Nike

Aah Nike. When it first started up it was the shoe of choice for athletes. However, nowadays, it’s an everyman shoe, that just about anyone can wear. So what are the roots, the fiscal matters and the whole corporate structure of Nike? And what about the world-renowned famous Nike Swoosh logo that adorns these shoes.

Over the years, it seems as though getting famous athletes to wear Nike’s shoes have been an intricate role in getting these shoes mass-marketed. Most famously, Michael Jordan wore these shoes during his playing career, and now has a line of his own at Nike. The new Air Jordan XX3 is almost in stores, and is designed “with the environment in mind”. Yeah right, if you call making them in China environmentally friendly.

That brings me to another, controversial topic. Nike has been previously lambasted because it used to produce its shoes and sports apparel in sweatshops in China. There has also been speculation that Nike has been using child labour to produce its products in Vietnam and Mexico.

Furthermore, there’s also been some controversy with the adverts that Nike air. One may recall that they aired a somewhat violent advert about a lunatic and a runner and it all ended happily. Or something like that. 

Nike sponsors almost every sport, and has many sponsors of various football (soccer) clubs including Arsenal and Manchester United. Nike is a growing corporation that has over 30,000 employees and takes in, in revenue, around $16.325 billion, a phenomenally large sum.

Nike’s environmental record isn’t so good. They make their equipment and clothing in foreign lands, such as the far east, which incurs major import tax, which is then passed onto the consumer. This is one of the reasons why Nike’s shoes are so expensive.

However, Nike has another company that deal with cheaper clothing. This company is called Starter, and sells their products in stores such as Wal-Mart.

But has Nike taken over the world? I, for one, sincerely hope not. Thank goodness they still haven’t touched on one of my favourite sports,  (American) football. Reebok owns that one. When will Nike’s reign of expensive-yet-worthless shoes come to an end? 

I’ll go ponder these question while I go for a run in my new Nike Air Jordans.