This is the fifth and final installment of our list of 50 things you didn’t know about Nike. 50 facts for just over 50 years of the iconic brand. Check out the last ten of our Nike facts below.
Number Ten: Nike Quickly Became the Leader in Footwear Industry – But Then Lost Its Spot at the Top. In the mid-1980s, Nike lost its position as the leader in the athletic footwear industry. But soon came Michael Jordan, and the brand has never looked back.
Number Nine: There Was Once a Carolina Panthers T-Shirt Featured the State Outline of South Carolina. NFL fans will recognize the mistake – the Panthers play in North Carolina.
Number Eight: 80,000 of Their Sneakers Were Once Lost at Sea. They were lost en route to America from South Korea in 1990. They’ve been floating around somewhere out there ever since.
Number Seven: Michael Jordan Didn’t Like Their Products Before Signing. He didn’t want to sign with the brand, but his parents insisted he meet with them.
Number Six: The Boot Craze in the Early Nineties Hurt Nike. Their stock actually dropped during this time – despite the dominance of Michael.
Number Five: Designer Tinker Hatfield Has Expressed Surprise that Hip Hop Culture Has Taken to the Brand. He says he’s happily surprised that there’s such a crossover between the two.
Number Four: The Huarache Model Wouldn’t Have Happened Without Waterskiing. Its name obviously comes from the Mexican piece of footwear, but designer Tinker Hatfield was inspired to create the model after waterskiing.
Number Three: For a While the Company Thought Athletic Clothes Would be a Poor Investment. They simply didn’t believe that a certain type of clothing was important for an athlete.
Number Two: The Company Projected that Air Jordans Would Earn $3 Million in the First Three Years. Instead, they earned $130 million in the very first year.
Number One: Nike is All About First Place. Their ad for the 1996 Olympics included the phrase “You don’t win silver, you lose gold.” It’s safe to say the brand has heeded its own advice – and that’s all the Nike information we have right now. Thanks for reading this list!