Nike is the top athletic shoe and apparel company in the world. It possesses a strong reputation in the industry, built largely around its association with world-class athletes like Michael Jordan, and its Nike swoosh is recognized around the world. But for a company named after the Greek goddess of victory, the company traditionally has failed to cater to female consumers as well as some of its smaller competitors have. Nike began to recognize that it could not survive without attracting women to its products, so it undertook a research effort to design a marketing offering that would attract female consumers.
Nike Women
In the hypercompetitive market for athletic shoes and apparel, every company must jockey for market share. The market, though it can be segmented on many different bases, including age or gender and different types of sports, includes a significant proportion of customers who want the gear for their casual use, not as armor on the playing field. The reality of the market is that 81 percent23 of all athletic purchases are made by women, but for Nike, they represented only 20 percent of total sales.
To say Nike has totally ignored women is inaccurate; it offers an extensive line of products for women and girls. But none of its stores targeted women only. Its flagship Niketown stores, located in major metropolitan areas, appeal mainly to men with their in-your-face style, pulsating music, and jock bravado appeal. Even though Niketown stores carry merchandise for women, the strong drive to appeal to men had become a turnoff for many female customers. In the words of Fara Warner of Fast Company:
Consider the San Francisco Niketown. The women's section is on the fourth floor. But getting there isn't a matter of taking a few escalators. At each floor, women looking for workout shoes or a yoga mat have to wade through displays on basketball, golf, and hockey to catch the next escalator up. The feel of the store is dark, loud, and harsh-in a word, male.
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Nike executives began to see the signs that the flagship brand, which stood for hypercompetitive athletes, was becoming associated only with men and totally failed to appeal to women. Realizing that something must change, Nike offered a horror film parody ad during the 2000 summer Olympic games, in which a female Olympian in a bra ran from an attacker. Female viewers quickly responded that the ad was in very poor taste and that they would be taking their business elsewhere.
Among those put off by the ad were 30 celebrity women who contacted CEO Phil Knight directly. Nike needed help understanding the women's market. It turned to outside marketing researchers. The results of focus group interviews in New York, Chicago, and Seattle conducted with active, working women, 21 to 34 years of age, showed that women viewed sports differently than men did. Sports were a normal part of their daily schedule, not a separate activity, and many women were motivated to try a sport or activity because of an emotional, inner drive. The launch of the www.nikegoddess.com Web site in 2001 was a direct result of this research. On the site, Nike included a survey to learn more about its female consumers and soon discovered that women:
(1) wanted information that would motivate and inspire them;
(2) craved new ideas for ways to do more in their lives because being active wasn't just something to do, it was something they were; and
(3) participated in physical activities to get not just fit but emotionally stronger and more confident.
Questions
1. How should Nike use the information collected from the focus groups and the survey at www.nikegoddess.com to appeal to its female customers?
2. Propose two different research methods besides the focus groups and online survey that would enable Nike to answer the same research questions. Which method(s) would you use?