"Nike enables over 300 million people worldwide to engage in physical activity and improve fitness."

Welcome to the article of the week, otherwise known as the 'WOW' award (weekly outstanding work). Our articles analyse the environmental and social impact of a company, from their products and services to their ideas.
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Obesity and being overweight, the leading causes of chronic diseases, are preventable with a healthy lifestyle. However, global obesity rates have almost tripled from 1975 to 2016¹. The WHO found that 1 in 4 adults and 3 in 4 adolescents fall short of its global physical activity recommendations^6;2. As per a 2013 study, sedentary lifestyles cost an annual $67.5 billion in healthcare and productivity losses, easily avoidable by an hour of exercise per day³. Regular physical activity–be it walking, running, exercise, or sports–could improve physical and mental health⁴ and increase life expectancy by 0.4 to 6.9 years⁵.

An average person spends only 180 days or 0.69% of their lifetime on physical fitness⁶. Appropriate athletic footwear enables physical activity, prevents injuries, provides motivation, and enhances performance⁷.

As a sports industry pioneer, Nike first addressed the physical inactivity epidemic in the 1970s, fueling the US jogging boom where 25 million Americans embraced running and jogging⁸. In an era where running was for ‘elite’ athletes, Nike introduced running shoes for everyday people interested in fitness. Even today, Nike aims to ‘bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world’. The company considers ‘every person with a body, an athlete’⁹.

As the largest athletic footwear brand, Nike owned a global market share of 27% as of 2019¹⁰. Assuming a median selling price of around $80¹¹ and athletic footwear revenue of $24.3 billion¹², Nike has sold 303.75 million pairs of athletic footwear to elite and recreational athletes worldwide as of 2020.

Besides designing innovative products, Nike has partnered for decades with best-in-class athletes and promoted fitness, sportsmanship, and self-empowerment through social media campaigns that reached a global audience of over 800 million consumers in 2020¹³.

By taking a holistic approach towards tackling physical inactivity, Nike has played a key role in shaping the global ‘fitness culture’.

Sources

• 1. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight
• 2. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/272722/9789241514187-eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
• 3. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-activity-idUSKCN1072S1
• 4. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/physical-activity
• 5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3395188/
• 6. https://news.reebok.com/global/latest-news/reebok-survey--humans-spend-less-than-one-percent-of-life-on-physical-fitness/s/aaf2c121-6889-40fd-a0dc-ba64b64cc85a
• 7. https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/staying-healthy/athletic-shoes/
• 8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Running_boom_of_the_1970s
• 9. https://about.nike.com/
• 10. https://www.statista.com/topics/1243/nike/
• 11. https://www.statista.com/statistics/828403/median-price-of-popular-sneaker-brands-worldwide/
• 12. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/320187/000032018719000051/nke-531201910k.htm
• 13. https://scholars.unh.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1529&context=honors

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