Nike's Environment(s)

The major environments affecting any business are its micro and macro environments. In order to be a successful company, the company must proactively and efficiently deal with these two types of environment. Nike is doing a great job with this so far and it seems that they can only get better.

Although Nike is a household name, and holds a strong stance in the market of athletic footwear, it still pays close attention to the needs of its customers. Customers are a major portion of the micro environment. Without customers, there would be no business. For example, Nike is always looking and researching ways to improve their most popular running shoe, the Shox. They even provide a program on the Internet where you can create your own running shoe by being able to choose the color layout of the shoe. Nike is known for its higher quality and therefore, higher pricing, but they are increasing their market share in the middle and lower price ranges to not exclude any potential customers. Nike also does a great job at making their products appeal to younger, fashion savvy market as well as remaining appealing to the more conservative and function-oriented market. They satisfy the needs of customers who repeatedly purchase the same products and those who are constantly searching for the newest product out there.

Nike holds the position as leader in athletic footwear so it is managing competing brands efficiently in order to remain on top. It always appears that Nike is two steps ahead of their competing brands like Adidas and New Balance.

Nike has a large impact on their macro environment, and in turn, it has a big impact on them as well. It is a known fact that Nike was in a little trouble with the working conditions of the factories overseas. They have publicly apologized and are making huge efforts to ensure the lives of the people working in these factories are given the chance to have the best quality of life. Nike is also big on using their brand power to invest money into grants and product donations as examples. They take corporate responsibility very seriously. They are also making efforts to Go Green and calling the process, The GreenXchange. An example of this is they have begun to use an environmentally friendly rubber on the soles of some of their running shoes and one of them happens to be the Nike Shox Experience.

Overall, Nike has a nice balance of dealing with its micro and macro environments. They are a very open-minded company and always willing to try new ways of doing business that will satisfy the needs of the employees, suppliers, and customers while keeping up with the Go Green attitude this country has so strongly taken part in.

Nike's Position

For Nike to be the world's leading seller of athletic footwear, they must have a pretty good position in the market of shoes. Over half of Nike's sales are made through their shoe products, especially their athletic footwear. They have shoes for practically every activity from aquatics to auto racing. As a company with such versatility, it is no wonder that they are dominating the industry worldwide. It is kind of hard for consumers to avoid Nike products when shopping for athletic shoes. They are a household name and everyone knows the famous Nike symbol, the swoosh. Nike holds a strong position in this market because it always seems to be ahead in the technology and style of their shoes when compared to competitors such as Adidas and New Balance. In fact, you often see these companies mimicking Nike designs in their own shoes. Adidas has tried to mimic the Nike Shox with their shoe line called, Bounce (Microbounce or Megabounce). Nike's prices are also competitive as well. They have the high-end, high-tech shoes that people are looking to pay a little more money for and then they have shoes such as Converse which start at $44.99. Nike provides obtainable products for people on multiple levels of income so virtually anyone can get their hands on a Nike product. All this together is what allows Nike to be in the firm and stable position they have in the athletic shoe market and will continue to do so as long as they continue to do what they are doing as a company.

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!

Mission Statement

"Our goal is to carry on his legacy of innovative thinking, whether to develop products that help athletes of every level of ability reach their potential, or to create business opportunities that set Nike apart from the competition and provide value for our shareholders."

*"To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world."*

*"If you have a body, you're an athlete."*

The innovation and inspiration first started with Bill Bowerman, the co-founder of Nike. This is the legacy the mission statement is referring to and the people at Nike strive to keep these important aspects of the company alive by following in Bowerman's footsteps.

I really feel Nike's mission statement accurately represents who they are as a company. First of all, their statement is short and to the point. This is how a mission statement should be.
As a major player in the business of athletic gear, they certainly are known for their different and loud designs. Nike's running shoes are a perfect example of the inspiration and innovation they state in their mission statement. I think it is safe to say that they probably have the most recognizable sneakers in the world.