Abstract
This article provides a detailed analysis of the Nike’s mission statement, and evaluates its role in the business success. By analysing the company’s mission, vision, core values, purpose, and objectives, the article discusses how Nike’s strong strategic focus on the sustainability and innovation sets the path to sustained success. The article is useful for anyone who seeks an in-depth understanding of the Nike’s strategic framework.
1. Introduction
Nike, a global athletic footwear and apparel giant, is ranked as the world’s #16th most admired company in the 2023 Fortune list. Due to its strong commitment to innovation, the company has evolved into a cultural icon.
Nike’s mission seamlessly intertwines with its unparalleled success. The brand continuous to captivate the global markets, resulting into a consistent increase in the brand value, as depicted in following graph:
Source: Statista
This article examines the pillars of Nike’s success by exploring its mission statement, vision, and core values.
2. Company overview
Before exploring the Nike mission and vision statements, have a look over following table to know who created Nike? When was it established? And how is its’ current financial health?
| Company name | Nike, Inc. |
| Year founded | January 25, 1964 |
| Founders | Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight |
| Headquarters | Beaverton, Oregon, USA |
| CEO | John Donahoe |
| Industry | Athletic footwear and apparel |
| Number of countries | 170,000 |
| Number of employees | 30,000 |
| Revenue 2023 | $51.22 billion |
| Profit 2023 | $22.397 billion |
| Market capitalization 2023 | $161.22 billion |
3. Nike mission statement
Nike mission statement is- “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world”.
Upon closer examination of Nike’s mission statement, we identify four key components:
3.1. Global inclusivity
The phrase ‘every athlete in the world’ reflects the company’s global inclusivity and reach. Beyond the geographic boundaries, Nike celebrates and acknowledges the athletes’ unique aspirations, challenges and journeys from diverse cultural backgrounds.
Following graph shows how Nike’s global presence has strengthened from 2009 to 2023:
Source: Statista
Nike is ranked #7 in the list of top 100 global brands, and #1 in the global fashion industry. These statistics reflect the company’s extensive global presence with high global rankings that emphasize the company’s inclusive approach in the global market.
3.2. Innovation as a driving force
Nike’s pursuit of innovation lies at core of its mission. The company consistently pushes the technology and design boundaries, and offers cutting-edge products to athletes of all levels. The commitment with innovation reflects the company’s dedication to stay ahead of competition in rapidly changing market.
Nike is ranked #23 in Fortune’s list of most innovative companies in USA. It achieved 11th rank in terms of product innovation. More than 71% of the Nike’s products are made of recycled material (showing an increase from 64% from 2008).
Nike has also opened ‘Nike Innovation’ platform. The platform invites every athlete to engage in creation of products of future. Nike’s sports research lab plays a key role in achieving the breakthroughs in the product innovation and sports science.
3.3. Inspiration for all
Nike is committed to motivate individuals around the world to embrace an active lifestyle and unlock their full potential. Here are some examples of how Nike inspires all by creating a culture of engagement and empowerment:
Nike empowers the communities by partnering with athletes, employees, experts, and non-profits to create an equitable future.
Nike’s ‘Move to Zero’ initiative aims to achieve zero waste objective to protect the sport future.
source: Nike.com
Nike’s ‘Just do it’ campaign encourages everyone to achieve their sports and fitness goals:
Source: The Guardian
By partnering with athletes, Nike helps young people to perform better academically, be resilient, and adopt an active life style.
Source: London Sport
3.4. Beyond sport
Nike mission statement reflects its broader focus that transcends beyond the traditional sports. It caters various forms of physical activities, embracing a holistic approach to cater the interests of dynamic and diverse global audience.
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4. Nike vision statement
Nike vision is “to remain the most connected, authentic, and distinctive brand”.
A closer look over above vision statement highlights following key points:
4.1. Connectedness beyond products
Nike’s vision is to be the world’s most connected brand, showcasing its commitment to foster meaningful and deep connections beyond offering core products.
Nike took a notable initiative in 2020 by investing $140 million on a black community program.
4.2. Distinctiveness in expression
Nike strives to become the world’s most distinctive brand. It involves unique branding, innovative design, and a continuous pursuit of innovation and originality.
Nike Forward is one of the Nike’s successful innovation. It is made of light density material, comprising 70 percent recycled content. Nike Go is a hands-free sneaker that is a result of extensive research with customers.
Source: Nike.com
4.3. Authenticity at the core
Nike aims to become the world’s most authentic brand. The company prioritizes transparent practices and genuine storytelling. The brand authenticity lays the foundation for building trust of a diverse customer base.
4.4. Evolutionary adaptation
Nike’s vision is to understand the dynamic market nature, reflecting its commitment to adapt to changing cultural shifts and consumer preferences.
Nike marketplace strategy values diversity and uniqueness. In 2023 last reported quarter, Nike’s direct sales rose by 22 percent to $5.3 billion. Nike digital sales increased by 24 percent, and wholesale revenue rose by 18 percent.
