Nike Swot Analysis
SWOT analysis: Nike
Introduction
Like most companies, Nike has corporate strengths and weaknesses. However, in the 50 years that Nike has been in business, it has weathered most challenges. From its maverick days as an upstart sports shoe brand being sold out of the back of the trunk of its owners’ cars at track meets, through the 80s and 90s when it lavished multi-million dollar endorsement deals on sports icons.
Following is a SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunity and threat) analysis of this great American business enterprise.
Strengths:
Marketing expertise
Nike is a marketing trailblazer. Its commercials are so unique and iconic that every new advertising campaign is analysed by industry watchers and experts, and reviewed like it is a new novel or bestseller (Howell, 1991). It has produced gems such as “Just Do It”, the “most recognizable tagline in advertising history” (Katz, 1994), and “No games. Just sport” – a no nonsense rallying cry immortalized in the 2000 movie “What Women Want” starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt.
Air Jordans – its Air Jordan line has been so successful that more than 10 years after Michael Jordan has retired from professional sports, the line continues to be Nike’s premier brand (Strasser, 1994).
Innovative product
Its very first hit, the “waffle soles” for running shoes made Nike its first millions. It was inspired by Phil Knight’s wife’s pancake waffle iron (Strasser, 1994). It combined maximum traction, simplicity of design and minimum weight. It has been copied by competitors but never duplicated.
Innovative service
Nike recognized early on the power of e-commerce. It established its Nike website to assist its worldwide fan base, allow them to ask questions, design their own shoes, and order shoes directly from the factory (Dworkin, 1999). There was practIcally no e-commerce in 1995, but in 1997 this segment earned businesses $26 billion. By 2002, it explode into a $330 billion industry and $1
Introduction
Like most companies, Nike has corporate strengths and weaknesses. However, in the 50 years that Nike has been in business, it has weathered most challenges. From its maverick days as an upstart sports shoe brand being sold out of the back of the trunk of its owners’ cars at track meets, through the 80s and 90s when it lavished multi-million dollar endorsement deals on sports icons.
Following is a SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunity and threat) analysis of this great American business enterprise.
Strengths:
Marketing expertise
Nike is a marketing trailblazer. Its commercials are so unique and iconic that every new advertising campaign is analysed by industry watchers and experts, and reviewed like it is a new novel or bestseller (Howell, 1991). It has produced gems such as “Just Do It”, the “most recognizable tagline in advertising history” (Katz, 1994), and “No games. Just sport” – a no nonsense rallying cry immortalized in the 2000 movie “What Women Want” starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt.
Air Jordans – its Air Jordan line has been so successful that more than 10 years after Michael Jordan has retired from professional sports, the line continues to be Nike’s premier brand (Strasser, 1994).
Innovative product
Its very first hit, the “waffle soles” for running shoes made Nike its first millions. It was inspired by Phil Knight’s wife’s pancake waffle iron (Strasser, 1994). It combined maximum traction, simplicity of design and minimum weight. It has been copied by competitors but never duplicated.
Innovative service
Nike recognized early on the power of e-commerce. It established its Nike website to assist its worldwide fan base, allow them to ask questions, design their own shoes, and order shoes directly from the factory (Dworkin, 1999). There was practIcally no e-commerce in 1995, but in 1997 this segment earned businesses $26 billion. By 2002, it explode into a $330 billion industry and $1
References: Dworkin, A. (1999). Nike prepares to step into e-commerce with acquisition of online firm. The Oregonian. (September 27, 1999). Retrieved June 8, 2010. Ferrell, O.C., Hartline, M.D., Lucas, G.H., & Luck, D. (1998), Marketing Strategy. Dryden Press: Orlando FL. Howell, J. (1991). A Revolution in Motion ':Advertising and the Politics of Nostalgia. Sociology of Sport Journal, 8(3). High-Tech Writers. (2000). Nike tells ask Jeeves to just do it online. Business Wire. January 18, 2000. Retrieved June 7, 2010. Katz, D. (1994). Just Do It: The Nike Spirit in the Corporate World. Random House, Inc.,New York, NY. Logos That Became Legends: Icons From the World of Advertising. (2004). The Independent. 2008-01-04. Retrieved June 7, 2010. PR Newswire. (2000). Nike selects critical mass to bring Nike iD to the next level of online personalization. www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved June 8, 2010. Strasser, J.B. and Becklund, L. (1994). Swoosh: The Unauthorized Story of Nike and the Men Who Played There. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. New York, NY. Townsend, M. (2010). ‘Toning’ Shoes Gain Traction. MSNBC Businessweek. Retrieved June 8, 2010. Wicked Local. (2008). April 29, 2008. Retrieved: May 4, 2008