Exploring
Strategy
Nike
is a global leader in apparel and supply of sports shoes. It manufactures
athletic equipment that attracts annual sales revenue of more than $20 billion.
Bill Bowerman created the firm as Blue Ribbon Sports in the year 1962. In 1978,
the organization was rebranded as Nike Inc. in reference to the Greek Victory
Goddess. Currently, Nike owns subsidiaries such as Converse, Umbro, Cole Haan,
and Hurley International. Nike centers
its mission statement on the leadership of corporate citizenship through the initiation of proactive programs to reflect
utmost care for the global family of customers, teammates and Nike’s service
providers (Korzeniewicz. 2014). Nike’s strategy is prioritized on customers to
ensure their satisfaction. The prioritization is evident on Nike’s website, where the organization’s
strategists customize the products to raise the level of customer loyalty.
The
growth of Nike into a global brand has been uneven. Failures and successes teach
the organization on the importance of co-creation with the esteemed customers.
Indeed, Nike’s customer base spans to different countries across the globe
(Katz, 2013). The expansive network gives Nike a new value source because it
remains connected and informed on market needs. With this understanding, Nike
provides internet sites for customers to share their experiences, interactions,
and suggestions. Nike can establish relationships and build trust by learning
from the customers while providing their needs to improve the brand image.
Evaluation
of Sustainability, Feasibility, and
Acceptability
Suitability
Nike’s
focus is on youthful customers because it is the largest market segment in the
United States and other parts of the globe where the firm is operational.
Notably, the majority of the youth are
active in sporting and fitness activities. Therefore, they are more likely to
purchase Nike’s products if they are designed specifically to meet their needs
(Leavy, 2014). Additionally, young working population prefers trendy and revolutionary products such as those designed by
Nike. Considering this, increased sales as a result of Nike’s strategy allow
the organization to sustain its operations while expanding its market to emerging
international markets.
Even
though Nike products target athletes, the brand is diversifying to the provision of fashion footwear and clothing to
the young customers at reasonable costs. Still, the segmentation is along
distinct types of youthful customers that demand multiple types of sports shoes
(Rugman and Verbeke, 2011). However, pricing and feasibility are not
constraining factors because Nike is a high-valued brand and the customers are
willing to incur an extra cost.
The
main line of Nike products targets
athletes as one of the customer segments. The comfortable soccer boots, for
instance, enhances the player’s performance. Even though they are expensive,
the high pricing is hardly a concern for the top world players because they are
well supported by their club managers or sponsors. During the 1994 World Cup in
France, Nike sold its soccer boots for only $45 million, but after a decade,
the sales revenue generated from the sale
of soccer boots has climbed to $1billion. The success is a testament to the feasible nature of Nike’s customer strategy,
market segmentation and its focus on
customer satisfaction (Harvey and Saint-Germain, 2011).
The
rise of internet technology and e-commerce has resulted in a transformation of
traditional customer segmentation strategy. In the modern times, Nike and other
multinationals no longer target a specified consumer group using its brand. In
fact, employment of mass customization enables the footwear customers to sign into an online platform and design personalized
product in terms of colour or size.
Submission of such specifications is mutually beneficial to the organization
and the customer. On one hand, the busimess entity saves on the cost that would
be spent in research and development activities to provide a product that suits
the needs of a targeted market (Donaghu and Barff, 2010). On the other hand,
integrating the customer’s ideas into the
production process encourages professionalism and provides the buyer with a
personalized product.
In a move to boost Nike’s competitiveness, the company
pioneered the sale of sports footwear using an online platform. Nike’s website
became operational in the year 1999. Since then, the customers have an
opportunity to purchase their products and services via online brick and mortar
retail stores globally (Carty, 2012). Besides, UPS (United Postal Services) has
partnered with Nike to deliver products purchased online to the US customers.
Feasibility
Economically,
this strategy is sensible because in the long run, the markets their unique
products and services online to a larger audience while utilizing minimal resources.
In addition, it is relatively easier to sustain the strategy as most of the
online users are youthful population. As an international organization, Nike
obtains economies of scales given its size and reach. Besides, as a large
multinational, Nike has adequate financial resources and infrastructure to
successfully pursue the strategy (Park and Kincade, 2011). Nike has been
operational for more than half a century. Therefore, the firm has economic
experience on how to execute operation and introduce new strategies to maintain
profitability and annual sales revenue.
One
of the fundamental concerns to consider when devising is the environmental
effect and capability. Use of the website for advertising and product design
process is economical because it cuts on the operational cost (Vollmer and
Precourt, 2011). While customer satisfaction is achieved, the resource saved
from the initiative can be redirected to innovative activities to stamp the
position of Nike as a market leader. Engagement in corporate social activities
such as the creation of environmental
awareness is made possible by this strategy as well. Furthermore, Nike aims at
limiting the impact of its products during the manufacture and disposal
process. While it is true that a Nike shoe produces solid waste, the firm uses
a cured and biodegradable rubber to make shoe soling. Besides, the workforce
has engineered a creative and innovative way to regrind the soles for reuse.
