Book Review of Nike - A Vision of Victory

Book Review of Nike - A vision of victory
Introduction
Nike – A vision of victory, a phenomenal book written by Tracy Carbasho talks about the
company’s journey from two individuals selling shoes at track meets to a multi billionaire
brand. Nike Inc. has now become the world’s leading supplier of athletic shoes and garments
in addition to a major manufacturer of sports equipment. Started by two persistent individuals
– Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight, the company was formerly known as ‘Blue Ribbon Sports’
with a paltry $1000 as investment. Initially, even Nike was rejected by several shoe
manufacturers. The company changed its name to ‘Nike Incorporated’ later, certainly living
up to its meaning i.e. goddess of victory. Companies such as Converse, Cole Haan and
Umbro are owned by Nike. It is now earning $20 billion annually making it the highest
grossing footwear brand today. Nike’s swoosh logo which was originally red in colour was
designed by a graphic student – Carolyn Davidson with $35 as salary. Later she was gifted
with a diamond ring by the co-founder for her simple yet unique craftsmanship. Nike’s
slogan – Just Do It was amongst the Top 5 slogans in the 20th century, inspiring millions to
stay fit. Athlete endorsements by Tiger Woods, Serena Williams and Michael Jordan have
undoubtedly increased the sales.
Interpretation and Learning from the book
 Nike’s journey of almost 55 years has been a rollercoaster indeed. Tracy Carbasho has
given us a sneak peek to the undisclosed material of the company through interviews
with the employees, business executives and associated athletes.
 The most credible element of the company is loyalty. This is considering the Tiger
Woods scandal of November, 2009. Following the incident, Woods was suspended
from advertising for various leading brands. Nike was the sole company to standby
him. Even during Serena Williams’ tirade of 2009, the company released a statement
supporting their fellow endorser.
 Nike believes in diversity and equality in employees. Equal compensation is given to
each employee irrespective of gender or ethnicity. The diverse ethnic background has
made the company ‘consumer-centric’ worldwide.
 Nike has astounding influence on college athletes. It provided with sports apparel for
college matches in the United States.
 Nike’s marketing techniques is the base for its ultimate success. The advertisement
campaigns are truly creative and unique. Nike often uses ‘emotional advertising’ as a
catalyst for selling purposes. The company rose to fame after it started endorsing
popular sports icons. Nike was the first among its competitors to create a website for
online marketing.
 Nike’s secret of maintaining its reputation all these years is its innovation in products.
It aims at enhancing the technological aspect of their product. Flywire and Airmax
technology have been a big hit among sports athletes. This helped in increasing their
sales and expanding their merchandise lines.
 Nike became a leader instead of refusing to the allegations when it received a great
deal of backlash back in 1998. Due to its engagement in child labour in third world
countries, the company’s future was in jeopardy. Later the company established the
Fair Labour Association and a code of conduct for maintaining transparency in the
organization.
 The recession of 2009 was a tough period for Nike. It resulted in restructuring of the
company worldwide. The company was expected to earn $225 million as a result of
downsizing, making it efficient.
 Nike and CSR (corporate social responsibility) are synonymous to each other. Over
the last decade, it has merely been focusing on social and environmental issues.
Environmental issues - making jerseys from plastic bottles, forming shoe boxes that
are fully recyclable, reducing CO2 emissions from factories. Social issues –
collaborated with Livestrong to raise money for cancer patients, collaborated with
RED for the fight against spread of HIV/AIDS, inspired kids all around the world to
join sports.
Relevance today
Nike’s special quality includes capturing the public’s attention through heavy marketing. It
stays ahead of its competitors by continuously designing technologically advanced products.
Such products are made according to the needs and preferences of the consumers. It perceives
to a ‘dynamic market’ proficiently. People are still fascinated over the waffle iron sole of the
athletic shoes created by Bowerman. It objectively follows the four P’s (product, price, place,
promotion) of marketing mix. Nike primarily focuses on its footwear sales rather than other
segments such as clothing, accessories or equipment. This book is more suitable for
businessmen or young entrepreneurs looking for adroit strategies to be implemented in the
organization. Students looking forward to a career in sports are highly recommended to read
this book.

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