From running shoes sold out of a car trunk to $46 billion in revenue, Nike turned sport into culture and a Swoosh into shorthand for winning. Now it's fighting to do it again.
Nike began in 1964 not as a designer of shoes but as a seller of someone else's. Bill Bowerman, the track coach at the University of Oregon, and Phil Knight, one of his former middle-distance runners, launched Blue Ribbon Sports to import Japanese Onitsuka Tiger running shoes into the United States. Knight worked the trunk of his car; Bowerman tinkered with the product, at one point pouring rubber into his wife's waffle iron to create a lighter, grippier sole.
In 1971 the pair rebranded as Nike, after the Greek goddess of victory, and commissioned a Portland State design student, Carolyn Davidson, to draw a logo. She was paid $35. Knight's verdict was famously lukewarm - he said he didn't love it, but it would grow on him. The Swoosh went on to become one of the most recognized symbols in the world.
What Nike figured out over the following decades was subtle but powerful: the shoe was the product, but the real thing being sold was aspiration. Bowerman's line - "If you have a body, you are an athlete" - widened the market from elite competitors to essentially everyone. The 1988 slogan "Just Do It" turned that idea into three words that anyone could carry.
The 1984 signing of an NBA rookie named Michael Jordan looked like a niche bet on basketball footwear. Air Jordan instead became a multi-billion-dollar brand of its own and a template for how athlete endorsement could build not just sales but mythology.
Today Nike designs and markets footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories under three brands - Nike, Jordan and Converse - manufactured largely by contract factories in Asia and sold through both wholesale partners and a large direct-to-consumer business spanning stores, apps and Nike.com. It reaches customers in more than 170 countries and employs roughly 80,000 people from its campus at One Bowerman Drive in Beaverton, Oregon.
Nike designs, markets and sells athletic and lifestyle footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories. It does not own most of its factories; production is outsourced to contract manufacturers, while Nike concentrates on design, brand, innovation and distribution.
Athletes and everyday consumers of every age - runners, basketball and football players, gym-goers, sneaker collectors and lifestyle wearers. Hundreds of millions are enrolled in Nike's membership and app ecosystem across 170+ countries.
Performance: gear that helps people move, train and compete. Identity: products and stories people use to express who they are. Access: a direct digital pipeline connecting the brand to the individual customer.
Two channels. Wholesale sales to retailers and distributors, and Nike Direct - owned retail stores plus Nike.com and mobile apps. Brand licensing and membership/digital services round it out.
Nike's recent numbers tell a story of a leader under pressure. After climbing past $51 billion, fiscal 2025 revenue slid roughly 10% to $46.3 billion, and net income dropped about 44% to $3.2 billion. Declines spanned all geographies, and Nike Direct digital sales in particular fell sharply.
The company has been candid about it. Returning CEO Elliott Hill said results were "in-line with our expectations" but "not where we want them to be," and framed a "Sport Offense" strategy to reset around sport, innovation and cross-brand teams.
Running, basketball, training, football and golf shoes - including icons like Air Max, Air Force 1, Dunk and Pegasus.
The signature line built with Michael Jordan that grew into a standalone global brand and cultural force.
Dri-FIT and Therma-FIT clothing - tops, shorts, leggings, sports bras and outerwear for men, women and kids.
Wholly owned Nike brand behind the Chuck Taylor All Star and heritage sneaker culture.
Nike.com plus the Nike, SNKRS and Nike Training Club apps and the membership program.
Personalize colorways and materials on select products to make them your own.
First Nike shoes based on neuroscience, activating sensory receptors in the feet - launched January 2026.
An elite garment made from 100% textile waste, and outerwear you inflate for adjustable warmth.
Nike is the largest player in global athletic footwear and apparel, a bellwether of the consumer-discretionary sector and a component of the Dow. But the field has crowded: legacy rivals Adidas and Puma, performance brands New Balance and ASICS, and fast-rising challengers On, Hoka and Lululemon have all taken share. The 2026 turnaround is Nike's answer.
Bowerman and Knight start out distributing Japanese Onitsuka Tiger running shoes.
The company rebrands as Nike; Carolyn Davidson designs the logo for $35.
Nike-branded shoes debut, soon joined by the waffle-soled trainer.
A stock listing fuels rapid expansion.
Nike signs NBA rookie Michael Jordan; the line launches in 1985.
The slogan debuts and becomes advertising legend.
Nike adds a heritage sneaker brand to its portfolio.
A former intern and longtime executive returns to lead a turnaround.
Nike unifies innovation across its brands and unveils new technologies.
The Swoosh was drawn by student Carolyn Davidson for $35. Knight said, "I don't love it, but it will grow on me."
Bowerman created the original waffle sole by pouring rubber into his wife's kitchen waffle iron.
Nike is the Greek goddess of victory - a fitting name for a company obsessed with winning.
CEO Elliott Hill started his Nike career as an intern in the 1980s before eventually running the company.
Nike HQ sits at One Bowerman Drive, honoring the co-founder who never stopped tinkering.
The 2026 "Rip the Script" World Cup campaign crossed 1.5 billion views as momentum returned.
Nike was founded in 1964 by University of Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman and his former runner Phil Knight, originally as Blue Ribbon Sports. It was renamed Nike in 1971.
Nike's world headquarters is a large campus in Beaverton, Oregon, USA, at One Bowerman Drive.
Nike designs and markets athletic and lifestyle footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories under the Nike, Jordan and Converse brands, sold through wholesale partners and its own stores, apps and Nike.com.
Nike is the world's largest athletic footwear and apparel company, with roughly $46.3 billion in fiscal 2025 revenue and about 80,000 employees, selling in more than 170 countries.
Elliott Hill, a longtime Nike executive who began his career at the company as an intern in the 1980s, became President and CEO on October 14, 2024.