NIKE, Inc.
Company History
Nike History: Founding, Growth & Key Milestones
Founded 1964 in Eugene & Beaverton, Oregon
When was Nike founded?
Nike was founded in 1964 in Eugene & Beaverton, Oregon by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman, making it 62 years old.
- Founded
- 1964
- Founding place
- Eugene & Beaverton, Oregon
- Founders
- Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman
- Headquarters today
- Beaverton, Oregon
- Milestones documented
- 12 (1964–2026)
- Current CEO
- Elliott Hill
- Acquisitions
- 9
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1964 | Blue Ribbon Sports Starts |
| 1971 | Nike Name and Swoosh |
| 1978 | Tailwind Introduces Air to Running |
| 1980 | Nike Goes Public |
| 1984 | Michael Jordan Deal Changes Basketball |
| 1988 | Just Do It Launches |
| 2003 | Converse Acquisition |
| 2017 | Consumer Direct Offense |
| 2020 | John Donahoe Becomes CEO |
| 2024 | Elliott Hill Returns as CEO |
| 2025 | FY2025 Revenue Falls to $46.3B |
| 2026 | FY2026 Revenue Reaches $46.398B |
- Where was Nike founded?
- Nike was founded in Eugene & Beaverton, Oregon in 1964.
- Who founded Nike?
- Nike was founded by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman.
- When did Nike start?
- Nike was founded in 1964.
- How old is Nike?
- Nike is 62 years old as of 2026.
Founding Story
In 1971, Bill Bowerman, a highly obsessive track coach in Oregon, was rapidly trying to make a lighter running shoe for his athletes. He was frustrated by heavy leather cleats. Sitting in his kitchen one morning, he looked at his wife's waffle iron. In a moment of highly destructive skill, he poured liquid urethane rubber directly into the waffle iron. It ruined the appliance, but it created a large, highly innovative, ultra-light rubber sole with incredible traction. He glued it to a shoe, inventing the 'Waffle Trainer' and birthing the multi-billion dollar Nike empire.
Founders
Phil Knight
Nike began in 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports in Eugene, Oregon. Its two founders were Bill Bowerman, the track and field coach at the University of Oregon, and Phil Knight, who had run for him. Bowerman was preoccupied with making shoes lighter, because he believed every ounce saved meant less effort over a race. Knight had recently graduated from Stanford Business School, where he wrote a paper arguing that Japanese running shoes could do to the German brands Adidas and Puma what Japanese cameras had done to German cameras: match the quality at a lower price. He travelled to Japan and obtained the US distribution rights for Onitsuka Tiger shoes. The two started with a $1,200 investment, and Knight sold shoes from the trunk of his green Plymouth Valiant at track meets. In 1971 they split from Onitsuka to make their own shoes. Bowerman poured liquid rubber into his wife's waffle iron to make a light sole with better grip. They paid a Portland State student $35 for the Swoosh logo and took the name Nike, after the Greek goddess of victory. Phil Knight was born in 1938.
Bill Bowerman
Bill Bowerman co-founded Blue Ribbon Sports with Phil Knight in 1964 and shaped the company's earliest product identity. While Knight built the commercial system, Bowerman tested shoes with runners, changed soles, altered uppers, and pushed for lighter, more functional designs. His waffle-sole work helped lead to the Waffle Trainer, a breakthrough that gave Nike a genuine performance story as it moved beyond distribution. Bowerman was less involved in daily corporate operations than Knight, but his influence was foundational: Nike's culture of product testing, athlete feedback, and performance language traces directly to his coaching methods. He also helped popularize jogging in the United States, expanding the market Nike would later serve. Bowerman's legacy is the idea that innovation begins with watching athletes closely enough to notice what slows them down. Bill Bowerman was born in 1911 in Portland. Education: North Medford High School.
Key Milestones
Blue Ribbon Sports Starts
Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman formed Blue Ribbon Sports in 1964, before Nike existed as a brand. The origin mattered because the business began with running shoes, track athletes, and Bowerman's habit of testing product ideas against real training needs. That athlete proximity became a durable part of Nike's product culture.
