Nike Founder Phil Knight Has Retired For 50 Years.

Today, Nike has become the most valuable clothing brand in the world, surpassing the top ten Zara, H&M, RalphLauren, HugoBoss and TommyHilfiger, as well as luxury brand LV (ranked thirty-second, the most valuable luxury brand) and Hermes (ranked fifty-fifth).

The seventh place Adidas and ninth Lululemon are the other two sportswear brands entering the top 10.

In January 25, 1964, Phil Knight and BillBowerman invested $500 each to establish the Blue Ribbon Sports, the predecessor of Nike.

Of course, Phil also gained huge wealth.

In the 2015 Forbes fortune list, he ranked 35 in the world with $24 billion in personal property.

He once said that he was not running a shoemaking enterprise, or even a sports Brand Company. He was doing "entertainment business".

Perhaps it is because of this mentality that Nike always surprises people in the form of creative marketing, slogan and advertising.

As a sports brand, Nike conveys its brand spirit more by expressing a culture, lifestyle and sportsmanship than a single product selling company.

The development of Nike was too personal, so that the two successors Phil personally picked up before he took office were dismissed by MarkParker.

Let's look back at what PhilKnight has done for Nike in the past 50 years.

In 1958, PhilKnight graduated from University of Oregon, majoring in journalism.

In 1962, graduated from the Business School of Stanford University, and completed the thesis which was widely regarded as the blueprint of Nike's operation strategy. The topic is: can Japanese Sports Shoes Companies challenge German sports shoes as Japanese cameras challenge German cameras?

In 1964, he founded the blue ribbon sports company with BillBowerman, and obtained the agency right of the sports brand of the Japanese OnitsukaTiger (Tiger, now called Asics) on the US west coast.

In 1971, it was renamed "Nike", meaning the goddess of victory in Greece.

In the same year, Bowerman poured liquid rubber mixture into his wife's muffle, and then created a muffin sole ('waffle'sole).

In 1972, CarolynDavidson, a graphic design student at Portland State University, spent $35 to design the brand logo.

In 1980, Nike's share in the US market exceeded for the first time.

And went public in the same year.

In 1984, he signed a contract with Michael Jordan, the then NBA newcomer.

In 1985, AirJordan1 was released as one of the most successful shoes in Nike's history.

The introduction of AirJordan basketball shoe series is one of Nike's key success factors.

For the first time in 1987, AirMax sneakers were first designed as sole and visible in the middle side.

In 1988, the "JustDoIt" was launched.

In 1989, Nike first exceeded Reebok in the US market share.

In 1996, because life magazine published a picture of child labor entitled "6 cents an hour", Nike suffered from child labor turmoil until the end of 90s.

In 1999, co-founder BillBowerman died.

In the same year, a video advertisement of "MorningAfter" was launched and won the Emmy Awards in 2000.

In 2003, Nike bought Converse, a former sporting goods company, for $305 million.

In the same year, for the first time in the international sales volume, it surpassed the sales volume in the US, and became a family in the real sense.

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In 2005, the Free series was launched to mimic the physiological structure of bare foot training.

In 2006, MarkParker was recommended as CEO.

In 2012, Flyknit products were launched.

In terms of operational data, last year may be

The best year ever.

According to the 2014 financial report, Nike's total revenue for the year was 27 billion 790 million US dollars, with net income of US $2 billion 690 million, up 9.29% over last year.

Analysts believe that the success of the company is driven by the promotion of high profit products such as flyknit.

It is undeniable that Michael Jordan's personal charm contributed to the success of Nike, but the biggest motive force came from Phil. He once said that the popular culture of American society combined with the worship of heroes and status.

Therefore, Nike's advertisements are often combined with the packaging of giant stars.

For PhilKnight's departure, MarkParker said: "Phil set up Nike to serve athletes. This vision and inspiration continue to promote our success in the world.

I had the privilege of working with Phil for 35 years, and Nike's outstanding management team and I are determined to continue building the next growth era of Nike. "

The board of directors of Nike is expected to complete the pition of chairman's position next year.

"PhilKnight will continue to take an active part in the Nike business, even if he retire from the chairman."

Nike also mentioned this when announces the succession plan.