Some words are related to certain ideas or brands. Think of a checkmark or a tick. What does it remind you of? Most people would reply with Nike. The iconic “Swoosh” has become synonymous with the brand. Along with their famous tagline “Just Do It”, motivating and inspiring fans and athletes all over the world. You or someone you know must have purchased a Nike product or have at least heard about it. Let’s know ‘Who Owns Nike?’
Nike has become the world’s largest supplier and producer of athletic shoes, along with other sports apparel and equipment. With lifestyle brands like Air Jordan, SB dunks, Waffle, and various sports brands under their belt, It is currently valued at $32 billion. Generating over $37 billion in revenue in 2020 with Net income of over $2.5 billion. It currently has over 75,000 employees spread all around the globe.
With such a heavy general and financial responsibility, you may wonder “Who Owns Nike?” We have explained just that in this article!
Who Owns Nike?
Contrary to popular belief, Nike isn’t owned by a single person, but rather a large group of investors and institutional shareholders. Top individual shareholders of Nike include the co-founder Phil Knight, the Chief Operating Officer Andrew Campion, the former Chief Executive Officers (CEO) Mark Parker.
Private investment companies like Swoosh LLC, Vanguard Group, and BlackRock (BLK) are the institutional shareholders, which own 64.5% of Nike’s total shares. They hold the majority of the stock. Making them the owners of Nike.
Key Figures at Nike
Establishing Nike as a major player in the global market was no easy feat. And it wasn’t possible without the hefty contribution of various people working there. It’s a task that no man alone can achieve. Below are some of the most important figures behind the success of Nike.
Phil Knight
Without Phil Knight, there would be no Nike, former CEO and co-founder, now the chairman emeritus of the company, Knight owns over 30,000,000 class A shares and 12,000,000 class B shares of stock. These numbers equate to close to 9.5% of the total shares of class A. Knight owns a total of 2.6% of the total outstanding shares, making him the largest individual shareholder in the company.
Under Knight’s reign, Nike became what it is today. With global expansions and deals with various world-famous athletes, Knight has played a big role in the success of Nike.
Bill Bowerman
Bowerman was the late co-founder of Nike. With his futuristic vision and great innovation, the brand reached great heights in the 70s. He created the top running shoes with a waffle iron (Nike Waffle) which is still one of the top-selling Nike shoes, along with the Nike Pegasus. Bowerman is credited to be one of the best tinkerers and innovators in the world. He was also a track and field coach at the University of Oregon, responsible for producing many successful athletes.
Mark Parker
Parker is the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Nike. Parker publicly holds over 1,500,000 shares of the company. Starting as a designer at Nike, his journey has been a long one, once being the co-president and the chairman as well. He has also served as the Vice President of both Product Marketing and Global Footwear. Parker also serves as one of the board of directors at the WaIt Disney Company. Parker owns over 1,450,000 shares of Nike stock, amounting to over 0.10% of the total outstanding shares.
His devotion and dedication towards Nike have made it a huge powerhouse in recent times, with partnerships with stars like Kanye West and Billie Eilish. This, in turn, raked in a great deal of revenue.
Andrew Campion
Campion serves as the current Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Nike. He is head of global demand and supply, manufacturing, workplace design, global technology, digital transformation, and procurement departments at Nike. Before being a COO, Campion served as the EVP and CFO (Chief Financial Officer) at Nike. Campion owns over 210,000 shares of Nike stock, which amounts to 0.01% of the total outstanding shares.
Before Nike, Campion held a few leadership roles in planning, mergers, acquisitions, and investor relations at The WaIt Disney Company. Andrew also serves on the board of directors at Starbucks.
John Donahoe
Donahoe is the current CEO and President at Nike. Also having served as the board of directors before. Before Nike, Donahoe was the president at PayPal, eBay, and other tech giants. Also serving as the CEO for Bain & Company.
His success at other companies has made him worthy as the CEO of Nike.
Institutional Shareholders
Three institutional private companies hold the majority of Nike’s stock. These include
- Swoosh, LLC
- Vanguard Inc.
