Marketing principles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Marketing principles - Essay Example Nike's core business is in the research design and marketing on a global scale of shoes, equipment, apparel and related services, with a special focus on athletic apparel as well as athletic footwear. Present in more than 190 nations around the world, Nike utilizes a variety of distribution channels, including the Internet, Nike-owned stores, and retailers, even as the Nike stores are either owned by the company directly or are franchised to others. Aside from athletic gear, Nike is also present in the segment of recreational wear, and there is an overlap in the categories as they pertain to the sale of specialized sports and leisure apparel for different sports, including cricket, American football, wrestling, baseball, lacrosse, walking, golf, activities in the outdoors, volleyball and tennis. It is heavily present too in the major team sports globally, including football,.soccer and basketball. The seven categories around which the Nike business are organized, meanwhile, are as fo llows: Action Sports, Basketball, Nike Sportswear, Soccer, Running, Women's Training and Men's Training. The company has a line of products for children, and its product lines also include other accessories as well as bags. It's IHM subsidiary is a direct to customer distribution channel, and it is via this channel that Nike is able to tap into a network of non-affiliated entities to produce and market goods under the Nike name, including devices, apparel, and software applications together with all sorts of other equipment. The company owns Converse as a wholly-owned subsidiary, through which the company manufactures and markets products under certain key brands, including Chuck Taylor and Jack Purcell. The company also owns the Hurley International, through which it markets apparel as well as accessories for young people and for those engaged in action sports activities. On the other hand, it has disposed of its Cole Haan and Umbro brand, the latter a marketer of soccer-related ap parel, accessories and general merchandise (Google; Reuters). There is no better way to gauge the performance of the company and the overall success of its marketing strategies than to look at how the share price of Nike has fared historically. Looking at the financial performance of the firm in this respect, one sees that the company has done well crafting and executing on its marketing strategies and marketing mixes. The chart below shows that Nike's stock has done well over the past ten years, indicating such success. The stock price chart shows that the company's shares have consistently been on an upward trajectory by way of stock price trends, and generally doubling over the past three to four years on the back of a successful overall business strategy and marketing strategy(Google) : Graph Source: Google II. The 4 Marketing P's as they Apply to Nike The above discussion points us to the various brands, product lines, and product categories or segments where Nike has chosen to compete, and it is clear that the focus on athletic apparel and athletic wear in general is a major company focus that has contributed to much of its success.