Nike Case Study

nike case study, case analysis & conflicts & SWOT of the company.

* The art of understanding the needs of such athletes.

* The engineering of products that appealed to these athletes.

* The business of sourcing these products in low-cost offshore manufacturing locations.

* The marketing savvy to build on the performance of these runners to attract interest from the rest of the athletic pyramid.

One segment leads to another

By the mid-1970s, Nike had developed some capabilities that would serve it well. It had mastered low-cost outsourced production, using factories in Asia that could produce the innovative shoes created by Knight's designers. These designers had learned how to build relationships with elite athletes to identify their footwear needs and design shoes that would not only contribute to better performance but also protect them from injury. Knight and his team realized that these capabilities could now be applied in other athletic shoe segments to develop high-performance shoes tailored specifically to the needs of each sport.

In 1978, tennis great John McEnroe signed with Nike, and tennis became another growth business. That same year, the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers began wearing Nike's new basketball shoes. By 1983, Nike had expanded its offerings to include apparel as well as shoes. In 1985, a promising rookie basketball player named Michael Jordan signed a deal with Nike for a new line of basketball shoes based on the air-cushioned technology developed by Nike for its running shoes. Air Jordan shoes became the envy of every American teenager, as Jordan became the best player ever in basketball.