Source: about.nike.comNike Name and Swoosh
Blue Ribbon Sports moved toward its own identity in 1971 as the Nike name and Carolyn Davidson's Swoosh entered the business. The shift changed the company from a distributor of another supplier's shoes into an owner of product design, brand meaning, and consumer trust. It also created the visual asset that still carries much of Nike's recognition.
Source: about.nike.comTailwind Introduces Air to Running
The Tailwind introduced Air cushioning to running in 1978, according to Nike's own Pegasus history. Early Air products still had stability issues, but the technology gave Nike a platform it could refine across Pegasus, Air Force 1, Air Max, and later lifestyle models. The milestone matters because Air became both a performance story and a visible design language.
Source: about.nike.comNike Goes Public
Nike went public in 1980, giving the company access to public capital as it expanded marketing, product development, and global distribution. The IPO marked the transition from founder-led growth company to a larger public sportswear business. It also set the stage for bigger athlete and brand investments in the 1980s.
Source: britannica.comMichael Jordan Deal Changes Basketball
Nike signed Michael Jordan in 1984, then built Air Jordan into a signature product line rather than a standard endorsement. The deal changed how athlete relationships could become long-running product franchises. Jordan still matters because it connects basketball performance, scarcity, retro culture, and premium pricing.
Source: britannica.comJust Do It Launches
Nike launched Just Do It in 1988, turning a campaign line into a broad call to action across sport and everyday effort. The slogan mattered because it expanded the brand beyond top performance and gave Nike a voice that could travel across categories and countries. The company was still using that language in official campaigns nearly four decades later.
Source: about.nike.comConverse Acquisition
Nike acquired Converse in 2003, adding a lifestyle footwear brand with a different cultural meaning from the performance-led Swoosh. The 2004 10-K listed the cash purchase price, including acquisition costs, at about $310 million. Converse gave Nike ownership of Chuck Taylor and related lifestyle franchises without forcing every casual footwear story through the core Nike brand.
Source: sec.govConsumer Direct Offense
Nike announced the Consumer Direct Offense in 2017 to serve consumers faster and more personally through digital, owned retail, speed, and focused markets. The strategy mattered because it pushed the company toward Nike.com, apps, membership, and direct customer data. The later reset showed the tradeoff: direct control is useful, but wholesale visibility still matters.
Source: investors.nike.comJohn Donahoe Becomes CEO
John Donahoe succeeded Mark Parker as Nike chief executive in January 2020.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgElliott Hill Returns as CEO
Nike announced in September 2024 that Elliott Hill would return as president and CEO effective October 14, 2024. Hill had spent more than three decades at the company before retiring in 2020. The appointment mattered because Nike chose an operator with deep marketplace and brand history during a period of declining sales and strained channel relationships.
Source: about.nike.comFY2025 Revenue Falls to $46.3B
In FY2025, Nike revenue fell 10% to $46.3 billion, net income fell to $3.2 billion, and gross margin declined to 42.7%. Nike Direct revenue was $18.8 billion and wholesale revenue was $25.9 billion. The result made the turnaround concrete: product newness, discounting, inventory discipline, and channel balance all needed repair.
Source: s1.q4cdn.comFY2026 Revenue Reaches $46.398B
Nike reports FY2026 revenue of $46.398B, net income of $3.108B, wholesale revenue of $27.5B, and NIKE Direct revenue of $17.7B.
Source: sec.govMajor Acquisitions
Converse
2003Nike acquired Converse to expand into lifestyle footwear with a brand whose cultural meaning was different from Nike's performance identity. Converse gave Nike ownership of Chuck Taylor, One Star, and a youth-culture platform tied to music, fashion, and casual wear.
Bauer Hockey
1994Nike acquired Bauer to enter hockey equipment and broaden its presence beyond footwear and apparel. The deal reflected a 1990s belief that Nike could extend its brand-management skills into more sport-specific hardgoods.
Umbro
2008Nike acquired Umbro to strengthen global football, especially in markets where Umbro had heritage, team relationships, and deep recognition. The acquisition was intended to complement Nike Football and expand access to clubs, kits, and football consumers.
Zodiac
2018Nike acquired Zodiac, a consumer data analytics company, to improve customer lifetime value modeling and personalization. The deal supported Nike's direct-consumer strategy by helping the company understand purchase frequency, retention, and digital engagement.
