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The Force Behind the Nike Empire

Phil knight built a successful business by selling shoes. he became a billionaire by selling dreams..

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Photo: Robbie McLaren

By Jackie Krentzman

As 20-year-old Stanford golfer Tiger Woods fought his way to an unprecedented third U.S. Amateur title last summer, Nike founder Phil Knight shadowed him from hole to hole, appraising the young phenom's every smile the way a golf coach would his swing. "I hope we sign him," Knight said at the time. "If not, I hope he goes to medical school." Three days later, Woods called a news conference, stepped before the TV cameras and announced that he was quitting college to join the Professional Golf Association Tour.

"Well," he said with a big grin, "I guess it's 'Hello, world,' huh?"

An adoring sports media lapped up the young man's winning soundbite. Then, just 24 hours later, the other shoe dropped. In a barrage of new TV spots and full-page newspaper ads, Nike unveiled its latest pitchman: pro golfer Tiger Woods. The Nike-crafted tag line on the ads? "Hello, World."

Woods may be the company's current star, but its controversial CEO and founder is the real story. Nike signed Woods to a five-year endorsement deal, reportedly worth more than $40 million, and has thrown its considerable weight behind him. The company is packaging the young golfer--who is part African American, part Chinese, part American Indian, part Thai and part white--as the Jackie Robinson of golf, breaking down barriers each time he steps on a course. The press savaged the ads for posing Woods as a racial trailblazer, a path long since pioneered by black golfers such as Charlie Sifford and Lee Elder.

But the world's largest athletic shoe and apparel company had triumphed again, creating a buzz for its masterful orchestration of Woods's coming-out party and raising hackles with its questionable use of race to promote him. It was pure Philip Hampson Knight: innovative, controversial and very, very successful.

Of course, you'd expect nothing less from the man who turned a tiny company called Blue Ribbon Sports into Nike Corp. , a multibillion-dollar enterprise and a household name. A former middle-distance runner at the University of Oregon (he ran a respectable 4:10 mile), Knight, MBA '62, has been on a 30-year endorphin rush. He has made more money from athletics than anyone, ever. With a net worth of $5.3 billion, Knight ranks sixth on Forbes's latest list of the richest Americans. Blue Ribbon Sports cleared $3,240 in its first year, 1964. In fiscal year 1996, Nike's revenue hit a stratospheric $6.5 billion (with $550 million in income). "In a very short period of time, Phil Knight created one of the greatest American commerce stories of the 20th century," says sports agent David Falk, who has frequently butted heads with Knight over the marketing and representation of athletes.

If one of those athletes weren't Michael Jordan, consumers worldwide might still be pronouncing Nike like Mike. In large part because of that one employee with the thousand-watt smile and springboard legs, there is no greater status symbol among youths than Nike products.

But make no mistake: As athletically awesome and charismatic as Michael Jordan is, he alone did not make Nike as recognizable worldwide as Coke and McDonalds. Nor did he make "Just Do It" the slogan that best encapsulates the 1990s. Nike is a cultural icon because Knight understood and captured the zeitgeist of American pop culture and married it to sports. He found a way to harness society's worship of heroes, obsession with status symbols and predilection for singular, often rebellious figures. Nike's seductive marketing focuses squarely on a charismatic athlete or image, rarely even mentioning or showing the shoes. The Nike swoosh is so ubiquitous that the name Nike is often omitted altogether.

"Phil understands the symbolic power and attractiveness of sports," says A. Michael Spence, dean of the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a Nike board member. "And he helped build that connection in our culture."

Knight also understood that this lust for heroes and appreciation for in-your-face attitude is not limited to American youth. He correctly predicted that American culture was a marketable commodity--that teenagers from Paris to Shanghai would be just as taken with Charles Barkley's ample attitude as teenagers in Trenton and San Diego.

No company has put as much creative energy and resources into marketing celebrities as Nike. If, as Marshall McLuhan famously said, advertising is the greatest art form of the 20th century, then Nike is its Picasso, imaginatively expanding the parameters of the medium's use of the athlete-endorser. "We didn't invent it," Knight acknowledges in an interview, "but we ratcheted it up several notches."

Nike engineered shoes for the top echelon of athletes to compete and train in. At the same time, the company's mass marketing made the shoes so attractive and desirable that they became a de rigueur accessory to the American wardrobe and dream--even if increasingly sedentary teens only wore them to watch TV. Thirty years ago, American teenagers owned either a pair of Converse All-Stars or Keds. Today, the average American boy owns 10 pairs of sneakers.

Understanding how Phil Knight made Nike a household name is easy. Understanding Phil Knight is not. For someone whose empire rests on visceral consumer reactions, Knight is remarkably self-contained.

Once dubbed the "most powerful man in sports" by the Sporting News, Knight presents himself as affable, albeit slightly stiff and a tad shy. He unobtrusively enters the Wimbledon conference room on the fourth floor of the John McEnroe Building on the Nike World Campus in Beaverton, Ore. (a good hour's jog from Portland), clears his throat, introduces himself and apologizes for being 10 minutes late. "Where should I sit?" he asks. Knight isn't wearing his ever-present Oakley sunglasses (he's rarely photographed without them), which is a bonus, as his pale blue eyes open wide and sparkle when a topic engages him.

Like many of the 2,700 employees on the campus, Knight instinctively glances down at his visitor's shoes before taking a seat at the far end of the conference table, his back to the picture window that offers a view of the campus and the 10-acre lake anchoring it. I nervously appraise my black leather, conservative flats and kick myself for making such a boring choice for a meeting with the man who made footwear an art form. It's like picking up John DeLorean in a Yugo.

Knight, 58, still has the lean, almost gaunt build of a runner. Known for his decidedly dressed-down and wrinkled wardrobe, he looks surprisingly natty. A black linen suit drapes loosely over his slender frame. His black, collarless shirt buttons up to his Adam's apple. With his trim beard, collar-length, wavy red-blond hair shrouding most of the gray, he suggests a record executive who looks and sounds remarkably like actor Donald Sutherland.

Knight has been portrayed as mysterious, inscrutable, eccentric, unpredictable, enigmatic, idiosyncratic, shy, aloof, reclusive, competitive and a genius. But the world may never know which adjective suits him best. Knight, who with his wife of 28 years, Penny, has two grown sons, shuns publicity and self-explication the way Howard Stern courts it.

"Genius" is the one attribute on the list that Knight questions. "Other than that, I'm all of those things--most of those adjectives are right some of the time," he says. That's as far as he'll go. When asked a potentially revealing question ("Have you deliberately cultivated an image for yourself, the way Nike has for its clients?") he toys with a can of Diet Pepsi or fiddles with the watch he took off at the start of the interview. He signals that a question is not to his liking by deftly shifting the focus to Nike, lapsing into corporate-speak or even abruptly cutting himself off in mid-sentence and waiting--in stony silence--for the next question.

Knight was raised in Portland, the son of a lawyer turned newspaper publisher. He was a middle-distance runner for the University of Oregon track team, which at the time had one of the best programs in the country. Known as "Buck," Knight had more enthusiasm than talent, which made him the ideal human guinea pig for legendary track coach Bill Bowerman's endless tinkering with running shoes. "I was very aware of shoes when I was running track," Knight says. "The American shoes were offshoots of tire companies. Shoes cost $5, and you would come back from a five-mile run with your feet bleeding. Then the German companies came in with $30 shoes, which were more comfortable. But Bowerman still wasn't satisfied. He believed that shaving an ounce off a pair of shoes for a guy running a mile could make a big difference. So Bowerman began making shoes himself, and since I wasn't the best guy on the team, I was the logical one to test the shoes."

An indifferent student, Knight graduated from Oregon with a degree in journalism in 1959. He enlisted in the army for a year (and served in the reserves for seven), then enrolled at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford.

Stanford changed Knight's life. Finally, school wasn't drudgery. For the first time, he was excited to read about something other than sports. And it was in Frank Shallenberger's small-business class that Knight conceived Nike.

Shallenberger gave his class the following assignment: Invent a new business, describe its purpose and create a marketing plan. In his paper, "Can Japanese Sports Shoes Do to German Sports Shoes What Japanese Cameras Did to German Cameras?" Knight developed a blueprint for superior athletic shoes, produced inexpensively in Japan, where labor was cheaper. "That class was an 'aha!' moment," Knight says. "First, Shallenberger defined the type of person who was an entrepreneur--and I realized he was talking to me. I remember after writing that paper, saying to myself: 'This is really what I would like to do.' "

After graduating from Stanford, Knight acquiesced to his father's wishes and secured a "real" job with a Portland accounting firm. But first, he traveled to Japan, where he became enamored of Japanese culture and business practices. To this day, visitors to his office must remove their shoes--even their $180 Air Pamirs--before entering. And Knight took leave of our interview by forming a steeple with his hands and bowing.

Much has been made of Knight's meditative, almost dreamy mien and his affinity for all things Asian, especially Japanese. Knight refined both his philosophy of life and business while in Japan. He studied Asian culture and religion and climbed Mount Fuji, which the Japanese consider a sort of pilgrimage. He also visited the Onitsuka shoe factory in Kobe, which was producing Adidas knock-offs, called Tigers. Knight was so impressed with both the quality and low production costs that he made a deal with Onitsuka to distribute Tigers in the United States.

After returning from Japan in 1964, the 26-year-old Knight began peddling Onitsuka running shoes from the back of his green Plymouth Valiant at track meets across the Pacific Northwest. Adidas was hardly quaking in its cleats, and Knight kept his day job as an accountant. But he persevered, convinced that his inexpensive, high-performance shoes could beat the top "sneakers"--Adidas, Converse All-Stars and Keds--in the market. By 1969, at the fortuitous dawn of the jogging boom, Knight sold a million bucks worth of Onitsuka shoes bearing his Blue Ribbon Sports label.

