Hiroshi Fujiwara, Tinker Hatfield, and Mark Parker together are collaboratively known as the sneaker design supergroup “HTM” which originally produced the HTM Woven Boot in 2002. This year, they add another “M” to the mix: Mark Smith, Creative Director at Jordan Brand. The newly formed group have created this new HTM2 Run Boot and minimalism seems to be the theme here with a laceless upper and Free 7.0 tooling. The shoes are available now at Nike Tier Zero accounts and 21 Mercer. Continue reading for more images of the Nike HTM2 Run Boot.
The Sunday Telegraph interviewed Nike CEO Mark Parker on a range of subjects including the upcoming World Cup to the status of Tiger Woods. The more notable highlights of the piece publicize an increased Nike drive toward green and sustainable product and business models which will be coalesced into new energy-based reporting metrics to be debuted at next year’s World Economic Forum at Davos, and the declaration of a major push for Nike in its continued “direct to consumer” business which includes the establishment of more Nike owned and operated stores around the globe and expansion of its digital/online business channels. Parker is looking to increase Nike revenues in the direct retail segment from 15 percent to 25 percent “and beyond”. Read the entire interview on The Sunday Telegraph’s website: Nike: Alive and kicking.
In 1977, a former aerospace engineer named Marion “Frank” Rudy forever altered the landscape of the athletic footwear industry when he initially approached adidas with his invention of a gas-inflated membrane cushioning system, was flatly turned down, and eventually brought the shock-absorption technology to a small Beaverton, OR-based company called Nike.
First used in the Nike Air Tailwind running shoe, the cushioning system has since been known as Nike “Air” and inextricable tied to the heritage and growth of the Swoosh ever since. One of Nike’s official websites describes Rudy’s “Air” invention as “durable bags filled with pressurized gas that compress under impact, then spring back.”
In the words of current Nike CEO Mark Parker: “Frank Rudy holds a singular place in the pantheon of Nike innovation. His relentless creativity and focus on solving problems was in many ways the template for how Nike pursues performance to this very day.”
Check this link for a narrated video of Frank Rudy describing his “very simple but complicated as hell” invention. Also look for Nike to re-introduce “Air” in a company-wide marketing platform launching in Spring 2010 called “Fresh Air“, which we originally reported on in our notes on the Nike Q2 2010 Earnings Conference Call. Continue reading for more images of Frank Rudy, Inventor of Nike Air technology.
The Nike Second Quarter 2010 Earnings Conference Call held this past Thursday evening shed light, as in previous sessions, on the future product and marketing plans of the world’s #1 sportswear and equipment provider. Touched on in the call was a statement on Tiger Woods, momentum in Basketball and Athletic Training lines, the best-selling new Nike shoe of the year, a brief talk on the World Cup and the new LeBron VII and Zoom Kobe V, and the unveiling of a brand new, company-wide marketing concept debuting in Spring 2010 called “Fresh Air” which Charlie Denson, President of the Nike Brand, says will be used to “energize the marketplace“. Continue reading for an inside look at the Nike Q2 2010 Earnings Conference Call.
Living footwear design legend Tinker Hatfield (Vice President of Special Projects at Nike) was recently inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame, as Hatfield was also a star athlete growing up, ultimately competiting under the guidance of Nike Co-Founder Bill Bowerman at the University of Oregon. In the video above, we see exclusive photos and images of Hatfield both contending on the field and in business, leading Nike, Inc. to global success with his innovative and future-forward designs. Hatfield also speaks at the end about his favorite Air Jordan model: the Air Jordan XI. Check out the video to see more of Tinker Hatfield at the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame Induction ceremony.
With Dwyane Wade making the switch within the Nike, Inc. portfolio this past July from Converse to Jordan Brand, it left behind a sudden vacuum in WADE-branded Converse product, including the WADE 5 Signature Shoe and WADE Team Lines. The strategy shift seems to have come from above, and as we noted in our Nike Q1 Earnings Conf Call post a few weeks back, Nike CEO Mark Parker emphasized a “complete offense” in relation to its basketball business with a 3-tiered tactic involving Converse, Nike, and Jordan Brand – each allowing the consumer an access point into the overall Nike umbrella. The goal obviously would be to keep Converse at the entry level $80-and-under category, Nike hitting all ranges, and Jordan Brand blowing out the upper end, with what we can assume to be a high price point “Jordan Flash” shoe in the near future and Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul products filling out a similar space underneath. With all that said, will the Converse WADE 5 eventually release in a stripped down and de-badged form? Converse has said they are still weighing their options with the shoe. For now, you can check out images of what the WADE 5 could have been. Continue reading for more photos.
Nike held its Q1 2010 Earnings Conference Call this past Tuesday. Nike CEO Mark Parker talked about the Swoosh-shaped economic recovery, the strength of the Converse brand, the continued push into China, and “off the grid” opportunities that sneakerheads love so dearly…
On June 16th, 2009, Nike held a special employee-invite-only event at their World Headquarters in Beaverton, OR, to celebrate a relationship of 25 Years between Nike and Michael Jordan. Personal stories and Jordan Brand company facts were expressed. The rumors spread afterward online about an entire “Air Jordan White Collection” were not. And this is where the story begins…
