Nike, Inc. is the world's largest athletic footwear and apparel brand, headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon. Founded in 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by University of Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman and his former runner Phil Knight, the company rebranded as Nike in 1971 — named after the Greek goddess of victory. The iconic Swoosh logo was designed by graphic design student Carolyn Davidson for $35.
Foundational models
Nike's catalog contains the three most commercially important sneakers in history: the Air Force 1 (1982, Bruce Kilgore), the Air Jordan 1 (1985, Peter Moore), and the Nike Dunk (1985, Peter Moore). Each has been retro'd continuously for four decades. The Air Max line — launched in 1987 with the Air Max 1 by Tinker Hatfield — introduced visible Air cushioning and spawned one of the brand's most enduring sublines.
Signature athletes
Nike's signature athlete strategy reshaped sports marketing. Michael Jordan's signature line (launched 1985, spun into Jordan Brand in 1997) is the most successful athlete endorsement deal in history. LeBron James signed a lifetime deal in 2015. Kobe Bryant's line continues posthumously. Other signature athletes include Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Dončić, Ja Morant, and Sabrina Ionescu.
Technology
Nike has pioneered athletic footwear technology across generations: Nike Air (1978), Air Max visible cushioning (1987), Zoom Air (1995), Shox (2000), Flywire (2008), Flyknit (2012), VaporMax (2017), React (2017), and ZoomX (2018). Many of these technologies originated in performance but became lifestyle staples.
Collaborations
Nike's collaboration program is the most active in the industry. Virgil Abloh's Off-White "The Ten" (2017), Travis Scott's multi-year Jordan/Nike partnership, Tom Sachs Mars Yard, sacai, Fragment Design (Hiroshi Fujiwara), CLOT (Edison Chen), Union LA, A Ma Maniéré, and Patta have each produced culture-defining releases.
Nike trades on the NYSE as NKE. The company owns Jordan Brand and Converse and is the exclusive footwear partner of the NBA, NFL, MLB, and many national soccer federations.