In 1971, Knight decided he could retire his accountant's wing tips. It was also time to give his fledgling company a new name and logo. Knight favored "Dimension Six," but his 45 employees thankfully laughed that one down. Then Jeff Johnson, '63, a fellow running geek, proposed a name that came to him in a dream: Nike, for the Greek winged goddess of victory. The company paid $35 to commission a new logo--a fat checkmark dubbed a "swoosh"--and the new shoe debuted at the 1972 Olympic trials in Eugene, Ore.

Nike sold $3.2 million worth of shoes in 1972, and its profits doubled each of the next 10 years. Nike passed Adidas to become the industry leader in the United States in 1980, the year it went public. The company made a quantum leap in 1984 when it signed the 21-year old Jordan to endorse a basketball sneaker. Within a year, it seemed that every boy in America was strutting about in the clunky, siren-red Air Jordan high-tops. "It wasn't planning," Knight says. "We could see that he was a charismatic guy who jumps over the moon and is very competitive, but nobody could have predicted what he would become to our culture."

Now it seems formulaic--sign a gifted athlete to a lucrative endorsement contract, give him his own television commercial and shoe, blow him up larger than life and count the money. But in 1984, it was unprecedented. By signing, promoting and eventually turning Jordan into a legend, Nike played a pivotal role in revving up the cult of personality that now pervades sports. (Knight still gets a kick out of telling this story: "A few years ago there was a poll in China to name the greatest man ever. The winner was Mao, but there was a tie for second between [revolutionary hero] Zhou Enlai and Michael Jordan of the Chicago Red Oxen!").

Ironically, the chairman of the company that has set the standard with its groundbreaking, creative advertising campaigns (It's Gotta Be the Shoes, Bo Knows, Just Do It, Griffey for President) had to be talked into advertising at all. "I used to believe that a good product sold itself," says Knight, who like many of his employees sports a Nike "swoosh" tattoo, his on his left calf. "When I first went to meet with Wieden and Kennedy [Nike's Portland-based ad agency], I told them: 'I don't like advertising.' And I'm still uneasy with it."

Others are just uneasy with Nike's particular brand of advertising. Even though the company's commercials have been hailed as pop art, Nike has been denounced for turning sports stars into cartoonish überathletes and creating a market of young consumers blinded by idolatry. And for those with underdeveloped public personas, Nike has not hesitated to fill in the blanks. Nothing wrong with that, Knight believes. Sports isn't about truth and accuracy. It's the central, unifying culture of the United States and the stuff of romance and dreams. "Sports is like rock 'n' roll," he says. "Both are dominant cultural forces, both speak an international language, and both are all about emotions."

Some consider Nike--with its swoosh popping up on uniforms, on the lapels of college basketball coaches, even as bus-size renderings on walls of stadiums--responsible for the over-commercialization of sports. Nike is certainly not the first or only corporation to wield considerable influence in the sports world, but it is the most brazen and visible. "Nike is the prime representative of the way we overmarket and overadvertise and overdo everything these days," says Todd Boyd, a professor of critical studies in the USC school of cinema and television. "The market is saturated to the point where it can be sickening. The problem is, we now have people going gaga over a commercial, as much or more so than they do the sport itself. Enough already."

For a time, Nike became a lightning rod for all sorts of criticism. The company came under fire in the early 1990s when there was a spate of shootings and knifings in American inner cities by teenagers coveting Nikes, which were just then pushing the $100 mark. Newspaper columnists decried "Just Do It" as a nihilistic slogan that justified or even begat these crimes. Nike was accused of focusing its ad campaigns on children in the ghettos, although, ironically, athletic shoes are the most cross-cultural of commodities.

Then, in the 1992 Olympics, the company hit its public relations nadir when the Nike endorsers on the Olympic basketball "Dream Team" refused to wear the official Olympic warm-up jerseys on the medal stand because they bore the logo of archrival Reebok. Nike was perceived as demanding that its athletes put shoe company before country. The incident became a symbol for those concerned with the inexorable and rapidly advancing influence of money in the world of athletics, obscuring or even warping the purity of the Games themselves.

Also in 1992, a group named Made in America called for a boycott of Nike products because Nike shoes (like most athletic footwear) are made overseas, mainly in Asia where labor is cheap. Nike has been criticized for its low pay and abusive treatment of some workers. Using independent subcontractors, Nike makes many of its products in Indonesia, a world pariah for its well-documented human-rights abuses. New York Times columnist Bob Herbert has launched his own crusade against Nike. He accuses the company of exploiting Indonesians while quietly encouraging the Suharto government to crack down on dissent.

Over the years, Nike has also rattled cages with its penchant for signing athletes with rebellious, even dicey, reputations, such as the outspoken Barkley and the untethered Chicago Bull, Dennis Rodman. Not that Reebok endorser Sean Kemp or Converse man Larry Johnson (both guilty of taunting lesser opponents while representing the United States in the 1994 World Games) are paragons of virtue, but Nike pioneered the trend of signing athletes who project attitude as well as excellence.

An impenitent Knight shrugs when asked about these issues. "Our business practices are no different than those of our competitors," he says. "But we are bigger, and thus more visible, so we get more flack."

But it's more than that. Nike courts controversy. For instance, Nike donated $25,000 to Tonya Harding's defense fund in 1994, in part to tweak Reebok, the sponsors of Nancy Kerrigan. Nike's analog isn't the conservative team owner, but the cocky superstar who sets the agenda and is so wildly popular he knows he can get away with just about anything. "Nike is at times feisty, or counterestablishment, deliberately," says Spence, the business school dean. "That's partly Phil and partly the athletic culture Nike is modeled after."

As Nike ran away with the athletic-shoe market in the '80s, these criticisms were merely annoying pebbles wedged in its shoes. But then the company made a fatal mistake, one of great hubris. It forgot about the women. When the aerobic fad hit in the mid-'80s, Nike ignored it. But fledgling Boston-based Reebok high-stepped right in, creating a somewhat flimsy, but attractive shoe that women bought like tickets to a Meryl Streep movie. Reebok's sales surpassed Nike's in 1987. That struck a nerve, as it flouted, even mocked, Knight's bedrock belief that, above all, authenticity and function sell shoes. To this day, Knight scorns Reebok and its chairman, Paul Fireman, for its emphasis on fashion. "We're not in the fashion business, as the Wall Street Journal wrote the other day," says Knight, clearly still peeved. "We're in the sports business, and there's a big difference."

Reebok's blindside tackle gave Knight pause. Until then, Nike prided itself on being something of a counterculture corporation. Irreverence and risk-taking were prized; the athletic establishment and corporate wisdom were disdained. In keeping with Nike's collegiate, fraternal atmosphere, the company's sprawling complex was officially dubbed the Campus. Employees reported to work in sneakers and shorts, partied hard and made decisions on the run. "We had no master plan," Knight acknowledges. "It was totally seat-of-the-pants." As if to underscore the fact that he wasn't a typical CEO, Knight once showed up at a company event in drag.

But when Nike was dislodged from the top, he realized that his fly-by-Knight approach would no longer work. Knight streamlined the company (laying off 600 of the company's 2,000 employees) and reorganized Nike along more conventional, corporate lines. Where Knight was once famous for governing by instinct, today Nike studies reams of statistics and convenes a focus group before designing a new shoelace. The marketing budget grew, and so did the emphasis on design, Nike's euphemism for fashion.

Nike is back on top because it grew up, but Knight clearly misses his company's adolescent days. "At first, we couldn't be establishment, because we didn't have any money," Knight says. "We were guerrilla marketers, and we still are, a little bit. But, as we became No. 1 in our industry, we've had to modify our culture and become a bit more planned."

Realigned, Nike replaced Reebok at the top of the charts in 1989 and has remained there ever since. Nike outdistanced its competitors by moving beyond basketball, tennis and track to control the women's and outdoor markets. (Nike also owns Cole-Haan, the dress-shoe manufacturer, and Canstar Sports Inc., the world's largest hockey equipment company.) Nike still takes risks and challenges the sports establishment, but much of the criticism leveled against the company has quieted. Nike has become a major player in promoting women's sports as well as funneling money into inner-city sports programs.

Now, 10 years after Nike's upheaval, Phil Knight has become a sort of professor emeritus. He has handed over the daily running of the company to Thomas Clarke, who was appointed president in 1994. Knight, who describes his own management style as "selectively hands-on," is still an everyday, hovering presence and very much the man in charge. But these days he is more interested in being an artist than a businessman. "At this stage in my life, the creative process is of great interest to me," he says.

For Knight, that means finding new markets to dominate and new products to peddle. Nike has enjoyed great growth in the women's, apparel and outdoors markets. Nike is also opening up more Nike Town stores, which are as much museum as retail outlet. (Chicago's store is one of the city's top tourist attractions.) These towering shrines look about as much like a typical shoe store as Dennis Rodman looks like a typical human. But the biggest push will be overseas. Nike already owns 25 percent of the world market, dwarfing its competitors. That still leaves billions of un-Niked feet out there.

Knight's overriding goal is to ensure Nike's legacy. "Phil is always thinking ahead," says Nelson Farris, Nike's director of corporate education and a Knight confidante for 23 years. "He once said in a speech that the worst thing he could envision was to sit his grandkids on his knee and have them ask him, 'What's a Nike?' "

Knight is not one for reflection. Time spent basking in the glow of success or recounting past triumphs is time wasted. Just as a baseball player is only as good as his last at-bat, Knight figures Nike is only as good as its last quarterly report. Plato may have thought the unexamined life was not worth living, but what did he know? All he wore was a pair of sandals.

Occasionally, though, Knight does indulge himself. Late at night, he leans back in his office chair and gazes out the window. Lights reflect off the lake and illuminate the four miles of running trails that crisscross and surround the campus. "Sometimes I look out there and I get goosebumps," says Knight, almost dreamily. A small smile flits across his face, but he quickly checks it. His voice hardens.

