Did Nike Fall In The Beijing Olympic Games Market Competition?

First, Lining, the founder of Li Ning Co, the Chinese sportswear company, lit the Olympic torch in front of the 400 thousand audience.

On Sunday, Usain Bolt, an American puma, created an unforgettable miracle in the 100 metre flying event. After winning the race, he carried the golden puma running shoes in front of the camera in.

Then, on Monday morning, Nike's top Chinese sales chariot, Liu Xiang, the 110 meter hurdle champion, withdrew from the competition because of his Achilles tendon injury.

Paul Swangard, director of sports marketing center, University of Oregon, said that before the end of the games, we could hear some good news about Nike brand.

Nike is the largest sporting goods company in the world.

To support Liu Xiang, Nike bought the full page advertisement of the English edition of China Daily and the full page advertisement of at least 7 Chinese newspapers.

Nike spokesman Derek Kent said that the advertisement was written in this way: "love sports, even if it makes you sad."

Finally, Nike's check mark "Just Do It".

The advertisement was made by the Shanghai Office of Wieden+Kennedy company in Poland.

Speaking in Beijing, Kent said Nike has so far been satisfied with the Beijing games.

He said, if you look at the runway and the green field, when athletes rush to focus, most athletes are wearing Nike sports shoes.

The men's basketball team also performed well. If you watch the whole games, all the athletes wearing Nike clothes perform very well. We feel very good about Beijing.

Nike still has plenty of time to improve its reputation.

Nike publicity is going on from the beginning of the games to the sports meet.

Nike's Liu Xiang TV ads have been on the air for several months, although Liu Xiang's injuries will weaken some publicity effects.

It is reported that Chinese people still regard Nike as the top brand, and Nike is highly valued in Beijing.

Swangard said the Chinese would not blame Nike's running shoes for Liu Xiang's Achilles tendon injury.

Nike has the largest share in the Chinese market.

Frost & Sullivan, an independent market research firm, estimated that Nike's share of the $3 billion 800 million sports market in China in 2006 was 16.7%.

By contrast, Adidas's market share is 15.6%, and Li Ning Co's market share is 10.5%.