- BlackRock
Swooosh LLC
Swoosh LLC owns over 260 million of Nike’s stock, amounting to 16% of the total company’s shares. The LLC was founded by Phil Knight.
Vanguard Inc.
Vanguard Inc. owns close to 7% of the company’s total outstanding shares, which is over 110 million. It is an ETF and mutual fund management company.
BlackRock Inc.
BlackRock Inc. owns around 91 million shares, which is 5.9% of Nike’s total shares. Similar to Vanguard, BlackRock is also an asset management company.
History Of Nike
Humble Beginnings
In the later winter of 1964, a young Phil Knight, then an athlete, along with his track coach Bill Bowerman established “Blue Ribbon Sports” in Oregon after one of his students struck gold at a 400-meter dash at the 1960 Olympics wearing the tinkered shoes designed by him. The company was initially distributing the Japanese running shoes Onitsuka Tiger. Most sales were made from Knight’s rugged old Plymouth Valiant car. The next year, the company was able to generate around $20,000 worth of sales.
A year later in 1966, they established a store in Santa Monica, California.
Expansion Plans and Rebranding
Due to the rapid sales in Santa Monica and thanks to public demand, Blue Ribbon Sports expanded operations on the east coast, in Wellesley, Massachusetts. This slowly increased their popularity all over the country. By the time it was 1971, Knight and Bowerman thought it was necessary to rebrand. Carolyn Davidson, a graphic designer sold the famous “Swoosh” to Nike for $35. The same year saw the debut of the waffle iron trainers, known for being made from an old rusty waffle iron, truly a pinnacle of innovation.
The swoosh, over the years, has evolved into legendary status. In 1978, Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS) was renamed Nike (Greek winged goddess of victory), on the suggestion of one of Nike’s first employees. The next decade saw a rise in the popularity of their Pegasus running shoes, a line which continues till this day.
Sponsorships and Endorsements
In early 1984, Nike signed a deal with the legendary basketball star Michael Jordan, producing Air Jordans exclusively for him, offering him over $500,000 a year. Released to the general public in winter of the same year. The Air Jordan is the most sold product by Nike, contributing over $10 billion in total sales. With various lifestyle and sports sneakers ranging from $99 to $249. In 1987, Nike’s marketing department came up with “Just Do It” which eventually became Nike’s world-famous tagline.
The early 90s saw a steady rise in sales all over the country, with expansions in every state. Nike was also responsible for launching a program that recycled and reused shoes of famous athletes, being one of the very first environmentally conscious companies in the world. In 1994, Nike also forayed into the ice hockey market, acquiring the parent company that made ice hockey equipment. The same year saw history being created after they signed a deal with the legendary soccer team Arsenal. Expanding more into soccer, they signed deals with both the Brazilian and the United States teams.
Global Expansion and Acquisition
In 1996, Tiger Woods signed a deal with Nike. Making him the first-ever golf player to do so. In 1997, several hockey stars like Gretzky, Fedorov, and Roenick signed endorsement deals to wear new lines of skates designed by Nike. Doubling their sales for hockey gear. Nike was also the innovator of the comfortable tennis shoe which has become the norm in the current decade.
In the following years, Nike acquired its rivals, expanded in various countries around the world, including big markets like Canada, China, India, and many more. This led to the global sales exceeding the United States sales in the year 2003. The same year saw LeBron James signing a whopping $87 million deal with Nike.
Final Thoughts
Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman are seen as the pioneers in the field of sports apparel and footwear. With great sponsorship deals and advertisements, Nike has risen to the top, being the leader for over 3 decades.
Nike has made sure to maintain its high standards over the years by using top-of-the-line materials while being environmentally conscious at the same time. Over the years, from their humble beginnings, Nike has evolved into the industry leader in sportswear. With the vision of Knight and Bowerman, Nike has not only managed to build a successful brand but they have also been able to evolve into a customer-loved company. With over 384 stores in the United States alone and 780 internationally, they have employed over 74,000 people worldwide. Who would have ever thought that a meager checkmark would turn into the largest sports and footwear brand in the world?
