WILLIAM McCALL, AP Business Writer
AP Online
01-14-1999
Nike Plans To Market Jordan As Icon
BEAVERTON, Ore. (AP) -- The banner at Nike headquarters read: ``Thanks Mike. Now don't be late for work.''
Retired NBA superstar Michael Jordan was officially welcomed to his other job as CEO by the company that has sold $2.6 billion in basketball shoes with his name.
Nike named Michael Jordan chief executive officer of its Brand Jordan division more than a year ago in preparation for the day when the Chicago Bulls guard would hang up his own basketball shoes for good.
When that day arrived Wednesday, Nike chairman and founder Phil Knight, who hired Jordan to endorse the swoosh as an NBA rookie nearly 15 years ago, found a lump in his throat.
``This really is it,'' Knight said. ``This great artistry you're not going to be able to see any more.''
He denied reports that he visited Jordan last weekend in an attempt to talk him out of retiring.
``First of all, I know it wouldn't do any good if I did try,'' Knight said. ``The day was coming. If it wasn't going to be this year it was going to be next year.''
The trick now is to bank on the charisma Jordan built up as perhaps the most recognizable athlete on the planet to push his line of shoes and clothing with his slam-dunking silhouette logo rather than the swoosh.
Knight is certain the Jordan name will fly.
``Absolutely,'' Knight said. ``It's just gone beyond a level than anybody could have foreseen.''
It's a level of popularity Nike hopes to spread across all its products as the world's largest athletic shoe company emerges from a year of declining profits, layoffs and budget cuts set off by the Asian recession.
``Everything has gone horrible for them in the past year,'' said analyst Jennifer Black of Black & Co. in Portland. ``There's been nothing but negative on the horizon for Nike for such a long time.''
Knight sees the retirement as the beginning of Jordan the legend, bigger than the game, even bigger than Babe Ruth or Muhammad Ali, who didn't have the worldwide reach provided by technology such as personal satellite dishes or 24-hour sports on cable TV.
``I don't think you're going to see anything like this for quite a while,'' Knight said. ``This is something very, very special.''
Overseas, Jordan has been compared to such American exports as Coca-Cola and Mickey Mouse, and is a huge star in places where basketball is barely even followed.
``The notion is that Jordan is obviously one of the few athletes who transcends sport,'' said Josie Esquivel, an analyst with Morgan Stanley in New York. ``He has this appeal that makes him a great ambassador for sports of any kind. The corporate executives certainly believe that mantra, but I think you have a large number of people who believe that too.''
Knight said Jordan will be personally involved in product development as CEO for a line featuring a single style of shoe that sold $130 million in the first year alone.
``It was huge when it first arrived,'' said John Horan, publisher of Sporting Goods Intelligence, an athletic shoe industry newsletter in Glen Mills, Pa.
``Nobody had seen anything like it. It was a big deal then, and it's a big deal now.''
Last year, sales reached $350 million, almost 4 percent of the $9.2 billion in revenue for Nike.
``If you took the Jordan brand out of Nike, it would still be the No. 2 basketball company in the world next to Nike,'' said Vizhier Mooney, spokeswoman for Nike's basketball operations.
But Horan said the timing actually may have been for the best, not only for Nike, Jordan and Knight, but for the NBA.
``The good part is that Air Jordan had gotten a little long in the tooth,'' he said. ``Dynasties, after a while, can be boring. It was kind of time from the NBA standpoint for some new blood there.''
The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
Copyright 1999 The Associated Press All Rights Reserved
AP Online
01-14-1999
Nike Plans To Market Jordan As Icon
BEAVERTON, Ore. (AP) -- The banner at Nike headquarters read: ``Thanks Mike. Now don't be late for work.''
Retired NBA superstar Michael Jordan was officially welcomed to his other job as CEO by the company that has sold $2.6 billion in basketball shoes with his name.
Nike named Michael Jordan chief executive officer of its Brand Jordan division more than a year ago in preparation for the day when the Chicago Bulls guard would hang up his own basketball shoes for good.
When that day arrived Wednesday, Nike chairman and founder Phil Knight, who hired Jordan to endorse the swoosh as an NBA rookie nearly 15 years ago, found a lump in his throat.
``This really is it,'' Knight said. ``This great artistry you're not going to be able to see any more.''
He denied reports that he visited Jordan last weekend in an attempt to talk him out of retiring.
``First of all, I know it wouldn't do any good if I did try,'' Knight said. ``The day was coming. If it wasn't going to be this year it was going to be next year.''
The trick now is to bank on the charisma Jordan built up as perhaps the most recognizable athlete on the planet to push his line of shoes and clothing with his slam-dunking silhouette logo rather than the swoosh.
Knight is certain the Jordan name will fly.
``Absolutely,'' Knight said. ``It's just gone beyond a level than anybody could have foreseen.''
It's a level of popularity Nike hopes to spread across all its products as the world's largest athletic shoe company emerges from a year of declining profits, layoffs and budget cuts set off by the Asian recession.
``Everything has gone horrible for them in the past year,'' said analyst Jennifer Black of Black & Co. in Portland. ``There's been nothing but negative on the horizon for Nike for such a long time.''
Knight sees the retirement as the beginning of Jordan the legend, bigger than the game, even bigger than Babe Ruth or Muhammad Ali, who didn't have the worldwide reach provided by technology such as personal satellite dishes or 24-hour sports on cable TV.
``I don't think you're going to see anything like this for quite a while,'' Knight said. ``This is something very, very special.''
Overseas, Jordan has been compared to such American exports as Coca-Cola and Mickey Mouse, and is a huge star in places where basketball is barely even followed.
``The notion is that Jordan is obviously one of the few athletes who transcends sport,'' said Josie Esquivel, an analyst with Morgan Stanley in New York. ``He has this appeal that makes him a great ambassador for sports of any kind. The corporate executives certainly believe that mantra, but I think you have a large number of people who believe that too.''
Knight said Jordan will be personally involved in product development as CEO for a line featuring a single style of shoe that sold $130 million in the first year alone.
``It was huge when it first arrived,'' said John Horan, publisher of Sporting Goods Intelligence, an athletic shoe industry newsletter in Glen Mills, Pa.
``Nobody had seen anything like it. It was a big deal then, and it's a big deal now.''
Last year, sales reached $350 million, almost 4 percent of the $9.2 billion in revenue for Nike.
``If you took the Jordan brand out of Nike, it would still be the No. 2 basketball company in the world next to Nike,'' said Vizhier Mooney, spokeswoman for Nike's basketball operations.
But Horan said the timing actually may have been for the best, not only for Nike, Jordan and Knight, but for the NBA.
``The good part is that Air Jordan had gotten a little long in the tooth,'' he said. ``Dynasties, after a while, can be boring. It was kind of time from the NBA standpoint for some new blood there.''
The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
Copyright 1999 The Associated Press All Rights Reserved