusivity agreement.
Adidas, based in Herzogenaurach, Germany, absolutely dominated the U.S. and world markets for athletic shoes in the 1960s. Adidas shoes featured prominently in the Soccer World Cup, the Olympics and other major sporting events.
