Word: nike
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Help is here for America's students, who, come fall, once again will carry the weight of the world on their shoulders--in overstuffed, spine-compressing backpacks. Nike has just introduced the BioKNX load-management system--O.K., an ergonomic book bag--which helps redistribute the weight of all those texts. It has wide, padded straps, "air pods" that look like bubble wrap--to protect the lumbar region--and a padded waist belt that shifts weight from the spine to the hips. A molded plastic panel inside the pack supports the spine...
...Nike is not alone in capitalizing on the student-as-mule trend (46% of schoolkids get backaches from their packs). JanSport offers the Pulse, which comes with a waist belt and is padded with its own cushy stuff, called Gelastic. And RakGear by Targus has internal shelving that keeps contents--from books to yesterday's lunch--from settling to the bottom. Kids still need to keep loads to no more than 15% of body weight and wear both straps. The load facing the Nike brand? Convincing kids that a back-saving pack isn't geeky. --By Janice M. Horowitz
...also the company's chief spokesman. Li became a national hero to millions of Chinese after he won six medals?three of them gold?at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. It's as if Michael Jordan had his own sneaker company instead of being a shoe tree for Nike...
...Since retiring from gymnastics in 1988, Li has built his company into a credible challenger in China to Nike, Adidas and Reebok. Li Ning Sports currently holds a 10% share of the mainland's athletic-shoe market, outselling all foreign brands combined. Aided by more than 1,000 Li Ning Sports specialty shops scattered around the country, sales have grown at an annual average rate of 32% for the past three years; profits were $8.5 million last year on $108 million in revenue. The numbers may not sound impressive?Nike's 2001 global sales were $9.48 billion...
...company has been able to grow primarily by tapping market segments the global brands largely ignore. Li Ning shoes?distinguished by a logo that resembles Nike's famous swoosh, but with a foxtail attached?sell for $40 dollars?less than half the price of top-of-the-line foreign sneakers. They are popular in rural China, but not in the country's wealthier coastal cities, where residents prefer foreign brands. Li Ning Sports "is an old brand and it certainly needs revitalization," says Xue Xu, a marketing professor at Peking University and an expert on domestic brands. Moreover, Xue says...