Phil Knight

views updated May 21 2018

Phil Knight

Phil Knight (born 1938) is the founder and head of Nike, Inc., the number one athletic shoe company in the world. Already a legend in the retail and marketing worlds, Knight has turned into something of a mainstream hero, the subject of admiring articles in popular magazines. It is a reputation Knight has earned over the years as both a visionary businessman and a hard-nosed CEO.

The man whom The Sporting News named the "most powerful" person of the year in sports for 1993 was no athlete, coach, or commissioner. Rather, it was the man who for nearly 30 years has shod the great sports stars as well as the Saturday-afternoon "jocks"-Nike founder and CEO Philip "Phil" Knight. The former college track runner refers to Nike's world headquarters as a campus and runs it that way. "His every move is now scrutinized as carefully as the glamorous superstars who wear his sneakers," reported Frank Deford in a Vanity Fair profile.

Knight was born in Portland, Oregon, on February 24, 1938, the son of William H. and Lola (Hatfield) Knight. Oregon's only billionaire "forged his go-it-alone philosophy while growing up in Portland, the son of a domineering but loving father who was publisher of the now defunct Oregon Journal," noted Susan Hauser in People magazine. Though too small to excel in contact sports, young Knight took refuge in track. When his father refused to give him a summer job at his newspaper, believing his son should find work on his own, Knight went to the rival Oregonian, where he worked the night shift tabulating sports scores and every morning ran home the full seven miles.

New Running Shoe

That interest in sports-and especially track-gave Knight the impetus to study the way track shoes were being made and marketed in the late 1950s. For assistance he consulted his coach, the University of Oregon's famed Bill Bowerman, who himself would become a senior member of the Nike team. Together they determined that American shoes were inferior in style and quality, too heavy, and too easily damaged. The Japanese, on the other hand, were experimenting with new, trimmed-down styles fashioned in lightweight, hardy nylon. Knight wrote his Stanford business-school term paper on the subject, then a few years later got involved personally by visiting Japan and arranging to import new-design running shoes himself.

"Knight ran Blue Ribbon Sports [named for a beer label] out of a storefront hole-in-the-wall next to the Pink Bucket Tavern in a working-class section of Portland," noted Sports Illustrated writer Donald Katz. "From the beginning Knight's animating idea was to promote high-quality, low-cost Japanese shoes, at a time when high quality was rarely associated with Japanese products, and to eventually displace [rival brand] Adidas, the triple-striped German shoes worn by all serious track and field athletes at the time."

"In the early days, anybody with a glue pot and a pair of scissors could get into the shoe business," Knight told Geraldine Willigan in a Harvard Business Review interview. "So the way to stay ahead was through product innovation. We were also good at keeping our manufacturing costs down. The big, established players like Puma and Adidas were still manufacturing in high-wage European companies. But we knew that wages were lower in Asia." This fact has garnered criticism for Knight and Nike by those who point out the vast difference between the wages earned by a factory worker in Indonesia compared to the salary drawn by a Nike celebrity endorser. But Knight insisted in the Sports Illustrated article that "we're not gouging anybody. … A country like Indonesia is converting from farm labor to semiskilled-an industrial transition that has occurred throughout history. There's no question in my mind that we're giving these people hope."

Knight's reputation in the track and field world also helped him gain an early edge. "We just tried to get our shoes on the feet of runners," he said in Willigan's article. "And we were able to get a lot of great ones under contract-people like [distance stars] Steve Prefontaine and Alberto Salazar-because we spent a lot of time at track events and had relationships with the runners, but mostly because we were doing interesting things with our shoes."

Unique Image and New Technology

From the start, Knight's shoes sported their own look (including the distinctive "swoosh" logo that still appears today) and their own attitude. An early effort to promote the newly dubbed "Nike"-pronounced NY-kee and named for the Greek goddess of victory-included a now-classic advertisement set at the 1972 Olympic track trials in Eugene, Oregon. The copy boasted that four of the top seven marathoners wore Nikes. As a Time writer pointed out, the ads conveniently "neglected to mention that runners wearing [Adidas] shoes placed first, second and third."

