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Blue Ribbon Sports opened its doors for business in the wintry months of 1964. That is, its car doors. Operating primarily to distribute Japanese running shoes, the small venture attempted to turn a profit by selling running shoes to University of Oregon track athletes. To minimize costs, Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman sold their wares directly out of the trunks of their cars, attending track and field competitions in order to reach their target consumers. As more and more collegiate runners began adopting the shoes, Bowerman began creating his own waffle-soled shoe. Growing profits allowed Blue Ribbon Sports to simultaneously open their own location near the University of Oregon and launch their first line of footwear, naming it for the Greek goddess of victory, Nike. Sporting the famous Swoosh, the shoes sold exceptionally well. In 1978 Blue Ribbon Sports officially changed their name to Nike, and by 1980 the company had a 50% market share of all athletic shoes sold in the United States. By sponsoring big time athletes and developing an award-winning marketing campaign, Nike continued to expand into the athletic merchandise market (Vann, 2008).
Today, Nike is one of the most admired companies in the world. Having grown to be the largest seller of athletic apparel and footwear in the world, the company ranks 184th on the Forbes 500 list of the largest firms in the United States (Forbes.com 2008) Nike has gone from distributing another firm’s shoe to producing their own line of products designed for track and field, basketball, football, and many others. In addition, Nike designs and sells complimentary athletic wear, including jerseys, apparel, and sports equipment (Nikebiz.com 2008). Relying o ...