Nike is a household brand for most sporting enthusiasts because at least one of their apparel is made by the company. Despite owning their merchandise, you may not know much about them, and you’ll find these facts interesting.
- Basketball veteran Michael Jordan was about to turn down Nike’s offer in 1984 but was persuaded by his mother. The former basketball player refused to partner with Nike and chose to work with Reebok. He turned up to meet Nike officials fully dressed in Reebok apparel.
- Before it was renamed Nike in 1964, the company was Blue Ribbon Sports.
- When writing a graduate college assignment, Phil Knight came up with the idea of starting a shoe company which became Nike.
- The company’s biggest retail store in the world is in London, UK. The store is known as Nike Town.
- The company launched Nike Adapt shoes in 2016. The shoes are self-lacing, conform to one’s feet, and are controlled by a smartphone.
- The preliminary versions of Nike were made from fish and kangaroo skin. Nowadays, it uses rubber, polyester, cotton, leather, and EVA foam to make its products.
- The company opened its first retail store in November 1990 in Downtown Portland, Oregon, USA. Today, it’s the company’s headquarters office.
- Nike was involved in a controversy with musician Lil Nas X in 2021 after he claimed that Nike manufactured his Satan shoes.
- The sports apparel company sponsors athletes such as Christiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe, and Rafael Nadal.
- Nike’s adverts on YouTube did not reach a million views until they did a commercial with Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho. The commercial surpassed a million views in 2006.
- Skateboarder Bam Margera was sponsored by Nike, but he did not like the brand. He used other shoe brands but placed the swoosh symbol from Nike on the shoes.