By the mid-1970s Nike was at the cutting edge of workout-shoe technology. For instance, it was Bowerman, the former track coach, who poured some liquid latex into his wife's waffle iron, thereby inventing the famous sole that made the earliest Nikes feel like bedroom slippers. Nike didn't exactly burst from the gate in profit, though. Major sports stars demanded major compensation for wearing Knight's brand. A turning point came in the 1980s, when tennis star Jimmy Connors won Wimbledon in a pair of Nikes and John McEnroe "hurt his ankle, [and] started wearing an obscure three-quarter [Nike] model that had sold all of 10,000 pairs that year. Because of McEnroe's strained ligaments," noted a Vanity Fair writer, "the model sold a million two the very next year. It was about that time when Knight woke up one morning worth $178 million."

There was one area in which Nike made a serious misstep. Knight acknowledged in a Sports Illustrated article that his company "lost its way" when it came to aerobics shoes. The longstanding boys-club atmosphere of the Nike boardroom saw little promise in a lightweight shoe for women to wear to their exercise classes. In fact, the notion of aerobics was laughed away as just the conceit of "a bunch of fat ladies dancing to music," as Hauser quoted in the People article. That lack of insight opened the door for an upstart company called Reebok, which then virtually cornered the market in this burgeoning subsection of the athletic shoe industry. That was the beginning of a longstanding rivalry between Nike and Reebok for market dominance.

Though sales slipped and profits fell during the mid-1980s, Nike regained its place at the top of the market in 1984, when Knight returned from a fact-finding trip to Asia. Knight is a firm believer in the Japanese way of doing business and conducting life: "He often greets his secretary with a courtly bow or 'moshi, moshi,' the Japanese equivalent of hello, and pads around behind sliding screen doors in a pair of cotton slippers," reported Hauser.

Celebrity Athlete Endorsements

Known as a taskmaster CEO, Knight is also particular when it comes to matters of promotion. "Hi, I'm Phil Knight and I don't believe in advertising," was the way Nike's ad agency president remembered meeting his new client. Signing up perhaps the greatest basketball player of all time, the former Chicago Bulls' superstar Michael Jordan, was only one of the breakthrough strategies that made Nike-wearers the envy of schoolyard pickup games everywhere. Nike slogans-"Bo Knows," "It's Gotta Be the Shoes," and especially "Just Do It"-have entered the pop-culture lexicon. The Nike image has been linked closely with notable "bad boys"-names like McEnroe, Andre Agassi, and Charles Barkley-as well as icons like the Beatles (through Nike's controversial use of the song "Revolution") and Bugs Bunny.

But the world of sports endorsements is a brutal one, as the public learned at the 1992 summer Olympic games in Barcelona. America's basketball "dream team" swept the field to win the gold medal, but faced screaming headlines and heated debate when several members threatened not to appear in a medal ceremony unless they were wearing their Nike apparel-to the consternation of Reebok, the team's "official" sponsor. (Dream Team member Barkley ably summed up the controversy, said Katz in Sports Illustrated, when he told a reporter that he had "two million reasons not to wear Reebok.")

For all the controversy Knight has helped engender in his company, he points out that the tradeoff is an increased awareness by the media, whose stories about the shoes and those who endorse them are the kind of publicity that money can't buy. As he told Willigan, the athletic shoe industry, "and Nike in particular, gets a lot more press than many others because it's more fun to talk about us than about a company that makes widgets. On the one hand, we don't mind the attention; we like getting our name in the press. On the other hand, the company usually gets treated in a superficial, lighthearted way, which is not what we're all about. Nike is not about going to a ball game. It's a business."

A later addition to the business was sports management. Simply put, it ensured that Nike endorsers maintained consistency outside the company-most importantly, by not endorsing any other product that would interfere with the Nike image. Sports management was born after Knight caught Nike endorser Andre Agassi in a commercial for Canon cameras. While cameras themselves don't conflict with shoes, the message in the commercial certainly did. "When Agassi looked into the camera and said, 'Image is everything,' Knight flipped," says Katz. "It was 180 degrees from our imagery," Knight told the Sport Illustrated writer. "We work hard to convey that performance, not image, is everything."

Nike realized that image did count for something when it released a shoe displaying a logo that resembled the Arabic word for "Allah," or God. Many members of the Muslim faith were upset, and in June 1997 Nike recalled 38,000 pairs of the shoes and issued an apology. The company noted that the logo was an oversight and issued a statement saying they did not mean to offend anyone with it.

Asian Labor Issues

The company came under increasing scrutiny for its wages and working conditions in Indonesia, China, and Vietnam. United Nations Ambassador, Andrew Young, released a report finding no issue with Nike's factories, noting that facilities were "clean, organized, adequately ventilated and well lit," according to a Reuters Business Report article. However, human rights groups charged that Indonesian workers were incessantly striking over low wages; Nike workers received $2.46 per day in a nation that counted $4 per day as the minimum subsistence wage.