"But you better not spend much time doing that, because every six months is a new lifetime, and you've got to worry about what's coming up to stay ahead of the curve," he says. "If you want to spend time saying this is cool, you're going to get your ass kicked."

Knight laughs uncomfortably and reaches for his watch as if embarrassed to have committed two personal transgressions: He reflected out loud, and he exposed a small corner of his heart. He straightens out of a slouch, steadies his gaze and, like a shortstop, waits to field the next question. The message is clear: introspection over. It's time once again to just do it.

Jackie Krentzman is a freelance writer based in the Bay Area.

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Knight the King: The Founding of Nike

• Format: Print
• | Language: English
• | Pages: 22

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• Faculty Research
• Knight the King: The Founding of Nike  By: Noam Wasserman and Kyle Anderson

Just Do It: Analysis of Nike’s Marketing Strategies and Growth Recommendations

• Catherine Yan
• Christopher Brown
• Anne Greenleaf

Nike is a global leader in the athleticwear industry, selling products for all ages, genders, and sizes. The company was founded in 1964 by runner and businessman Phil Knight and his track and field coach, Bill Bowerman, with the goal of creating the perfect running shoe. Since then, Nike has established the iconic Swoosh and “Just Do It” slogan globally.  But how has Nike become so renowned, and how have marketing strategies given them an edge over their competitors? And is there anything Nike can do to grow further? The paper investigates Nike’s target consumers, their direct-to-consumer operations, their recent success in e-commerce due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Nike’s social media strategies, and consumers’ reasons to support the brand, ultimately understanding and analyzing the marketing strategies that Nike has implemented and their effectiveness. A key component of Nike’s marketing strategy is understanding their consumers: who they are, what they want, and how to best appeal to them. This has fostered Nike’s direct-to-consumer business (which has increasingly become digital in the role of e-commerce), their large social media presence (which increases their brand engagement and awareness), design innovation, strides in diversity, and more. In addition, the paper recommends that for Nike to boost growth, as Nike shifts their focus to e-commerce, they should focus particularly on emerging markets, which are growing markets that often grow faster than other markets. In addition, Nike should collaborate with more brands and personalities and release more styles to help them grow in the future.

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Nike: An Innovation Journey

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Nike is an American multinational company that has evolved to become a global leader in athletic wear with annual sales exceeding $21 billion in 2016, more than half of which is attributed to international markets. Since its inception in 1964, Nike has been an innovation leader in product development, marketing and consumer experience. Due to a dedication to continuous innovation, Nike has been able to sustain a competitive advantage within the athletic apparel and footwear marketplace. This case highlights key points in Nike’s journey of innovation and examines how Nike has successfully emerged as a global champion within the athletic wear industry. Based on these analyzed strategies, this case provides implications that are relevant for practitioners and academics.

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The Jordan brand was launched in 1984 when basketball star Michael Jordan signed a contract with Nike. An outcome of this five-year, $2.5 million deal was a brand new line of shoes called Air Jordan (Footlocker, 2017 ).

With roots in beach culture, Hurley was established in Southern California in 1999 by Bob Hurley. Initially, it was known for surf-related products but eventually became a youth lifestyle brand (Transworld Survey, 2002 ).

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Childs, M., Jin, B. (2018). Nike: An Innovation Journey. In: Jin, B., Cedrola, E. (eds) Product Innovation in the Global Fashion Industry. Palgrave Studies in Practice: Global Fashion Brand Management . Palgrave Pivot, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-52349-5_4

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Nike: Sustainability and Labor Practices 1998-2013

By: Glenn Carroll, Debra Schifrin, David Brady

Nike's labor practices were the subject of high profile public protests in the 1990s, and CEO Mark Parker said the company still had a lot of work to do in that area. The case also details how making…

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The case discusses Nike's sustainability and labor practices from 1998 to 2013, focusing on the successful steps Nike took up and down the supply chain and in its headquarters to make its products and processes more environmentally friendly, and the challenges and complexities it was still facing in its efforts to improve labor conditions.

Nike's labor practices were the subject of high profile public protests in the 1990s, and CEO Mark Parker said the company still had a lot of work to do in that area. The case also details how making sustainability a key part of the design process led Nike to develop more innovative and high-performing products, such as a breakthrough running shoe called the Flyknit, which was widely worn at the 2012 Olympics. Following protests in the late 1990s over unsafe working conditions, low wage rates, excessive overtime, restrictions on employee organizing, and negative environmental impacts, Nike began shifting from a reactive to a proactive mode. During the 15 years covered in this case, Nike made significant changes in its sustainability practices, including moving its Corporate Responsibility team much further upstream in the organization, where it could have a greater impact on decisions by providing input early in the process. The company also developed multiple indexes that measured its sustainability practices and those of its independent contract manufacturers. The indexes had metrics for measuring the relevant impacts of product waste, water, chemistry, labor, and energy. Nike's critics said many labor issues had not been resolved, but Nike made progress in that area through collaboration with governments, NGOs and labor unions, and through management compliance trainings. If a contract factory did not score high enough on the company's sustainability and labor ratings scales, Nike would impose sanctions on the factory or even drop it from the supply chain. These actions took Nike off the top of most activists' target lists.

Learning Objectives

The learning objective of the case is for students to understand how a large, high-profile global company is navigating the complexities of becoming more sustainable and improving labor practices.

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Nike: Brief History and Business Description Research Paper

Introduction, history and overview.

Many modern companies attract people’s attention and remain in demand for a long period. Each organization has its history, mission, and a hardworking team. There are also such companies that distinguish from others by their unique approach to every aspect of the chosen business, and Nike is one of them. It is not enough to say that Nike is about bringing innovation and inspiration to endorse athletes (Knight, 2016). This company helps millions of people regardless of their race, age, or gender discover potential and contribute to the creation of an effective sports future. In this paper, a brief historical overview of Nike will be offered to identify an outline and a purpose of a research project and understand better its strategic management, segmentation, and strengths in the current US market.

Despite economic challenges and unstable international trade relationships around the whole globe, Nike stays one of the companies with a strong brand image and a number of regular customers. Sustainable growth of Nike is determined by technological advancements in one particular field, sportswear. Its analysis is a good opportunity to investigate sports management, strategies that continue working during several decades, and employees’ enthusiasm that makes customers choose Nike among other successful sportswear organizations. The purpose of a future research paper is to identify the role of Nike in the US market by discussing its product segmentation peculiarities, recent marketing strategies, and competitors. First, a brief evaluation of the recent achievements of Nike will be introduced, using recent annual reports of the company. Second, the investigation of its products, strategies, and competitors will be expanded to clarify this company’s tactics and prospects. Finally, a SWOT analysis will be developed to conclude its final achievements, as well as weak and strong issues in the market.

The discussion of Nike success may be rooted in its history and the first steps of its founders. In 1964, a coach, Bill Bowerman, and an athlete, Phil Knight, founded the company known as Blue Ribbon Sports in Beaverton, Oregon that officially turned into Nike in 1971. Bowerman made a pair of shoes for a local sportsman, providing him with necessary motivation and support. Knight (2016) admits that Bowerman always said that inspiration usually came from quotidian things that may be eaten, observed, or experienced. The simplicity of ideas attracted the attention of many people so in one year more than 1000 pairs of shoes were sold.

In less than ten years, Nike demonstrated good results of its work by expanding business from the United States to China and many European countries. At the end of 1980s, Nike bought several small companies meeting its equipment and human resource purposes. Due to fast technological progress, Nike became able to use technologies in its production and manufacturing and offer a wide range of technologically advanced products. There are two major directions in Nike production: sports equipment and street fashion. On the one hand, athletes can buy professional running shoes, cleats, shorts, and baselayers that can be used by players in football, hockey, basketball, and other types of sport. On the other hand, ordinary (not sports) people may also enjoy Nike products (e.g., shoes, socks, and suits) for everyday use.

In general, Nike serves as an example for many modern companies. It is a strong competitor that uses technology as its main weapon, and an effective motivator that discovers strengths in simple things. The analysis of Nike has its financial, marketing, and management benefits for people from different fields, and its development is a considerable step forward to understanding better the world of sportswear and technologies.

Knight, P. (2016). Shoe dog: A memoir by the creator of Nike. New York, NY: Scribner.

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IvyPanda. (2022, May 11). Nike: Brief History and Business Description. https://ivypanda.com/essays/nike-company-overview/

"Nike: Brief History and Business Description." IvyPanda , 11 May 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/nike-company-overview/.

IvyPanda . (2022) 'Nike: Brief History and Business Description'. 11 May.

IvyPanda . 2022. "Nike: Brief History and Business Description." May 11, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/nike-company-overview/.

1. IvyPanda . "Nike: Brief History and Business Description." May 11, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/nike-company-overview/.

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IvyPanda . "Nike: Brief History and Business Description." May 11, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/nike-company-overview/.

