Free Essay: Nike Analysis Case Study

Nike is a major clothing and sportswear designer, marketer and distributor in the US and across the world founded in 1964 by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight. I was amazed to realize that Nike is considered the worlds top supplier of sports (athletic) shoes and apparel and even better, it is the most famous and strongest brand globally. Interestingly, the company adopts an analysis driven vision aimed at bringing inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world by seizing them with quality and fashionable sports products. Knowing this, I set out to explore what mode of analysis the company employs so that it can keep afloat at the top of its productions and sales. In this case, I looked into their analysis at the production, marketing, and the competitiveness perspectives. The findings were both appealing and captivating.

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The SWOT analysis is the mode I found most striking. The analysis entails the processes through which the company defines its inner Strengths and Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats that the company is susceptible to posed by its environment. In a nutshell, the company analyzes both its internal and external environment in a bid to ensure an operation that reflects on their vision. To my realization, the SWOT analysis is the most relied on the mode of analysis by the company since it helps in identifying priorities and developing strategies to work towards achieving them. In what follows, I will expound in details how the company applies the SWOT analysis technique.

Firstly, I noticed that Nike has identified its strengths, and it works at its best exploiting its advantages to the maximum so that it is always at the peak of its game in comparison to other competing companies. To start with, Nike has realized that it has an unyielding management which gives it the advantage of attaining a highly competitive and professional caliber. In line with this, the company is highly mobile depending on the place providing the most cost effective production. The mobility is propagated by the fact that Nike has no physical factories and can, therefore, relocate its production from place to place at their convenience if need be. The most obvious but paramount strength is the fact that the company has managed to attain very commendable publicity and has also made it to developing adamant brands that are loved worldwide. For a fact, I noticed that Nikes brand is sold in many countries, and this includes a sale of not one but all Nikes products. The brand makes undisputed sales worldwide which amounted to about $27 billion in 2015. The secret as I realized backtracks to the materials which they use in the making of their high-quality shoes. The company uses materials such as Lunar Light foam for their shoes. When I did some research about this material, I discovered that truly it yields good characteristic shoes which lure the sportspersons into purchasing them. Who does not want a good looking long lasting shoe after all?

I was surprised to know that Nike makes most of its sales through the footwear. In other words, they do not make so many sales on other branded they produce as compared to the sales they make from the shoes. The company also, as I discovered, has through its publicity developed a bad reputation. For instance, the company has had allegations especially in the developing and the newly developed countries about them (Nike) exploiting and providing poor working conditions to its employees. This two are the companys most notable weaknesses. The company, however, strives to attain a stable environment by improving in the best way possible on these weaknesses. Notably, the company invests highly in it shoe products while enhancing the publicity of their other brands.

Nikes opportunities are more or less just what I expected for any company. The company has the capacity to expand its production geographically. Secondly, the company views its waste as a resource for further production. That is to say, what comes out as waste during production, the company takes back in the manufacturing process and thus utilizing its waste for more production. What caught me off guard is the fact that the firm has ventured into new markets by engaging in production of products such as jewelry and sunglasses. In another word they have diversified as a means to enlarge their scope in the market, new market.

I noticed that the company faces serious competitive threats from companies such as Reebok and Adidas. These two companies flood the market with their brands and thus take a good portion of the market share especially considering that most of Nikes products are comparatively expensive and in the real world, most people opt for the cheaper brands. The company further faces profits fluctuation due to the varying currency value. This poses a significant threat to the companys future especially due to the uncertainties therein.

I was intrigued by the overall effect of the SWOT analysis. Further, I was enlightened on how important it is to be aware of one's abilities and weakness for internal development and also the opportunities and threats which consider the external factors. This is mainly because as a company, Nike has been able to have a perfect strategy with effective plans on how to combat the threats, seize the opportunities, improve on the weaknesses and exploit and maintain its strengths based on the analysis.

This has impacted the way I view myself. It has made me more receptive to any shred of skill or ability as strength to keep me going. It has taught me to explore and appreciate the opportunities that surround me, those that come my way. Even better, the SWOT analysis has taught me to develop strategies and plan ahead based on the threats that counter my day to day life and my success. It has taught me that my weaknesses are not there to bring me down but rather if I work on them they might as well turn into strengths. My view is that all companies should adopt such an analysis as Nikes this will help improve their functionality, and they will gain credibility in the market.

To sum it all up, Nike is a company which through a continuous SWOT analysis has made it to the top most sportswear marketer and seller. It has made its core priority the exploitation of its strengths and available opportunities so as to maintain the top position. It has dedicated to realizing and accepting its weaknesses and working towards their improvement. It has strategically planned on how best to tackle the threats it faces now and those that may arise in the future. Pointedly, through the same analysis, Nike has been able to analyze the available competition sector and consequently it has been able to examine its environment on a larger scale thus improving on publicity and venturing into new markets with caution. On a personal level, I suggest that each and every person should conduct a SWOT analysis of self. It is worthwhile and will certainly improve once self-image and yield a better way for dealing with life.