Independent filmmaker Michael Moore, whose 1989 documentary Roger and Me depicted a heartless corporate mindset at General Motors, turned his cameras on Nike, among numerous other firms. Moore addressed the issue of how Nike treats its workers and requested jobs for people in his depressed hometown of Flint, Michigan. Knight countered that American workers do not want jobs in shoe factories, but Moore was able to find a crowd of jobless workers in Flint who would be happy to make Nikes. For his part, Knight was the only CEO to agree to appear in the Moore film.

The uproar over the Asian workers dragged on for Nike, and they eventually raised wages a small amount. Some American women's groups, protested that female employees-the bulk of Nike's Asian work force-were still working 100 to 200 hours overtime at Nike just to pay their bills. They issued statements accusing Nike of corporal punishment and sexual harassment in the shops as well. By mid-1998, Knight announced in a speech to the National Press Club that Nike was "dedicated to giving American consumers assurances that the products they buy are not manufactured under abusive circumstances," according to a Gannett News Service article. He added that he had been branded as a "corporate crook," and defended his business practices, citing "misinformation and misunderstanding" as reasons for the media assault on Nike. Knight noted that a number of policies were going to be implemented in their production facilities, including raising the working age to 16 at clothing factories and 18 at shoe factories; using safer, non-toxic glues when possible; adopting stricter, U.S.-dictated air quality standards; instituting on-site education programs, and more.

In addition to the Asian labor issues, many people remained outraged over Nike's escalating costs, especially since a large market for the products are poor, inner-city youth. One shoe endorsed by basketball player, Anfernee Hardaway, was tagged at $180, and the Air Jordans touted by superstar Michael Jordan had always been priced at over $100. Perhaps this combination of issues served to cause a slump. Sales and profits fell in 1998, and Nike laid off 1,900 employees. However, the company remained the world's largest shoemaker. It won a lawsuit in early 1999 that had accused the firm of lying to consumers about "sweatshop" conditions in Asian factories. Human rights groups remained unconvinced.

When not at the helm, Knight enjoys the fruits of his success. He and his wife Penelope "Penny" Parks have two grown sons and one foster daughter. They live in non-ostentatious comfort in Oregon, with a gaggle of pets and Knight's "only personal concession to flash: [a] black Lamborghini (vanity plates: NIKE MN) and red Ferrari," as Hauser noted in People. The workplace is also the scene of fun and comfort: Nike World Campus features three restaurants, plus fitness center, beauty salon, laundry service, jogging facilities, a day-care center, and other amenities.

Knight can't help but see success in Nike's future, as the company expands its product line to include a wide range of apparel and accessories. As a Forbes writer noted, the man who built an empire on a pair of shoes still cherishes the words of his track coach: "Play by the rules, but be ferocious."

Knight, Phil

views updated May 18 2018

Phil Knight

Born: February 24, 1938
Portland, Oregon
Cofounder and CEO, Nike, Inc.

Phil Knight has been called many things—from a track geek and free spirit to brash, rebellious, arrogant, even brilliant. Yet regardless of people's opinions, no one disputes his business skills or dedication to Nike. As chief executive officer (CEO), president, and chairman, Knight turned his competitive spirit and his obsession with sports into an international athletic footwear, apparel, and equipment giant. His rise from selling shoes out of his car to a billionaire is one of America's most compelling success stories.

"In my era, kids grew up knowing their cars. The kids nowadays grow up knowing their shoes."

Always Running

Philip H. Knight was born in a suburb of Portland, Oregon, to a stay-at-home mom and politician father. He was shy yet bright, did well in school, and loved sports. His slim build kept him out of football, and he never mastered baseball, so young Phil chose running. His speed and endurance were perfect for the track team at his high school, and Knight practiced by running several miles to and from an after school job at a local newspaper. When it was time for college, he chose the University of Oregon at Eugene because of its famous track program, which was coached by Bill Bowerman (1911-1999).

In 1957, Knight arrived at the University of Oregon and earned a spot on the track team, running the mile in under four and a half minutes. While on the team, he and Coach Bowerman became such good friends that Bowerman would eventually become Knight's future business partner. Knight earned a bachelor's degree in business in 1959, and decided to attend graduate school in California at Stanford University. He completed his studies, earning a master's degree in business administration (MBA) in 1962. After graduation, he took a trip around the world, stopping at Japan along the way.