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Nike’s Situation Analysis:

Primary and Secondary Research

Team 5: The Fifth Dimension

Sydney Corbitt, Alexa Anderson, Christina Cook, Madeline Matthews, Benjamin Wasser

Table of Contents

Overview of research………………………………………………………………2

Situation Analysis………………………………………………………………….4-20 Introduction & Brand History……………………………………………………… 3 Product Evaluation………………………………………………………………….5 Consumer Evaluation……………………………………………………………….7 Competitive Evaluation…………………………………………………………….11 Marketing Environment Evaluation………………………………………………...14 S.W.O.T Analysis …………………………………………………………………..17 Research Questions and Hypothesis………………………………………………..19

Qualitative Study: Focus Group………………………………………………….21-28 Overview …………………………………………………………………………...21 Focus Group 1……………………………………………………………………....21-27 Focus Group 2……………………………………………………………………....21-27 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………..27-28

Qualitative Study: In-Depth Interview…………………………………………..29-32 Overview……………………………………………………………………………29 Interview Responses………………………………………………………………..30-31 Conclusion……...…………………………………………………………………..32

Quantitative Study: Online Survey………………………………………………32-39 Overview……………………………………………………………………………32 Survey Details……………………………………………………………………….33 Analysis …………………………………………………………………………….34-39 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………..39

Overall Conclusion: Just do it ……………………………………………………40-41

References………………………………………………………………………….42-46

Appendix…………………………………………………………………………...47-112

Research Overview

Secondary Research:

In order to determine what questions we needed to answer for our primary research, we first set off in search of information already gathered regarding the current state of the athletic apparel industry. It quickly became apparent that there are two trends currently dominating the world of athletic apparel: Athleisure , a powerhouse in both sales and adoption, and wearable technology, a budding segment of the industry. We found that millennials are one of the fastest growing market segments in the athletic industry. More specifically, female millennials are a major target for athletic brands. They have adopted athleisure organically, before the industry even had a chance to pivot their branding. On the wearable technology side, sales have been steadily increasing for a few years and the market is only predicted to grow. Products such as the Apple Watch and FitBit go hand in hand with the athletic apparel industry, but adoption among millennials has been slow to catch on. This research provided us with information that we used as the foundation of our primary research.

Primary Research:

In order to learn more about the future of the athletic apparel industry and the Nike brand, we set out to conduct our own research. Our plan for gathering this information was to implement three separate research methods. These methods included an online survey with at least 100 respondents, two focus group sessions consisting of at least five people, and fifteen individual in- depth interviews. The data was able to express a variety of consumer habits within the millennial generation. Their data helped us to draw conclusions and analyze the inferential population regarding consumer's habits on Athleisure and wearable technology. Not only we’re we able to see these patterns through consumer consumption, but we were also able to observe the different perspectives towards the Nike brand. Based on our findings from the secondary research, we focused on answering three main questions:

1. How does millennial interest in athleisure apparel differ between genders? 2. How do millennials feel about the move towards casual attire in American fashion ? 3. What is the general perception of wearable technology among millennials?

By conducting this research, we were able to understand the reasons behind consumer attitudes and behaviors through millennials. This research provided us with an abundant amount of data and information that helped us determine the purchasing habits of Athleisure and wearable technology among the millennial generation.

Nike’s Situation Analysis (Secondary)

I. Introduction Paragraph:

In order to have a successful company, you need to know the ins and outs of its past, present and future. First, knowing the background and the history of how the company developed into a multibillion dollar corporation is essential when it comes to evaluating the brand. When a large company develops new and cutting-edge products, knowing the brand’s core values and missions are key. Bill Bowerman spearheaded Nike’s innovative trend with the development of the company’s first revolutionary product: the waffle bottom shoe . Having a product that influenced the history of sports gear pioneered Nike’s dominance of the sports market. This spirit of innovation continued into their revolutionary products. Consumer loyalty and allegiance is what makes a brand victorious. Nike fostered this loyalty through ingenious marketing techniques and practices that consumers recognize and remember for years to come.

However, with innovation comes competition. It is paramount to know who your competitor is and what products they’re producing. Knowing their strengths and weakness can help your brand when opportunities arise, and evaluating your own assets against theirs can allow you to adjust your operations. Not only is it important to know your competitors, it is also crucial to be aware of other other forces that might affect your company. Things such as market trends and the economy can alter the well-being of your company. If your brand wants to succeed in this industry, it is critical to know all internal and external factors acting on your company. By determining these factors and being aware of your company’s past, you can affect the present and alter your future.

II. Nike History & Evaluation:

Before Nike was the powerhouse company that it is today, it was just an idea. The two founders of Nike were University of Oregon track coach, Bill Bowerman, and his former athlete and CPA, Phil Knight . They originally operated as a distributor for a Japanese company called Onitsuka Tiger (now Asics). The Nike company we know today was founded in 1971 with just $1,200 in the bank. Employee Jeff Johnson came up with the idea of naming the company Nike, after the greek goddess of victory (Nike Inc, 2014). When they were trying to find a logo for Nike, they approached a student named Carolyn Davidson at Portland State University to come up with an idea. She designed the iconic “ swoosh ”, and was paid just $35 (now around $200). However, she was later given stock in the company which is now worth $640,000 (Creative Market, 2016).

Figure 1. “Swoosh Design” Source: Creative Market (2016)

A. Bowerman’s Eureka Moment

For years, Bowerman had tried to find lighter track shoes that still had plenty of grip on the sole for his athletes, so that they could run faster. He had experimented with making shoes before, but couldn’t get the soles of the shoes right. His “eureka” moment came one morning in 1971 when his wife was making waffles. He realized that the pattern on a waffle iron would be perfect for the soles of track shoes, and thus Nike’s famous grooved sole pattern was created. In 1974, Bowerman released the “Waffle Trainer” (Nike Inc, 2014).

B. Nike’s Famous Campaigns

Part of the reason that Nike is so prominent today is thanks to its many famous campaigns. Perhaps the most notable being their iconic phrase “Just Do It”. It was inspired by the infamous serial killer Gary Gilmore’s last words “Let’s do it” before his execution in 1977. The first “Just Do It” campaign launched in 1988. It was a commercial that featured Walt Stack, an 80 year old running icon at that time, running across the Golden Gate bridge. Probably the next most famous Nike campaign was the addition of the Michael Jordan line in 1984. Despite the fact that Jordan hasn’t played professional basketball since 2003, he still earns $60 million annually in royalties from the Jordan line, making him the biggest Nike endorsement deal ever. Advertisements like the Spike Lee “Mars Blackmon” commercials in the late 1980s launched the Jordan line forward, and spurred its popularity (Taube, 2013).

C. Sweatshops Controversy

Still, no company’s history is without a low point. For Nike, it was it’s controversy with overseas sweatshops. Nike began focusing its product labor in China and Vietnam where labor unions were prohibited, and therefore promised cheaper labor. When the public found out, there was an immediate uproar. Many people made stands in the form of protests, hunger strikes and boycotts. Many groups were also formed to try and make a difference, including the Worker Rights Consortium. This group organized hunger strikes to protest universities’ use of Nike products for their athletic programs. Feminists groups also mobilized boycotts of Nike products and stores after learning about the unfair working conditions of their female employees. In the 1990s, they employed the “Just Don’t Do It” boycott campaign to inform women of the poor working conditions in factories where women were employed. Social media also enabled this controversy to spread around the world with little to no regulation. However, Nike was able to come out of this crisis by remaining transparent and honest with the public. To this day, Nike still publishes public reports on the conditions of their factories. They also raised minimum wage, increased oversight, and ensured clean air for workers (Nisen, 2013). Figure 2. Source: Nike Inc (2016)

D. Conclusion

Nike’s brand history is exemplary. They were able to dominate the market through strategic and revolutionary advertisements and endorsements. Bowerman and Knight’s passion has managed to spark the imaginations of all Nike employees and lead to astounding mastery of the sports goods market. Even though the controversy with their overseas sweatshops damaged their reputation, they were able to gain back the public’s trust through open communication and honest reports. It can be assessed that they do not have any untapped opportunities. Nike has taken advantage of their resources, and developed relationships that helped them succeed over similar brands and companies.

II. Product Evaluation:

Nike is a well-known brand across the world. Nike provides all different kinds of products, such as sports apparel and shoes. These products range from t- shirts , compression shorts , backpacks, sneakers , cleats, sports equipment, hats and even sunglasses . All of these products come in styles for both men and women, which is why Nike is so diverse in what they are selling.

There are many benefits to the Nike product. Some may say that Nike can be pricey, however, the make of the product is very reliable and typically lasts for a long period of time. One of the most popular Nike products is the Nike Air sneaker. These sneakers are lightweight, versatile, durable and cushioned. Nike uses different types of cushioning such as Max Air, Nike Zoom, Nike Shox , and Lunarlon. Each type of cushioning has its own benefits while having many similar ones as well.

Figure 4. Source: Nike (2016). Figure 3. Source: Cole (2015)

Typically, Nike sneakers cost over $100, but the innovation and material used to make them are essentially what the customers are paying for (Dollinger, 2016). The main 6 materials used in the Nike products are polyester , rubber, eva foam, cotton, synthetic leather and leather. Each having their own benefits, they come together to create the best possible product and give customers the best possible performance (Cole, 2015).

A. Celebrity Endorsement

Nike has several celebrity endorsement deals, as these are becoming more and more popular.

One of the most known celebrity endorsement deals that Nike has is with Michael Jordan. You have probably seen the famous “jumpman” logo. Even though Michael Jordan has not played in the NBA in 13 years, he still is making endorsement deals with Nike to this day. The most recent Jordan product is called the 30th edition of the “ Air Jordan ,” which was released in February of 2016. The Jordan brand raked in an astounding $2.6 billion in 2014 (Dollinger, 2016).

Figure 5. Source: Wiggle (2015)

B. Nike Innovations

Along with their successful shoe line comes their apparel. Nike is unique in their own way in which they use Dri-FIT. Dri-FIT is a type of microfiber fabric that is polyester. This microfiber polyester moves sweat away from the body and to the surface of the fabric, where it then evaporates. The result of this is keeping the consumer dry and comfy while doing physical activity. This technology is found in their apparel products, such as shirts, hats, socks , pants, sweatshirts and socks (Nike 2016). With over 1,000 Dri-FIT products available, this makes Dri-FIT one of the top competitors in its class. Dri-FIT can also compete with Under Armour Charged Cotton, which consists of 95% treated cotton and 5% spandex . While those are the only materials in Under Armour Charged Cotton, Dri-FIT materials consist of 62% cotton, 34% polyester, and 4% spandex. (Tug, 2016). With more materials used comes more reliability. Dri-FIT has become a sensation around the world and will continue to grow into Nike products.

