Phil Nate, Founder Of Nike, Resigned As Chairman Of The Board Of Directors Of The Group.

In June 30, 2016, Nike Phil Nate, one of the founders (PhilKnight), resigned from the board of directors of the group for more than half a century after being steered by the company and officially retired. The day before, Nike has just released its latest annual earnings report: in the 2016 fiscal year ended May 31st, Nike group's revenue was $32 billion 400 million, an increase of 6% over the same period last year, and net profit of $3 billion 760 million a year.

After giving such a brilliant spancript, Phil Nate retired. Behind him is the legendary business empire founded by US $1000 in just 52 years and growing to a value of more than 70 billion dollars.

Mediocre athletes go to business.

"For me, Nike is not just a company, it is the passion of my life." Phil Nate once said. This enthusiasm stems from his nature's love for sports.

Nate, who was born in 1938, was a track and field athlete during his youth.

In 1962, he received a master's degree in Business Administration from Stanford University. His learning experience put him on the road of business and made him interested in things other than sports for the first time.

In 1964, Nate and his long distance running coach, Bill Bowerman, each invested $500 to create the Blue Ribbon Companies, becoming the sole distributor of Tiger sports shoes in the United States, and began their initial business. This Blue Ribbon Companies is the predecessor of Nike.

With the rapid development of the company, distributors and brand The contradictions between suppliers are also increasingly irreconcilable. In 1971, the two founders decided to break away from the relationship with Japanese businessmen and set up their own businesses. Thus, the new company named NIKE, the Greek goddess of victory, was formally established. At the same time, the "hook" trademark designed for $35 was officially put into operation.

　　 "Picasso in the advertising world" pushed Nike to the world.

If owned Design Gifted Bowerman is the source of inspiration for Nike sports shoes, so the unique Nike knight is the marketing promoter of Nike. He has successfully promoted Nike's brand culture to the world with his strong market sense and unique personality. He has brought the concept of sports shoes into the fashion field, and he himself has been called the "Picasso of the advertising industry" by the American media.

Unlike the endorsement athletes invited by Adidas, Nike's athletes are strong, aggressive and even controversial. For example, John Mcenro, a legendary American Legend of athletics, and an emperor known as the emperor of the tennis court, they have injected a very personalized brand culture into Nike, which has attracted the attention of young consumer groups.

In 1984, Nike invited Michael Jordan, a wealthy basketball player with heroism, to endorse, and launched the first air cushion competition using basketball shoes AirJordan1 shoes. This pair of shoes, originally banned by the NBA for violating the dress code, has become a great opportunity for brand exposure. It sold 400 thousand pairs in the US in 1 months.

In 1988, the company found Walter Stark, a 80 year old long-distance runner, playing the first series of JustDoIt advertisements. Nowadays, this phrase has become the trademark slogan of Nike brand.

Under the guidance of knight, Nike advertisement has stood out from the numerous functional advertising advertisements at that time. The Washington Post commented that creative marketing was created by Nike and Phil Nate, so today's sports shoes will be sought after, collected, talked and injected into art, that is to say, they are fashion.

　 Eccentric leaders or persistent dreamers?

In the past few years, Phil Nate has declared three times of retreat and two times of return, and fired the successors whom he had personally appointed. Media commented that he was one of the most eccentric leaders in Fortune 500 companies. But I have to admit that Phil Nate has made a deep mark on Nike, and external managers and companies will inevitably run into trouble.

Nat once said, "all this is not just business. It is never." If one day it becomes pure business, then it represents the business is very bad.

At the new product conference in March this year, Nike released HyperAdapt1.0 with an automatic shoe lace function. These futuristic sneakers have their own inducting chips, tighten their back shoes from both sides, and bring their own adjustment buttons. Nike said it took 10 years to develop the pair of shoes, and it first appeared in the movie "back to the future" as a concept product.

These shoelaces are much more inspiring and moving to the fans coming back to the future than the business rewards they can bring in the short term. Just like Knight's insisting idea: persisting in dreams is the core spirit of him and Nike, and the growth of numbers and accumulation of wealth are more value-added than intentional demands.

Today, Phil Nate finally passed the baton. He gave most of his voting rights to Nike to his son's trust fund, and the position of chairman of the board was replaced by current CEO Mark Parker.

As for the future, he once said that the worst thing he could think of was when one day, when he was holding his grandson, his grandson asked him, "what is Nike?" but at present, such worries are very redundant. The performance of Nike is still good, and the status of the empire he created by himself is still no one in the field of sports goods business.