The Shoe Business

Japan was a logical stop for Knight since he had written about the country while at Stanford. He believed Japan had superior production facilities and low-cost manufacturing processes; this made it a good choice for importing goods to American consumers. If costs were kept low, selling prices could be lower as well. Knight's instincts proved correct. While in Japan, he discovered an athletic shoe that he felt was far better than any available in the United States—the Oniksuka Tiger. Knight took an enormous chance: he bought a large shipment of the shoes to sell at home. This marked the beginning of Knight's future in athletic shoe sales.

Knight returned to the United States to work at the accounting firm of Coopers & Lybrand. At the same time, he patiently waited for his Tiger shoe shipment to arrive at his company headquarters called Blue Ribbon Sports. Blue Ribbon was made up on the spot when Knight placed his order; his company's headquarters were located in his parents' house. Knight also brought his former coach on board, and the two formed a partnership. Bowerman handled the research and development end of the business, while Knight focused on marketing and sales.

When the two hundred pairs of Tiger shoes finally arrived in 1963, Blue Ribbon Sports became the only distributor in the United States selling the Japanese-made running shoes. Knight knew the shoes wouldn't sell themselves, so he spent hours after work and on weekends talking about them to anyone who would listen. He got the best response from runners like himself, so he went to countless athletic events with a trunk full of shoes and big dreams.

Knight's Empire

During its first year in business, Blue Ribbon Sports made $8,000; ten years later Knight and Bowerman changed Blue Ribbon Sports to Nike and were making $2 million in sales. Over the next several years Knight became one of the most recognized and powerful men in sports. By 1983, however, he had grown tired of running a company and decided to leave Nike. Since he had once taught business classes at Portland State University in Portland, Knight considered returning to the classroom full-time. Yet after he left his Nike kingdom, business began to suffer and so did he. Knight missed Nike as much as the company missed his leadership, so not long after, he went back to reclaim his throne.

Knight returned to Nike with a new appreciation of the company, its products, and extraordinary atmosphere. The headquarters, called a "campus," was always teaming with people—both employees and often the athletes endorsed by Nike. Knight had built an empire unlike any other, but he knew the job was far from over. Nike continued developing the shoes and clothing of the future, while giving something back to communities by promoting environmental awareness, sponsoring athletic events, and even building gyms and skate parks.

Nike's headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, is like a giant playground for athletes with miles of running and jogging trails surrounding the building.

Over the years Knight remained loyal to the University of Oregon, where he had met Coach Bowerman and run on the track team. Knight became the school's largest donor, giving huge sums of money to help promote not only athletics, but to build a library, a stadium and to provide for other needs. In 1993, Sports Illustrated magazine said Knight was the most powerful force in sports, an interesting honor since he neither participated in nor owned a professional sports team. Instead, Phil Knight was a powerful force of a different kind—he ran a company so closely identified with sports and champions, that everyone wanted to be seen in Nike shoes or clothes, or using Nike sports equipment. Still an athlete himself, Knight runs five miles everyday and, yes, he wears Nike shoes.

For More Information

Books

Goldman, Robert, and Stephen Papson. Nike Culture: The Sign of the Swoosh. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1998.

Greenberg, Keith Elliot. Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight: Building the Nike Empire. Woodbridge, CT: Blackbird Press, 1994.

Katz, Donald. just Do It: The Nike Spirit in the Corporate World. Holbrook, MA: Adams Publications, 1994.

Vanderbilt, Tom. The Sneaker Book: Anatomy of an Industry and an Icon. New York: The New Press, 1998.

Periodicals

"Can Nike Still Do It?" Business Week (February 21, 2000): p. 120.

Feitelberg, Rosemary. "Bowerman's Legacy Runs On." Women's Wear Daily (December 30, 1999): p. 8.

Lane, Randall. "You Are What You Wear: Nike's Phil Knight Isn't Selling Shoes; He's Selling Attitude." Forbes (October 14, 1996): p. 42.

McAllister, Robert. "The Many Faces of Nike." Footwear News (July 10,1995): p. 4S.

Solnik, Claude. "Running Man: The Memory of Nike Legend Bill Boweman is Forever Etched in Footwear News's Hall of Fame." Footwear News (November 27, 2000): p. 48.

Whipple, Julie. "Phil Knight: After 24 Years of Building Nike into a Worldwide Presence, Knight Seeks to Perfect His Masterpiece." Business Journal-Portland (September 13, 1996): p. SS.