C. Conclusion

Overall, the Nike product has satisfied millions of customers around the United States . While its top competitors are also successful, Nike comes out on top. You see that famous “swoosh” everywhere you look. On college campuses, on the field at all levels of sports, and even just in the grocery store. Bringing both men’s and women’s clothing is an exceptional strength of the Nike product. A weakness of the Nike product is their sports equipment line because that does not make as much sales. They need to find a strategy that can focus more on their useful sports equipment, because that can show the diversity of the company and brand. People are starting to wear more of the Nike brand just as everyday wear, not specifically for workout purposes. This is what makes the Nike brand so universal and unique. It brings the athletic world into the fashion world.

III. Consumer Evaluation:

Nike is widely purchased by consumers around the world and throughout the United States. In

2015, Nike's North American revenue amounted to about 13.74 billion U.S. dollars (Nike, 2015). US-based Nike is the world leader in athletic footwear and apparel (Nike, 2015). Nike heavily focuses on selling their brand to recreational users who commonly use these products for physical events or sporting activities. Not only does Nike emphasize selling athletic gear to consumers, but they also concentrate on selling everyday, universal apparel.

A. Demographics

Nike primarily targets consumers who are between the ages of 25-45 (GFK, 2015). People of all ages buy the brand, but Nike specifically aims to target the highest demographic, being those between the ages of 18-24. This group makes up a target percentage of 32.58%. On the other hand, ages 65+ only make up of about 5.83% of the target index, making this group the weakest consumer group. Nike targets a variety of demographics to fit their consumer segmentation such as women, people who attended college, people who have an occupation, and African Americans (GFK, 2015). In 2013, 23.5% of respondents came from a household where the annual income was 200,000 dollars or more, and stated that they frequently shopped at Nike (IPSOS, 2014).

Figure 6. Nike Demographics 2016:

Source: GfK Mediamark Research & Intelligence (2016)

Nike specifically targets households and teens that have a particular desire to look athletic and fashionable simultaneously (Business Insider, 2015). All socioeconomic classes are targeted as

part of the segmentation of Nike’s demographics. Nike’s top consumers who use this product are women, young athletes and men (Business Insider, 2015).

B. Female Consumers

Women in their 20’s and 30’s are employing the “athleisure trend,” in which customers are buying attire like leggings with the desire of wearing them ubiquitously to the gym or a night out (Business Insider, 2015). Nike says the women's clothing line could add $2 billion in additional sales by 2017 (Nike, 2015). Females are more likely to purchases these products than males. Women are also purchasing this brand for members of their family including their husbands and their upcoming young athletes.

C. Male Consumers

Unlike females, males are not as heavy users of Nike products. Woman exceed the consumer market by over 8 million compared to the men. Nike’s top consumer is the African American male. GFK states that Nike targets 31.14% of African American consumers whereas white consumers only make up about 19.27% of consumers (GFK, 2015). Mintel market estimates that general market spending in the footwear category accounts for 21% of white consumers versus Black consumers’ accounts at 27% (Mintel, 2016).

Figure 7. Source: Statista (2015)

D. Youth Consumers

Young athletes, primarily males, are a large consumer in the sporting goods industry. Nike is

ranked 1st with 49% of male lifestyle consumers having purchased Nike in the past year (Sportsonesource, 2014). The graph below shows that in 2015, Nike was the leader in athletic apparel brands throughout teens.

E. Psychographics

Nike is one of the most recognizable brands in the world (Forbes, 2016). Nike specifically targets sports viewers and athletes. They are a dominant sponsor for professional sports; as a brand sponsor in the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and MLS. The brand also sponsors some of the most famous athletes in professional sports including Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Roger Federer. Nike’s high consumer brand recognition can be acknowledged by professional endorsements and national publicity.

These products are easily accessible to consumers and can be purchased online or in store. In 2016, Nike operated 196 factory stores, 34 in-line stores, 103 converse stores, and 29 Hurley stores in the United States (Nike, 2016). Web sales increased 55.1% to $1.19 billion from an Internet Retailer estimated $767.0 million in fiscal 2014 (Nike, 2016). Nike operates non-factory store locations in major cities and these stores are designed to educate and inspire consumers (Nike, 2016). The web accounted for 3.9% of sales compared with 2.8% in the prior year (2014) (Emarketer, 2014). According to U.S. mom internet users, Nike is 4th of the most popular brands that they shop for (Emarketer, 2014).

In addition to consumers wearing this brand for sport, they are also wearing it leisurely. Consumers are demanding more versatile wear with wider functionality, which means retailers are continuing to produce new styles of sports apparel for men, women and children. Consumption will continue to be driven by a trend that is less formal in daily life particularly in the workplace.

Since Nike’s apparel is becoming more functional and universal, problems throughout consumer marketing can arise. In addition to Nike’s typical marketing strategy, the brand will soon have to take on a new advertising technique of appealing to ALL consumers. Nike will have to face the problem that their clothing is not only for athletes but for the average person. They will have to transform and adapt their brand for this new consumer market in order for their products to be able to keep up with competition and prevent a loss of customers.

In the future, Nike will also have to recreate and focus their marketing techniques on new consumers based on specific demographics like teenagers and baby boomers. Nike has been a top brand for Millennials, Generation X, and Baby Boomers because these are the generations that grew up or watched sponsored athletes like Michael Jordan (Sportsonesource, 2014).

People who were raised watching these professionals, now associate these players to Nike’s brand. For example, Generation Z will not know what Nike’s “Air Jordan” are because they were not born during this time period. In due time, the brand will have to reconsider endorsing new

athletes based on the upcoming generations who are the next cycle of consumers. This can be an opportunity for Nike in the fact that they can control their marketing strategies, since they know who their upcoming consumer will be.

F. Conclusion

In this consumer evaluation, there are many conclusions that can be drawn from this data. First, females are not only wearing this brand for sport, but they are also wearing this brand because it is considered fashionable. Woman see this apparel not only as trendy but also comfortable and everyday- multipurpose clothing. In addition, women are heavy consumers for Nike when it comes to ordering apparel online. It can be assumed that they are not only purchasing merchandise for themselves but for members of their family, including their husbands and their upcoming young athletes.

Young athletes are also a large consumer of the brand because they see professional athletes through many types of media. Young athletes are influenced to purchases Nike products because they look up to these sponsored athletes as role models and idols. It can be generalized that these young competitors are influenced to convince their guardians or specifically their mothers to purchase this sport gear.

We can correspondingly conclude that men don’t purchase as much apparel as woman because they have the reputation of not wanting to shop. It can be presumed that men specifically wear this brand for sports activity and not everyday clothing. It is also predicted that African American males are a top consumer because they like to be fashionable and trendy with a top brand that’s has a good price and high quality. Males still buy Nike products and this can be speculated because of the endorsed African American athletes and brands that Nike sponsors.

It can also be predicted that the older generation does not purchase Nikes apparel because they are not inclined to be as fashionable or as active in sports as much as the younger generation. We can also conclude that consumers buying Nike’s products are employed and have a steady and or high household income. This can be determined by looking at the average price per item and considering that these prices are not cheap.

Maintaining and recognizing the demographics of the segmented consumer is essential when selling these products. Knowing who your consumer is and understanding their psychographics is what helps makes the company profit. It is critical that you know you target audience and common consumer.

IV. Competitive Evaluation:

A. Direct Competitors:

Nike has always been known to be the frontrunner in the athletic apparel and shoe markets. The top direct competitors for Nike include Adidas and its sub company Reebok, Puma, Under Armour and Skechers. These companies produce and sell athletic shoes and apparel with similar target audiences to Nike.

Adidas was founded in 1993. This company made itself popular through network and cable television ads, along with advertisements in magazines. From 2015 to now, Adidas has 34.6 percent of its ads on network television, 27.5 percent on cable television, and 22.7 percent in magazines. A small percentage of the ads can be found on the world- wide web. Adidas’s advertising budget year to year growth is approximately 39 percent; the total cost adding up to $160 million in 2015 (Redbooks, Source:Statista 2016). Adidas raked in $18.48 billion in sales, profiting almost $693 million and surpassing Nike (Hampton, 2016).

Figure 8. Source: Statista (2016)

Reebok was founded in 1979 and was a leading brand in the market during the 1980’s (Redbooks, 2016). Nike popped up and gave Reebok a run for its money. Nike began to dominate the market. Adidas bought Reebok in 2005 and revamped the brand. The year to year growth in Reebok’s budget is 23.5 percent (Redbooks, 2016). The marketing strategies are almost identical to Adidas, for obvious reasons. The one difference between Adidas and Reebok that stands out is the current 2016 main promotion strategy. Adidas is primarily using network television and Reebok has over 60 percent invested in magazine advertisements (Redbooks, 2016).

Focusing more on television advertisements can be a win or lose market. With the tools Americans have to avoid commercials, companies have to rely more on product placement and endorsements, which cost a lot of money. Adidas and Reebok can learn from Nike how to spread out the media channels used to market their products.

3. Under Armour

Under Armour was founded in 1996. Almost two decades later, this company out of Baltimore, Maryland raked in almost $4 billion in sales, profiting about $232.57 million (Green, 2016).

Under Armour put almost 50 percent of its advertisements on cable television from 2015 to now. The company has about 30 percent on the internet, and six percent in magazines. For just the 2016 year so far, Under Armour switched things up a bit; 53 percent of ads are on cable television, about 40 percent are found on the internet, and magazine ads have dropped down to about two percent (Redbooks, 2016). Comparing Under Armour to Adidas and Reebok, Under Armour focuses more on internet ads than magazine ads. Both companies still have high stakes in television ads.

