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The History of Nike

The company grew fast and in 1966 the two founders opened their first store in California. By 1971, they were ready to launch their own footwear brand featuring the ‘Swoosh' logo designed by Carolyn Davidson, and the first shoe they sold was a soccer shoe called ‘Nike' after the Greek goddess of victory. More shoes were launched under the Nike name in 1972 and sales increased so much that in 1978, the company was officially renamed to Nike, Inc.

Shortly afterwards, Nike began to sponsor professional athletes such as Ilie Nastase in a high profile marketing programme which helped the company's sales soar. 1974 was also a key year in that Nike released the ‘Waffle' Trainer, the first product designed by Bowerman. The Waffle sole was a result of Bowerman's experiments with different outsoles and how they gripped the track, and was initially discovered when he poured liquid urethane into a waffle maker.

It wasn't long before Nike had built a 50% share in the US athletic footwear market and in 1980, the company went public. However, their growth had mainly been down to word of mouth recommendations, so when they launched their first national TV ad in 1982 sales increased faster than ever.

In fact, the advertising agency used by Nike for those first ads, Wieden+Kennedy, is still their primary agency, and it was one of the agency's founders, Dan Weiden, who created Nike's globally recognised ‘Just Do It' slogan which was named by Advertising Age as one of the top 5 slogans of the 20th century.

The rest of the 1980's and 1990's were spent expanding the company's product line to include a huge number of sports in countries around the world, and their brands currently include Nike Golf, Nike Pro, Nike+, Air Jordan and Nike Skateboarding, amongst other subsidiaries like Cole Haan, Hurley International, Umbro and Converse.

Now in the 20th century, Nike employs more than 30,000 people and continues to sponsor a huge number of high profile athletes and teams - all of who proudly wear the ‘Just Do It' and ‘Swoosh' trademarks.

About the Author

JD Sports is a leading provider of sports fashion and equipment, for further information click here <a href="http://www.jdsports.co.uk/men/brand/nike/">http://www.jdsports.co.uk/men/brand/nike/</a>

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Hog Heaven: The Story of the Harley Davidson Empire explores the unsteady rise of this quintessentially American company. Tracing the roots of this multimillion-dollar manufacturer from the garage shop of two motorcycle purists, this video presents a true Horatio Alger tale. Featuring interviews with celebrity enthusiasts including Peter Fonda and Jay Leno, motorcycle historians, and plenty of footage of hogs past and present, the video provides a comprehensive look at this important slice of Americana. ~ Sean Hurley, Rovi