When it comes to starting up a business, it can be incredibly insightful to learn from the success stories that have triumphed to become huge names in their field. When it comes to the world of sport, there are several brands that have managed to elevate themselves, not only to the top of that niche, but also have become some of the most recognizable companies on the planet. Here’s a quick look then at how some of those leading sports brands managed to gain utter dominance on the world stage.
1. Nike
If you asked someone to name a sports brand, Nike would, more times than not, be the answer. Whilst they don’t quite rake in as much cash, they do have brand recognition that is equal to McDonald’s and Apple, with their products being gladly used by people all around the world. The American multinational company is now valued at just under $40 billion in 2021.
It began life as Blue Ribbon Sports in 1964, founded by Bill Bowerman, who was a track-and-field coach at the University of Oregon, and Phil Knight, who was a former student of his. They began making athletic shoes and opened their first store in 1966. They changed their name to Nike in 1971, after the Greek Goddess of Victory, and a design student named Carolyn Davis designed the now iconic swoosh logo that adorns their products.
One of the things that helped Nike grow their brand to insane levels was constantly not being afraid to invent or embrace new technology. This was demonstrated early on in their existence, when they came up with the ‘Waffle’ sole, which allowed running shoes to gain more traction. They keep that spirit alive today by being a business that has used technology innovatively in recent times, with an example being their GPS-loaded running equipment.
2. Under Armour
Under Armour is by far the youngest company on this list, only being founded in 1996, but in that short amount of time they have made gigantic strides to become the globally recognized sports brand they are today. They were founded by Kevin Plank, who started the business in his grandmother’s basement when he was just twenty-four years old. Whilst the company doesn’t put up the same numbers as Nike and Adidas, they still are valued at $5.27 billion.
A big part of why the brand has grown so big in such a short space of time is that they’ve been incredibly wise to using athlete endorsements to further recognition. One of their biggest signings has been phenomenal NFL quarter-back Tom Brady, who they have been partnered with since 2010. Brady actually captured the Super Bowl again this year with his new team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and they’re the favourites to do it again in 2022, with odds of 5/1.
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3. Adidas
Adidas is a German multinational company that was founded by Adolf Dassler in 1924. The early days of the business also included his elder brother Rudolf, before the two had a falling out in 1949, which led Rudolf to leave and start the sports brand Puma. Adidas, though, is nowadays the most successful sports brand in Europe, though falling behind Nike worldwide.
Whenever anyone thinks of Adidas, the image that flashes into their mind will be the three distinctive stripes. Interestingly, the company didn’t originally come up with the design themselves but actually bought it from Finnish company Karhu Sports in 1952.
By ingeniously recognizing that the three stripes would give them an edge and locating it on most of their offerings, it gave the public both a stylish and easily identifiable sign of their brand. This has allowed the company to make serious moves in the fashion world with their Adidas Originals athleisure range and also to sign superstar celebrities to collaborate with, such as Beyonce with Ivy Park and Kanye West with Yeezy.