Puma has been around for a very long time; it was founded in 1948. This company’s 2015 revenue was $3.7 billion and the profit was a little over $40.5 million (Biesada, 2016). Puma mainly markets its products through television advertisements. From 2015 to now, Puma has put about 90 percent of the ads on television and about eight percent of the ads are marketed outdoors. So far, just in 2016, the company has promoted 73 percent of the ads through cable television, 14.5 percent outdoors, and over 12 percent of ads are online. Puma’s advertising budget from 2015 was only $9.7 million (Redbooks, 2016). That’s less than 15 percent of Nike’s 2015 budget.

Puma relies heavily on the television advertisements. The strategy could be to push other competitors out of the way and dominate with a specific media platform. With Nike placing roughly 40 percent of its ads on television, and Puma using about 90 percent, it’s possible Puma could reach more of the market’s target audience members. On the other hand, Puma lacks in internet advertisements compared to other competitors. Having more advertisements online could help persuade target audience members to shop online for Puma products.

5. Skechers

Skechers was founded in 1992 (Redbooks, 2016). This is one of the more affordable brands. Skechers has almost an equal balance between magazine and television advertisements. From 2015 to now, Sketchers placed 45 percent of its advertisements in magazines and about 46 percent of the advertisements on television, which includes Spanish language television. The advertising budget increased greatly since 2013. In 2013, the budget was $71.7 million, then $85.4 million in 2014, and increased greatly to $129.2 million in 2015 (Redbooks, 2016). The revenue for Skechers in 2015 was $3.16 billion, profiting about $231.9 million, just short of what Under Armour profited (Hudspeth, 2016).

B. Indirect Competitors:

1. Sperry Top Sider

Sperry Top Sider is a brand under the company Wolverine Worldwide. These boat shoes have become increasingly popular to people of all ages. In 2015, the company launched marketing campaign called “The Odyssey Campaign: Odysseys Await” and it was budgeted at $18 million. The goal was to target adventurous millennials. There was an online contest that would select 80 people to go on adventures to celebrate the 80 years of Sperry’s existence. The campaign also had television commercial advertisements. At the time, Sperry Top-Sider owned 70 percent of the boat shoe market share. By Q1 of its fiscal year, Wolverine Worldwide’s revenue was already at $631.4 million and had profited $40.1 million, which was up 7.8 percent (Martinez, 2015).

Targeting millennials is an advantageous marketing strategy because they are the new wave of audience members who are open to new things and at their current ages, most millennials can financially afford a brand like Sperry Top-Sider.

Crocs are known for its universal use for a shoe and its comfort level. The shoes are designed for indoors, outdoors, water, dirt, hot and cold weather, and even designated work shoes. Targeted audience members may sway towards Crocs for the comfort and universal use. These shoes differ from Nike because Nike is more so known for the athletic kind of shoe. Crocs aren’t exactly made for runners. The majority of Crocs’ advertisements are on television, just like most of the other brands listed above. The company’s revenue in 2015 was approximately $1.1 billion, profiting almost $511 million (amigobulls, 2016). That is almost as much as Adidas, the 2015 front runner in the market.

3. Timberland

Timberland, founded in 1973, is a brand that reaches out to a different, yet similar target audience (Redbooks, 2016). The products sold by this brand are either used for a specific purpose, or purchased for fashion reasons. Timberland shoes are more like utility boots and are designed for the outdoors. The design of the shoe is how Timberland differentiates itself from the Nike brand. Also like Crocs, Timberland shoes aren’t meant for working out in a gym. Timberland’s main media platform for advertisements are magazines, standing at about 67 percent (Redbooks, 2016).

Nike is one of the most popular athletic brands in an industry with a wide variety of competition, both on the national and international level. All opportunities must be exhausted in order to be able to be one the most successful brand in the world. As long as the company reaches a

common consumer across all types of media, Nike will be more likely to keep growing and dominating the market.

V. Marketing Environment Analysis:

A. Market Trends - The Establishment of Athleisure

The last three years has seen a phenomenon known as “athleisure” causing a boom in the athletic segment of American fashion, in an otherwise stagnant industry. Athleisure has become a popular term in fashion to refer to articles such as yoga pants and sweatpants worn for everyday use, rather than for their intended purpose – exercise. Consumers have embraced this idea by the masses. The fashion shift was so sudden, that between the business years 2012-13 and 2013-14, Nike’s revenue grew by 23%; it has an otherwise 6.1% average annual growth rate (Petrillo, 2016). In 2014, Nike decided to publicly pursue the increase in sales and introduced a new line of “chic” active wear for women and hired supermodel Karlie Kloss to promote it. That same year, Nike said they hoped the women’s market would allow them to boost their annual sales by $2 billion by 2017 (Kell, 2014).

Athleisure has become so popular in American culture that in just three years the market has become entirely saturated (Banjo, 2016). Discount retail powerhouses Walmart and Target have entered the market with ease . “Fast fashion” stores like H&M and Forever21 have also released their lines of fitness clothes sold primarily for everyday use. In 2015, new brand arrivals soared 341% when compared to the previous year (Weinswig, 2016)). Nearly every sector of the apparel industry jumped on the athleisure bandwagon.

Figure 9. Source: Sports one source (2014)

Due to initial oversaturation, the market lost a few competitors who couldn’t compete with the shift. Sports Authority, American Apparel , and Quicksilver all filed for bankruptcy in 2015 (Banjo, 2016). However 2016 has displayed a sort of market equilibrium. Prices on active-wear

style tights fell 9% in Q1 of 2016 compared to Q1 of 2015, and the units-sold-to- revenue ratio has plummeted (Banjo, 2016). The growth of individual business have tapered off as well. In Q1 of 2015, Under Armour saw 22% growth, but in the same quarter of 2016, sales were down 2% from 2015 (Banjo, 2016). Though the growth has come to a standstill, the trend is here to stay. Despite the lessened growth, Morgan Stanley still predicts that fitness apparel will hit $83 billion by 2020 (Weinswig, 2016). Much like denim , American consumers have gladly adopted athleisure into their everyday lives.

B. Market Trend – Shift in Focus to the Female Market

In July 2016, it was estimated that 61% of women are currently exercising (Gilbert, 2016). To reach this target, brands have begun using strong female athletes in more and more of their campaigns. In June 2016, Nike began creating videos for their “Unlimited” Campaign featuring female Olympic athletes (Gilbert, 2016). The videos showcased the athletes is a more personal light, rather than focus on their skill. Following suit , in July 2016, Reebok released their “Perfection of Imperfection” ad featuring Ronda Rousey (Gilbert, 2016). Strong women are more frequently being used in marketing campaigns throughout the athletic apparel industry.

It should also be noted that when it comes to purchasing athletic apparel, 95% of women still prefer shopping in a brick-and-mortar store (D’Adamo, 2015). The in-store experience provides a feeling that online shopping can’t match. Women like to be able to touch their clothing prior to purchase. However, as women find consistency in size and fit, they are expected to shift to online purchasing.

C. Market Trend – Wearable Devices

In 2015, it was estimated that 39.5 million American adults regularly use wearable devices like smartwatches and fitness trackers (Martin, 2015). That figure is a 57.7% increase from 2014, and it is predicted that American adults using wearable devices will reach 81.7 million by 2018.

Despite the additional functionality, the introduction of smartwatches did not kill the fitness tracker industry. In 2015, Apple sold 7.5 million smartwatches while FitBit sold 9.2 million fitness trackers (Martin, 2015). That year, fitness wearables pulled in $3.3 billion; by 2020 it is expected to reach $10 billion.

Interestingly enough, before discontinuation, Nike owned 10% of the fitness tracker market with its FuelBand launched in 2012 (Sozzi, 2016). However, Nike abandoned this revenue stream in April 2014. Since firing their FuelBand development team, Nike has been focused on creating an app that leverages existing platforms such as the Apple Watch.

Figure 10. Nike’s Revenue in Recent Years Source:Statista (2016)

The athleisure boom is clearly represented in the graph above. In 2012, their apparel segment almost doubled. It continued to grow steadily until 2015, when the market hit its saturation point. However, increased popularity of Nike apparel has seemingly increased popularity in their shoe segment as well. Between the years 2009 and 2010, Nike saw no change in revenue. Once apparel began to grow, shoes quickly followed.

What has remained the same is the disparity between the two product segments. Though apparel sales now make up a larger portion of Nike’s revenue than before, their sales figures are still heavily reliant on shoes.

The athletic industry as a whole has seen a fundamental shift in their market, and Nike has been quick to capitalize. It is safe to say that athleisure is no longer a trend, and that it is here to stay for the foreseeable future. What Nike needs to focus on now is taking that popularity garnished through the organic rise of athleisure, and feed it to their other segments. The future of Nike is in their already enormous athleisure base. Their goal should be refocusing other areas of their product line to meet the needs of Figure 11. “Nike Fuel Band”.Source: athleisure users. Nike (2016)

The next big segment in the athletic world is fitness tech. Already Nike has dabbled in wearable devices, but they have since pivoted to focus on software development for existing devices like the Apple Watch. By using the Apple Watch as a hub, Nike could potentially be the first to integrate tech into an entire line of apparel. Whether it is shoes with chips that gauge weight or impact, or shirts that measure range of motion, Nike is in the position to bridge the gap between apparel and technology. Nike could soon begin marketing their athletic apparel as auxiliary pieces that add functionality to consumers’ already owned smartwatches.

