Acquired · Jul 24Nike
Gave Knight 13 western states, and about 70% of US runners wore its shoes by 1970. It refused the Nisho financing, offered to buy 51% at book value, and settled for $400,000 after losing in court in 1974.
Tips
- Phil Knight turned a Stanford paper on undercutting German brands with Japanese shoes into Blue Ribbon▶ 12:00The US branded athletic shoe market is now about $130 billion, versus about $2 billion then.
- Knight alerted Onitsuka to his Nisho financing and triggered a legal fight▶ 1:05:20Onitsuka paid Blue Ribbon $400,000 to settle in 1974.
