Word: nike
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...device called the iPod was gaining momentum. "You could go to any city, anyplace around the world, and we were noticing that people were running with music," says Edwards. "You kind of go, Aha!" At a team meeting, a designer presented a sketch of an iPod in a Nike shoe. Another "aha!" moment. Sure, you can't place an iPod in a sneaker, but what if that sensor tucked beneath the shoe could talk to the iPod and reveal the data while runners listened to their music? In late 2004, Nike pitched the idea to Apple executives, who bit. They...
...wasn't a perfect fit. Apple is famously secretive, surprising the market with its new products, while Nike usually informs retailers of its plans six months in advance. In this case, Nike acquiesced to the Apple way, putting Nike Plus on sale just 50 days after announcing it. The project carried code names: Nike, the goddess of victory in Greek mythology, was Victoria North, and Apple was Victoria South...
...product was perfected, Nike had another puzzle: What would runners do with all that data? Stefan Olander, the company's director of digital content, joined the Nike Plus team early on to figure that out. Nike knew runners were logging results by hand. What if this product could do it for them? The result was nikeplus.com "The site puts you and your achievements at the heart of this," says Olander. About 500,000 runners from more than 160 countries have signed on, and some 30 million miles (48 million km) have been uploaded. The site graphs distances for each...
This booming digital community has changed the way Nike thinks about innovation. To Nike, you're no longer just buying a sneaker. You're joining a global jogging club--and keeping up with fellow runners will, the company hopes, motivate you to buy more Nikes. "In the past, the product was the end point of the consumer experience," says Olander. "Now it's the starting point...
...Nike Plus faces some stiff challenges. Sure, Nike is gaining market share in running, but consumer tastes are shifting away from that type of shoe. According to market-research firm NPD Group, fashion-themed sneakers overtook running shoes as the top-selling category in the athletic-footwear market in July 2007 for the first time. "The athletic-footwear market will see some tough sledding for the next couple of quarters," says John Shanley, an analyst at Susquehanna Financial Group...