VI. SWOT Analysis:

STRENGTHS: WEAKNESSES: · Popular/Recognizable Brand · Global Market · Expensive Apparel · Positive Brand Statements · Employment Issues · Quick to Capitalize · Retail Issues · High Quality Product · Poor Labor Practices · Early Technology Adopters · Limited Sports Equipment · Higher Social Media Following in · Decline in Celebrity Endorsements Market Segment · Strong Research and Development

OPPORTUNITIES: THREATS:

· Rise of Innovative Products · Big Box Stores entering athletic market · Increased consumer adoption of · Market Saturation technology · Competitor Endorsements · Advancements in Social Media · New fashion brands entering market · New interest among demographic · Competitor Price consumers · New emerging fashion market · Shift in purchasing behavior

A. Strengths:

Nike is one of the most recognizable brands in the world. Its famous logo, the “swoosh,” is understood not only in the U.S., but across the globe. Nike’s positive and encouraging mission statement promotes people of all ages and generations to purchase these products.

Nike understands the needs and desires for the common consumer, and recognizes market trends faster than competition. Often, the competition attempts to reproduce and replicate Nike’s innovations. Nike’s strong use of social media platforms and immense followers allows the public to keep up with new trends and products. Nike’s main focus is to deliver high quality merchandise to the variety of segmented demographics. Nike does vast amounts of research and development in order to constantly change and alter their products towards their consumers needs. Nike’s customers are loyal and devoted to the brand and its merchandise. Nike’s foundation is based upon customer dedication and strives to distribute quality products to the public while simultaneously maintaining a professional reputation.

B. Weaknesses:

Although Nike is popular, sometimes they are known for their expensive prices on their products. Even though customers are paying for quality, the material used is more upscale than its competitors. With high quality materials, the brand tries to keep their prices reasonable. Nike does most of their production overseas. With any company that is not located on American soil, problems can arise. Nike did not keep a close enough eye on overseas production, which caused a discrepancy throughout the company’s history.

While Nike does sell sporting equipment, the brand primarily focuses on shoes and apparel. Nike only sells popular sports equipment when they have the potential to create and sell more of a wide variety of merchandise. Since each piece of equipment is specific to a niche market, Nike carefully chooses its celebrity endorsements to best represent a particular sport. For example, Nike currently sponsors Michael Jordan and Lebron James of the NBA. However, Nike has become popular enough that it could potentially step outside the world of sports for its endorsements. It would be beneficial for them to have a non-athletic celebrity who appeals to the younger generation to endorse their products because it would show the diversity of the company and brand. With these imperfections, the company has potential to modify their weaknesses and turn them into opportunities.

C. Opportunities:

Nike’s ability to embrace trends has positioned them as the leader of the athletic apparel industry. They quickly conquered the athleisure trend, but their sudden growth cannot be sustained unless the brand recognizes what new trends are coming down the pipeline. A major opportunity that has opened up for Nike is in wearable technology. Nike has already scrapped their “Fuel Band”, a piece of hardware designed to compete with FitBit, but they haven’t pulled out of the “fit-tech” market. Instead they have begun to focus on software development for existing wearable platforms. The number of Americans purchasing wearable devices is climbing rapidly, and as popularity catches on, Nike has the chance to set the standard for wearable functionality. With research and development, Nike can integrate its full product line to it’s Apple app, and be the first high-tech apparel to market.

Their recent burst in popularity has also opened up the door to access new demographics. American teens overwhelmingly approve of Nike as an apparel manufacturer for both athletic and everyday purchases. Nike’s women’s market has also exploded. Nike can use this popularity to its advantage by attempting to drive their new consumer base towards other areas of its product line.

D. Threats:

Even though Nike is excelling far above its competitors in its respective market, there are other external factors that can threaten Nike’s success. Less expensive outlets, such as Walmart or Target, can steal targeted audience members because of their athletic and athleisure product prices. When new fashion trends enter the market, brands attempt to make the biggest statement with it. Trends are constantly changing and evolving. Attempting to keep up with the ever- changing market can be costly, especially when the market is overwhelmingly saturated with similar products. It’s not only pricey to keep up with the trends, but Nike must keep up with what appeals best to the largest targeted audience. Nike must strive to stand out firmly from its competition.

Nike is also known to primarily endorse athletes with its brand. With pop culture nowadays, Nike can lose the popular vote to other top competitors who use musicians, actors, actresses, reality TV stars and socialites to promote the competitor’s brand. Kanye West, for example, is working with Adidas for their “Yeezy’s” shoe line. According to the 2015 reports, Adidas had a higher revenue than Nike. Celebrities that are popular are going to influence the public’s shopping behavior. It is in Nike’s best interest to use all celebrities to promote the brand, and not just athletes.

VII. Research Questions, Hypothesis & Rationale:

RESEARCH QUESTION 1:

A. How can Nike redirect their new Athleisure market towards the millennial generation?

Among its competitors, Nike has some of the best social media. On Twitter, they have 6.6 million followers, Facebook has 27 million page likes and their Instagram has 64.1 million followers. They are very active on all of their outlets and respond closely with their customers, which shows both customer service and customer loyalty. However, since their sports equipment sales are not as strong, a campaign marketed towards their equipment, rather than their apparel. The independent variable are the different campaign types. The dependent variable is the effectiveness seen by numerous market trends.

RESEARCH QUESTION 2:

B. Do consumers find Nike or other athletic brands more suitable for everyday Athleisure?

While Adidas has celebrity endorsements by high profile people like Kanye West, Nike’s endorsements are all by athletes. This has the possibility of alienating certain markets who are more interested in “athleisure” rather than actual athletic apparel. Therefore, it is important to find out how consumers perceive the products and strengths of each company. The independent variable is the different types of consumers. The dependent variable is whether Nike or Adidas is more suited for everyday use.

RESEARCH QUESTION 3:

C. In order to gauge consumer interest in wearable technology, how should Nike form their messaging to reach specific target audience members?

Wearable technology is a new commodity that many athletic companies are adding to their merchandise collections. Nike has previously had their own line of wearable technology (Nike Fuel Band, Nike Sports Watch, etc), but they are now pairing up with Apple to create state-of- the-art products. For Nike to be able to find out consumers’ level of interest, they need to find out the best way to reach their target audience. This can be done through several methods. Some options are focus groups, social media polls or field observations at a Nike store or where people are participating in physical activity. The independent variable is the type of messaging Nike should use. The dependent variable is the level of consumers interest.

Figure 12. “Apple Watch Nike+.” Source: Nike (2016).

Nike's Primary Research

Research I. Qualitative Study: Focus Group Interview

A. Overview:

In order to see what consumers think about Athleisure and Wearable technology, we need to locate people in the millennial generation who can express their opinions and thoughts on this new trend. Conducting two separate focus group with 10-12 different participants will help us collect this data. Not only will this research help in navigating consumer habits, but it will also provide us with personal attitudes towards certain products. This way of researching will give us the opportunity to ask in-depth and descriptive questions. Participants will be able to express how they feel with the addition of comments from others in the group. We want to be able to understand and determine why millennials like or dislike athleisure and wearable technology. On November 10th, 2016, our research team conducted two back-to-back focus group sessions in the Think Tank room at Evansdale Crossing. The first session began at 1:00 p.m. and included five females and one male. This session was slated to last between 45 minutes to an hour, but lasted approximately 31 minutes. The second session began at 2:00 p.m. and included four females and two males. Again, this session was predicted to last between 45 minutes to an hour, but only lasted approximately 34 minutes. During each session, the only research team member present in the room was the moderator, Benjamin Wasser. The remaining members of the research team sat in the observation room behind a one way mirror, where they were able to monitor the discussion while taking notes. This information provided us with a wide range of data that we might not be able to obtain through other methods.

B. Objectives:

When we conducted our sessions, it was crucial for the moderator to follow the guide. It was key that the moderator stayed on track and limited the time for each answer so we could get through all the questions. It was necessary to get as much information as we could so we can analyze and quantify the data. We used a recording device in order go back and hear the participants answers at a later time.The moderator guide consisted of three pages of questions regarding consumer habits related to Athleisure and wearable technology. We made sure the session was longer than 30 minutes but did not exceed an hour. We followed this procedure in order to get as much detailed information as we could in a limited amount of time. The primary objective of the focus group sessions was to gain an insight on the overall sentiment among millennials towards the athletic apparel industry and the Nike brand. In order to complete this objective, the sessions were broken into a series of smaller topics: athleisure, wearable technology, experience as a Nike consumer, and communication/advertising within the industry.

C. Project Details:

We understand that finding participants to engage in a focus group can be challenging. In order to recruit participants for our study, we decided to influence people with certain incentives. We asked teachers if they were willing to give their students extra credit for participating in our group’s research. We also provided food to show our appreciation for coming to participate in our study. In order to reach out to people, we sent a mass email and/or text out to fellow millennial students. Our participants will be all millennials. Since it will be difficult to find participants other than people around campus, we will mainly recruit students. We will attempt to locate people who both use and don't use Nike products. The participants that we specifically recruited further helped us in gathering research data through consumer habits.

D. Project Schedule:

By creating a schedule and following the timetable, we will be able to successfully complete the focus group interviews which will help with the overall research. On November 7th, we will outline and finish the moderator guide. On November 7th-11th,we will recruit participants by going to other classes and by sending out a mass email.On November 10th, we will conduct two focus group at 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. On November 16-18th, we will gather our research and complete the report.

E. Analysis of Results:

1. Focus Group: Session 1 & 2

2. Introduction

The focus groups opened with basic ground rules given by the moderator. It was explained that the sessions were being both monitored and recorded, and consent forms were collected. All participants were politely asked to turn off their phones so that there would be no distractions during the discussion. Once all of the ground rules had been covered, we confirmed that the participants understood them. Following the ground rules, each participant was asked to go around the room and state their name, and how long they’ve been in town.

3. Athleisure

The first category that was covered in the group discussion was Athleisure. We started with questions aimed at gauging their knowledge of the trend and their level of participation in the trend. This let us know how much would have to be explained about Athleisure, or if we needed to cover reasons for not participating rather that moving forward with the assumption that they

do participate. From there, the moderator moved the group to discuss their preferred brands of athleisure style clothing, and where they did most of their athletic apparel shopping.

