So what is the richest clothing company in 2023? What do you think?
The richest clothing brand in the world has been the same company for the last couple of years. When we think about being rich, luxury lifestyle and high-end designer brands come to our mind. And even though those luxury brands are on the list of the richest clothing companies in the world, none of them are on top of the list. Nike is the richest clothing brand in the world. Its history and development are extremely fascinating not only for those interested in fashion and design but for everyone who would like to see an example of various successful marketing strategies.
A bit of history
Nike was founded in the early 60’s and its original name was “Blue Ribbon Sports”. It was founded by a track-and-field coach and his former student in Oregon, fascinating right? They launched the Nike brand shoe only in the early 70’s. The brand was renamed in the late 70’s and since then it has been Nike, Inc. It is interesting that even though the company has been through many scandals around its commercials, products, mottos, it has never stopped expanding in every way possible. Nike has created various product lines, including Nike ACG (All Conditions Gear), footwear for numerous types of sports, technological accessories, and managed to acquire other companies such as Converse, Inc., Cole Haan, Umbro.
The role of athletes
Nike’s success is mainly connected to its marketing strategies. The athletes that the company has sponsored have been so popular that everyone wanted to dress like them and the sales were going up every single time Nike sponsored a rising talent. One of the biggest influences was Michael Jordan. Because of him, Nike’s popularity grew significantly. Nowadays, Kevin Durant and LeBron James are super influential as well. Nike has sponsored athletes from various sports including basketball, football (Cristiano Ronaldo, Ronaldinho) and tennis (Rafael Nadal). Since these athletes are role models for so many people, dressing like them is associated with motivation and success. Basically, it is one of the best ways to promote a clothing brand, and luckily for Nike, it has sponsored outstanding athletes with amazing results.
Is Nike an ethical brand?
When a clothing company has such a history and all kinds of resources to be ethical and set an example for others, it is even more disappointing that it does not do so. There have been many scandals about not paying enough money for the workers and failing miserably in the sustainability aspect. Every single time Nike has tried to improve and react in some way. But it seems like mostly the company is trying to avoid ruining its reputation, throws a bone to the media and after some time there is another scandal proving that not much has changed. Or it tries to avoid taking responsibility for some events and blames the factories involved in the production process until the pressure from media makes Nike take some action
Due to such actions, Nike has a long way to go before it will be considered as an ethical brand. And, yes, it should be appreciated that the brand has raised the minimum age of the workers, the wage in certain factories has been increased, and that it has committed to Paris Climate Agreement. We should also note that the whole “being ethical” concept is relatively new, BUT when it comes to such huge companies, justifying their actions for these types of reasons is not fair. Companies like Nike should be pioneers setting an example for others and not vice versa.
Learning about such success stories could be useful in numerous ways. The success that such a small company has achieved and the ways that Nike has expanded its production are amazing. However, even though it is totally possible for the company to be more ethical, in most cases it has stated that it is not responsible for the damage. Nike is a great example of a success story but also it is an example of a company that has established ill practices. Being rich and having all the resources to do good does not mean anything. Because of external force, some positive changes are planned in its production process but it is always better to check before we purchase anything from such a company.
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