Core Competencies

As far as Nike's core competencies go, I feel their strongest ones are the very words provided in their mission statement; inspiration and innovation. Nike is known for having some wild designs and color schemes for their shoes. This loudness really attracts people to them, especially their running ones. I have seen this first hand because I work in a sneaker retail store. Nike is our best seller and they are the brand of shoe we have most in our stock by far. Not only are Nike's colors and designs usually different from anything else out on the market, the technology behind their running shoes is advanced as well. The innovation of the Nike Shox brought on a whole new style of a running shoe. No one had seen something like this before and people seemed drawn to them. I still have people today that come into my work asking about the Shox and what they do. It also appears that if a running shoe looks really cool and feels really nice on the foot, people are more likely to feel motivated or inspired to start running or exercising in general. Then there are those customers who just buy the Shox because they like the look of them (me being one of them). Whatever the case may be, Nike is a top seller, if not the top, in athletic footwear and it is due to the innovation and inspiration they put forth in their product. Nike's marketing skills in general a core competency. Almost every sport can be seen with some sort of Nike product, whether on a professional level or not. Endorsing celebrities to advertise for Nike was not a bad marketing move. One of the biggest examples of this that comes to mind is Tiger Woods. Every tournament Tiger is in, he can be seen covered from head to toe in Nike. Talk about great advertising!