Leveraging Nike’s Core Competencies: a Deep Dive into Global Market Dominance

Nike’s Origin and Core Competencies

In brief, Nike began its business in early 1962. Their business has spread to nearly 200 countries worldwide, leading the design, development, manufacturing, and global marketing and sales of sports goods, apparel, and accessories. Nike became the world’s largest seller of sports sneakers. The company always focuses on providing high-quality sports shoes for athletes, specially designed for world-top athletes. Nike is so successful today because they put much effort into advertising, branding, and marketing, and they all worked.

I found that Nike has always focused on the high-end market since the company started, selling high-tech shores for top athletes in the United States. Then they spread the market from the US to European countries and other areas. Another factor is that Nike insists on signing up champions in competitions. Sponsor them and increase exposure to the brand. For example, they signed with the world’s top basketball players, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, before and after. This has given them a massive boost in basketball shores and jersey sales worldwide.

Adaptive Strategies and Global Expansion

Then in the European market, they sponsored soccer, which is much hotter than basketball in the United States. On the other hand, they built a strong brand and kept it consistent. They planned a successful marketing strategy to run ad campaigns to spread their advertising slogan widely, ‘Just do it.’ Moreover, they kept using it as a slogan for various activities aligned with their marketing goal in the 1980s. Nike’s executives adhered to the high-tech route, worked with other tech companies such as Apple, and even kept a low profile of their efforts to go eco-friendly to maintain the consumers’ impression of Nike.

Nike kept using celebrity endorsement in their commercials and campaigns. This may give consumers a sense that the products they make sell well are all about celebrity glamour rather than high-tech embedded. They are away from the high-tech image. Another concern I can think of is that while Nike does not advertise its sneakers as eco-friendly or the material is recyclable, given how valuable the limited edition sneakers of many stars are, is that a concern for users who do not want to buy their basketball shoes anymore because they think they are no longer collectible?

For introducing their brand to foreign markets, they should be aware of their culture and local market. For someone who likes to do sports but feels that whether the shopping decision is not affected by the sports stars or Nike’s signed celebrity is not what a part of users like, then the problem comes, Nike can hardly target these part of the people which might cause losing customers.

Nowadays, fierce competition in sports brands; once the signing star positioning errors or competitors have a better spokesperson, it is likely to cause the loss of users. Nike here should enhance their core competitiveness and high-tech products. Continue to innovate; in the rapid development of science and technology today, board this bus and high-speed operation, it is challenging to have rivals can stop.

Firstly, Nike should always focus on the brand’s core values and plan a long-term goal. Secondly, maintain a good relationship with its retail partners in the US and gain more partners in other markets besides the US. Lastly, continue gaining international growth in other countries, especially developing ones. The consumption capacity of developing countries will be synchronized with the development of the national economy. Brand implantation should be cultivated before the brand concept is formed in these countries. In conclusion, although Nike has achieved fantastic success in the past, it should always be clear about its core competitiveness and strategic marketing plan to continue to be the leader in the sports market.

References

1. Knight, P. (2009). Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike. Scribner.
2. Goldman, R., & Papson, S. (1998). Nike culture: The sign of the swoosh. SAGE.
3. Andrews, D.L. (2001). Michael Jordan, Inc.: Corporate sport, media culture, and late modern America. SUNY Press.
4. Carty, V. (2002). Technology and resistance: Digital communications and new coalitions around the Nike campaign. Gender, Technology and Development, 6(1), 69-84.
5. Rishe, P. (2009). Economic impact analysis of sports facilities and events: Eleven sources of misapplication and misunderstanding. Sports Management Review, 12(2), 119-130.
6. Kaynak, E., & Tekinkus, M. (2008). A comparative study on orientation of European and US-based global companies to international marketing. International Marketing Review, 25(4), 329-343.

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