Acceptability
Nike’s
strategy meets the expectations of customers and shareholders because it yields
the expected performance outcomes with regards to stakeholder reactions,
business risk, and return (Shepherd et al., 2010). There are non-financial and
financial benefits to all the stakeholders. First, Nike provides original and
innovative products to the young people. A is unrivaled
by other competitors in the industry. In essence, Nike upholds its position as
market leader in the production and sale of athletic footwear (Mahdi et al.,
2015). The resultant competitive advantage presents Nike’s stakeholders with
numerous opportunities and resources to improve the quality of service
delivery.
In
the short-run, the shareholders should expect lower financial benefits from the
strategy. The economic downturn after 2008 has led to a slump in sales hence a
slower rate of growth for Nike. However, the introduction of a new
customer-oriented strategy will lower the impact of recession by allowing the
firm to rebound and stabilize. In the long run, the shareholder’s wealth will
increase while the conditions at the workplace improve (Leavy, 2015). The
implementation of this strategy ensures that the customers receive value for
their money.
Middle-class population in the US and EU prefer
to purchase commodities with an associated brand value. They youth, for instance, are inclined towards
fashion-oriented shoe products for leisure sports and fitness activities.
Because of this, Nike aims to tap on the customer needs for profitability and
to meet the financial obligations for sustaining the business operations (Chen,
2013). According to Nike’s management, the organization cannot reap benefits
from the product. Rather, the shareholders and business owners benefit from the
product sales. It is not the intention of Nike to sell footwear using
commercials because of a possible diversion of the firm’s attention from product
quality improvement.
Nike’s
management understands that there are risks involved when a new strategy is
adopted to boost the performance of the organization and to enhance the level
of competition. For example, the strategy may fail to meet the needs of the
targeted market segment. In addition, the strategy can be costly for the
organization to sustain (Fromartz, 2011). However, Nike’s customer-oriented
strategy proves to be a risk worth taking. Of keen to note is that the firm’s
success is heavily reliant on providing trendy products to attract a new wave
of customers.
By
focusing on the young working class population, Nike has a chance to specialise the production process and to
improve the quality of its products. In this way, the organization curves a
market niche and a brand to reassert its position as a global leader in
creativity and innovation of athletic wear (London and Hart, 2014). The innovation of product is at the core of
Nike’s strategy because athletic market leadership is unattainable unless
products that attract the attention of the consumers are introduced
periodically. The world of sports and athletics is constantly changing.
Therefore, despite the risks involved, Nike ought to be dynamic and to shift focus
on maintaining closeness with the existing market.
Merits
of the Alternative Strategy
The
alternative strategy for Nike is to advance its operations and to expand into
the foreign markets, especially in countries such as china where the targeted
market population is higher while the cost of labour
is lower (Locke and Brause, 2012). Nike intends to be an aggressive brand and
to maintain its status as a world leader in footwear production. Globalization
paves the way for the organisation to interact with consumers of
diverse cultures (Roth, 2011). Additionally, the firm’s expansion will provide
job opportunities hence improving the standards of living of the
workforce. Expansion into the
international market involves participation in an extensive CSR management
structure that is beneficial to the local residents in foreign countries
(Waller and Conaway, 2011).
Moving
into growing economies ensures the survival of the organization during the
harsh economic times. For example, in 2008, America’s economy faced numerous
challenges that led to closure of
operations in most of the domestic firms. Contrastingly, China’s economy
boomed, thus demonstrating the importance of the firm’s expansion into the
emerging markets. As the organization becomes a global brand, sales revenue and
profitability will be realized. The income generated can be reinvested in
research and development for innovation.
Nike’s
expansion program involves hiring independent contractors that understand the
local market in the foreign countries. They take over the responsibility of
product development, design, and
marketing to ease the responsibility of Nike as a brand (Locke, 2013). The
delegated duties encourage introduction of new creativity concepts because
the contractors inject resourceful ideas
into the organization. Potentially, the domestic market is saturated with
products from Nike’s competitors. Therefore, moving into foreign market
provides an opportunity for the corporation to showcase its products to new
markets segments. In the process, Nike increases chances of generating higher
revenue through increased sales. Moreover, this tactic marries with the
customer-oriented strategy through improved creativity and innovation.
Nike
is moving its factories to countries such as China and Indonesia where there is
an abundance of cheap labour. The financial resources saved are used
to cover the expenses in advertisements and to hire successful sports
personalities (such as Tiger Woods) for product promotion. Even though the
organization is sharply criticized for exploiting workers in the developing
world, this alternative strategy has been successful in boosting the firm’s
revenue for use in CSR activities and the creation
of environmental awareness (Hammer, 2012). In the year 2009, Nike raised
minimum wages for all workforces in Asian factories.
Acquisition
of Umbro allowed the organization to diversify its services to include football
wear. As a result, the organization becomes an authentic,
connected, and distinctive brand in the sports industry. In addition, the
acquisition enables the corporation to deliver quality products that elevate
customer experiences to help the organization to gain more than 30 billion by
the end of 2016 fiscal year (See Appendix).
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