Nike Membership formula focuses on developing an in-depth understanding of the individual members’ needs. Around three years ago, most of the Nike’s demand was from new customers, while today, most of the demand is through repeat customers.
5. Nike core values
Nike company values include:
5.1. Community
Nike partners with various community members to create a more equitable and active future. In 2020, Nike spent around $80 million on community outreach programs, helping around 17 million kids around the globe.
In 2023, Nike invested $8.9 million across 54 local and national non-profit organizations focused on education, social justice, and innovation.
5.2. Sustainability
Considering the consumers’ growing environmental consciousness, Nike Inc. adopts a holistic approach to improve its sustainability performance. Its sustainability strategy integrates eco-friendly materials throughout the supply chain.
Following graph shows the percentage of the sustainable material in Nike’s apparel and footwear segment from 2015-2019:
Source: Statista
The graph shows that use of sustainable material in Nike’s apparel has increased from 19% (2015) to 59% (2020). In 2023, Nike Inc. reported that more than 78% of Nike’s products contain some percentage of recycled material.
5.3. Diversity
Nike shares strong commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity. In 2021, women participation in Nike’s workforce increased by 0.2% compared to 2020, reaching 50.4%. Representation of Asian employees also increased by 1% from 2020 to 2021.
By 2025, Nike aims at increasing the participation of ethnic and racial minorities to 35 percent. At vice president level, the proportion of ethnic and racial minorities increased from 21% (2020) to 29% (2021). Nike also partnered with University of Southern California to pilot the diversity and inclusion curriculum to be rolled out to entire organization.
5.4. Social responsibility
Nike is committed to offer a healthy work environment for employees. In 2020, Nike launched two CSR programs to increase the understanding of social change and racial equality. Nike also trained 100,000 coaches to help the disadvantaged communities. The company is implementing circular economy principles to reduce the waste and ensure optimal resource utilization. By 2025, Nike aims to power owned and operated facilities with 100% renewable energy.
In 2023, Nike achieved a ‘very good’ score in corporate reputation, securing 25th position in the top 100 most visible brands, and ranking 66th among the top 100 most ethical brands.
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5.5. Innovation
Nike is known for introducing the innovative products in the market. The innovative mind-set reflects in every aspect of Nike, ranging from product design, development, and marketing, to corporate governance. The focus on innovation enabled the company to remain distinctive, authentic, and connected, making it one of the world’s most popular brands.
Nike has a long history of innovation. It introduced first Air Jordans in 1984, and released first Air Max in 1987. Its latest innovations include Nike Go and Nike Forward.
After exploring the Nike values, let’s now explore the Nike purpose:
6. Nike purpose
Nike’s stated purpose is to “move the world forward through the power of sport. Worldwide, we’re levelling the playing field, doing our part to protect our collective playground, and expanding access to sport for everyone”.
Analysis of Nike’s purpose reveals following insights:
6.1. Global impact
Nike strives to create a global impact through sports. The company positions itself as a catalyst of change, leveraging the transformative power of sports to drive positive changes around the world.
6.2. Levelling the playing field
Nike is committed to promote the inclusivity and equality, breaking down the barriers that discourage the access to sports.
6.3. Stewardship
The phrase ‘protect our collective playground’ reflects the company’s environmental responsibility. Nike recognizes the need to protect the planet, and adopts sustainable practices to safeguard the interests of future generations.
7. Nike objectives
Nike’s short-term objectives are:
- Focus on continuous product innovation, regularly launching high-tech athletic apparel to remain competitive in the market.
- Explore the opportunities in emerging markets to increase the market share.
- Enhance sustainability in the whole supply chain by streamlining the processes, reducing environmental impact, and ensuring the responsible sourcing.
Nike’s long-term objectives are:
- Strengthen the position as the global leader by adopting responsible and sustainable business practices.
- Make sports accessible for a broader customer base from diverse demographic backgrounds by breaking down the socio-economic barriers.
- Leverage emerging technologies to offer personalized customer experience, optimize e-commerce channels, and stay at the forefront of the digital innovation.
8. Key lessons
Based on overall analysis of the Nike mission statement, we propose following lessons:
- Nike’s mission is globally inclusive, and its commitment to inclusion and diversity reflects in the consistent rise in global brand rankings.
- Nike mission statement puts central importance to the innovation, evident in continuous pursuit of cutting-edge technologies.
- Nike core values include- community engagement, sustainability, diversity, and social responsibility.
- Nike vision is to be world’s most connected, distinctive, and authentic brand.
- Nike’s successful sustainability and innovation initiatives mainly include- $140 million investment in a black community program, Move to Zero program, Nike Go and Nike Forward.
- Nike is strongly committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in its workforce.
- Nike knows how to balance the profitability with social impact. The company’s strong performance on financial and social grounds is an evidence of it.
9. Conclusion
To sum up, Nike’s success at global stage stems from a strong mission that embraces innovation and inclusivity. Nike’s commitment to social responsibility, innovation, diversity, and sustainability aligns with its broad vision to be an authentic and connected brand. Moreover, its ability to balance the social impact and profitability plays a critical role in ensuring sustained market success.
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