Celect
2019Nike acquired Celect to improve demand sensing, inventory allocation, and predictive analytics across stores and digital channels. The goal was to use data to put the right product in the right market with fewer markdowns.
Datalogue
2021Nike acquired Datalogue to automate data integration and make consumer, product, and operational data easier to use across the company. The acquisition supported Nike's Consumer Direct Acceleration strategy.
RTFKT
2021Nike acquired RTFKT to explore digital sneakers, virtual goods, NFTs, and creator-led brand experiences. The deal reflected Nike's interest in protecting the Swoosh in digital spaces and learning from Web3-native communities.
Hurley International
2002NIKE, Inc. acquired Hurley International in 2002.
None (No major acquisitions in FY2024)
2024NIKE, Inc. did not complete any major company acquisitions in 2024 that materially impacted goodwill. The company focused instead on strategic minority investments in startups like MarkOS and Miggo.
Keep researching Nike
Nike Company History FAQ
What are the historic milestones that define the evolution of NIKE, Inc.?
Key milestones include: founding of Blue Ribbon Sports (1964), Waffle iron sole invention (1971), introduction of Swoosh and rebranding to Nike (1971), IPO on NYSE (1980), signing Michael Jordan and launching Air Jordan (1984-1985), debut of 'Just Do It' campaign (1988), launch of Nike.com (1999), acquisition of Converse (2003), launch of Flyknit (2012), Breaking2 sub-2 hour marathon (2017-2019), and 50th anniversary celebration (2022).
How did the signing of Michael Jordan in 1984 transform Nike and sports marketing forever?
Nike signed rookie Michael Jordan in 1984 and launched the Air Jordan 1 in 1985. Instead of a flat endorsement fee, the deal built a product line around Jordan with royalties on sales, and the shoe line far exceeded Nike's first-year sales goals. That model became the template for signature athlete franchises.
When did Nike launch the well-known 'Just Do It' slogan and who created it?
The 'Just Do It' slogan debuted in 1988 in a TV commercial featuring 80-year-old San Francisco runner Walt Stack jogging across the Golden Gate Bridge; created by Dan Wieden of advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy (inspired by the last words of convict Gary Gilmore: 'Let's do it'), it became one of the top advertising slogans of the 20th century.
How did Frank Rudy introduce Nike Air cushioning technology in 1977?
In 1977, former NASA aerospace engineer Marion Frank Rudy presented Phil Knight with an idea to encapsulate pressurized inert gas inside polyurethane bags placed in shoe soles; Nike patented the technology, launching the Nike Tailwind in 1978 and well-known visible Air Max 1 designed by Tinker Hatfield in 1987.
When did Nike go public and what was its IPO valuation in 1980?
Nike completed its initial public offering (IPO) on December 2, 1980, offering 2 million shares of Class B common stock at $22 per share, instantly making co-founders Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman multi-millionaires as Nike overtook Adidas as the number one athletic shoe brand in America.
How did well-known designer Tinker Hatfield transform Nike footwear architecture?
Tinker Hatfield, a corporate architect who joined Nike in 1981, designed many of history's most well-known sneakers, including the Air Max 1 (inspired by the Centre Pompidou in Paris), Air Trainer 1, and Air Jordan 3 through 15, infusing storytelling, visible technology, and architectural aesthetics into sports footwear.
How did Nike invent Flyknit engineering technology for the 2012 London Olympics?
Debuted in 2012 after four years of micro-engineering research, Nike Flyknit transformed shoe manufacturing by knitting an entire shoe upper from a single continuous polyester yarn, reducing upper weight to mere ounces and cutting manufacturing fabric waste by 80%.
What is Nike's corporate vision for the next era of sports performance?
Nike's vision is to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world (with the belief that 'if you have a body, you are an athlete'), using generative computational design, biometric intelligence, and sustainable circular materials to unlock human potential.
How did Bill Bowerman invent the iconic Nike Waffle Sole?
In 1970, University of Oregon track coach and Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman was searching for a lightweight, traction-heavy running shoe sole that wouldn't tear up the university's newly installed synthetic track. He poured liquid urethane rubber into his wife's kitchen waffle iron, ruining the iron but creating the revolutionary waffle tread sole that launched the Nike Waffle Trainer in 1974.
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