Session 1: In the first focus group session, only two participants had heard of the term Athleisure before, however it was evident that most people in the room participated in the trend. For the one male in the room, it just seemed like normal loungewear. Instead of considering the style, he simply wears what’s comfortable.

However, the females seemed much more likely to acknowledge what style of clothing they were wearing. They all agreed that they prefer to wear athletic apparel on a daily basis. Participant 4 stated that this was the only time she had worn real shoes instead of sneakers in weeks. Her reasoning was that she spends a lot of her time on her feet, so it’s out of practicality.

When asked about preferred brands, answers ranged across the board. Participant 3 said that when she wanted to buy yoga pants, she would typically go to Pink or Victoria’s secret. Participant 4 agreed with this, stating that clothes from those brand are not only more comfortable, but made to be cute. When asked why they prefer to shop at Pink, Participant 4 said that she feels Pink has thicker legging material that doesn’t rip as easily. Participant 3 chimed in that going into a Pink store is “fun.”

Participant 2, again the only male in the room, stated that when he has money he purchases athletic apparel from Dick’s, but when he is low on money he will go to Walmart. To him, the particular brand or purchase location wasn’t as important as the price.

Participant 5 agreed with that, but also brought up that she does a lot of shopping online. She also said that she likes to find a proper fit in store, then browse for more patterns online. Most participants agreed with this idea. Participant 2 said that there’s always some sort of discount online too. This statement drew a lot of agreement from the rest of the group.

The group agreed that they love the trend of wearing more casual clothing in public. However, the idea of the trend moving into the workplace was met with a bit more uneasiness. Participant 4 said that if everyone in the office were wearing athleisure, she’d be ok with it, but Participant 5 said that comfort of athleisure would contradict a work environment.

Session 2: In the second session, only one person had heard the term athleisure before. Again, despite the lack of knowledge of the term, everyone in the room agreed to participating in the trend. Participant 3 said that he “literally” wears athleisure everyday. Participant 2 said that she participates in the trend all the time as well. Participant 5, the person who had already heard the term “athleisure” said that she wears athletic apparel when running errands or exercising, but not for many other activities.

When asked about what brands come to mind when thinking of athleisure, participants responded with Jordan, Adidas, and Under Armour at first. Participant 5 added that she doesn’t think of brands outside of what’s on sale at TJ Maxx. She added that price is important because she doesn’t wear the clothes for anything serious, only for running around town.

Participant 6 disagreed with this and said that she doesn’t worry about price, and that she’d

rather have a quality product than something cheap. Participant 1 said that she was less concerned about price, and more about style because she wants to like what she wears. Though to her price is still a factor. She said that while she likes Nike products, the only Nike apparel she owns came as gifts.

When asked where they tend to purchase athletic apparel, participant 3 said that he avoids official brand stores because that’s where the prices are the highest. Instead he spends more time shopping at discount stores such as Marshalls. Participant 5 agreed with this and said that she goes to bigger department stores where she can find sales. Participant 1 said that to her all leggings are the same so she’s fine with purchasing them from Walmart. Participant 4 said that he likes to go to the Nike outlet and sporting good stores, but if he’s looking for something super specific he will shop online.

In regards to online shopping, participants 2 and 3 said that they shop online when they already know their fit. Participant 3 said that he also likes to shop online because there is so much more variety, and he’ll always be able to find the best deal.

4. Wearable Technology

Session 1: When asked which products come to mind when they heard the term wearable technology, the only two mentioned were the Apple Watch and FitBit. We then asked the group what they thought of wearable technology not in terms of practicality or functionality, but in terms of fashion. Participant 2 said that he wouldn’t wear one himself, but he think differently of people who do. He also believes that wearable tech is getting to the point of being fashionable, but that it’s not there yet.

Participant 1 said that the devices are so expensive that she doesn’t see the need for one yet. Participant 5 said that every now and then she considers purchasing a FitBit she just thinks of how much she likes food.

Participant 4 pointed out that she was wearing a FitBit. She said that it hasn’t really motivated her to exercise more, but that it’s sleep tracking functionality has helped her sleep better.

The overall sentiment around the room, including from participant 4 who was wearing a FitBit, was that wearable technology was somewhat of a gimmick and that didn’t see a reason to purchase for themselves. However, when asked if they would wear a smartwatch if cost were no object, everyone in the room agreed that they would.

Session 2: When asked what brands that came to mind when discussing wearable technology, three participants named the Apple Watch. These were quickly followed by mentions of the FitBit, Nike FuelBand, and generic heart rate monitors. While everyone in the room was aware of what wearable technology is, it took a bit longer for them to think of reasons to purchase these types of devices.

Participant 4 believes that wearable technology is just a fashion trend currently. He says that he

sees more and more people wearing smartwatches and fitness trackers, but that it doesn’t seem like anyone ever uses it. Participant 5 added that it’s impractical to type an email on a watch. She said that she could never conduct business on a watch outside of a faster way to your notifications. Participant one said that they aren’t really all that fashionable, nor does she see them as practical.

However, once again, when asked if they would adopt the technology if cost were no object, all participants began to think of potential uses. Participants 2 and 4 said that they would use it for exercise and fitness. Participant 3 said that it would be a much more efficient way to stay connected. Participant 5 added to this saying that it would be useful as a discrete travel tool. She thought it would be nice to have a map on your wrist rather than have your hand glued to a phone when walking around.

5. Experience with Nike

Session 1: This section was started off by asking the participants what sort of products Nike offers to see what came to mind first. Participant 6 gave a generalized answer and said that Nike offers anything and everything related to sports. Participant 2 agreed with this, adding that Nike is unique because they are so universal. They have a hand in just about every sport, and he couldn’t think of another overarching brand like that.

Words that came to the mind’s of the participants to describe Nike included: reliable, durable, comfy, and cute. Participant 3 also described Nike’s reputation as credible. Participant 6 added that when you buy Nike, you know you’re getting a good product.

When asked about Nike’s competitors, the brands that were mentioned were Under Armour, Adidas, Reebok, New Balance, and Puma - in that order. Participant 6 said that the only competitor that could reasonably stand up to Nike is Under Armour. Participant 2 agreed, but said that he still prefers Nike because he thinks it looks better. Participant 4 also agreed, but said that it comes down to function. She is a user of Under Armour’s Cold Gear, and said that if she were going camping she would choose Under Armour over Nike. The room agreed that Nike is the universal brand, while Under Armour tends to be built around a particular function.

However, function was not specifically stated by participants when asked what they look for in athletic apparel. Participant 6 said that she looks for durability. Participant 2 cares most about style, stating that if he’s going to spend money on something he needs to know he’s going to want to wear it. Participant 3 agreed with Participant 5 said that durability was important, but that she does not care about the style. What’s most important to her is comfort. She believes that athletic apparel isn’t about the way it looks; it’s staying comfortable while being active and performing.

When it comes to Nike and their role in the Athleisure trend, participant 6 thinks that even though they’ve always been a performance brand, they’re starting to “market their performance in a cute way.”

Session 2: When asked what sort of Nike products came to mind, participants quickly began rattling off items. Sneakers, shoes, hats, jerseys, and sweatpants were mentioned in that order. Participant 1 added that she loves their sweat pants. Participant 6 said that it’s the most durable too, and that because of this she’s okay with spending a bit extra on the brand. Participant 3 said he thinks Nike’s celebrity endorsements are what set them apart. He appreciates that they reach out to kids to get them invested in the brand early.

When asked to name Nike’s competitors, Under Armour and Reebok were the two mentioned first. Participant 2 mentioned that Puma was making a comeback. Participant 5 noted that when she was a kid, Reebok and Adidas were the brands to have. However, Nike has had a longevity that the previous brands never had.

Nike purchasing habits among participants was ranged. Participant 3 said that if he sees something he likes, he’ll probably buy it. Participant 6 slightly agreed with this notion, but added that there is really a set schedule for purchasing. Participant 1 said she purchases Nike products three or four times a month, while participant 3 claimed every two weeks. Participant 5 was the outlier and said that she only purchases Nike products a couple times a year.

6. Nike’s Communication/Advertising

Session 1: Social media seemed to be the most popular way for companies to reach the participants. Twitter, Instagram and YouTube were the most mentioned, but participant 2 said that he also watches a lot of TV and that would the best way to reach him.

Participant 3 said that she couldn’t remember the last time she saw a Nike ad, but that she could say the same about Under Armour. Participant 6 said that the only ad she could recall was the “Find Your Greatness” ad, but she called it “the one with the kid running on the street”. Participant 2 said that the only one he could remember is with Lebron James holding a basketball. The celebrity endorsements mentioned by the group were the US Olympic Team, the Oregon football team, and Lebron James.

Session 2: Once again, online forms of media seemed to be the best avenue for a company to reach participants. YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook were to social media outlets mentioned. Television, Hulu, and YouTube commercials were discussed briefly. Participant 6 said that sometimes the online ads are annoying, but sometimes it’s actually something she wants to see. Participant 2 added that highway billboards are effective.

Participant 5 said that she doesn’t see Nike ads anywhere. However, participant 3 said that since he purchases Nike products online, he sees their ads everywhere. Participant 4 agreed with this. Participant 6 said that whenever she watches TV, she always sees Lebron James representing Nike. The only other celebrity endorsement that could be recalled was Derek Jeter .

Next the group was asked about Nike’s representation of athleisure in their advertising and communication. Participant 4 said that it seems like Nike knows it exists, but they are actively

selling their apparel as athleisure. Participant 5 slightly disagreed. She thinks that they’ve been pushing the comfort side of athletic apparel and that they’ve expanded their lines to accommodate the trend. Participant 2 added that the Nike logo is so recognizable, that the advertising is taking care of itself. With so many more people participating in athleisure, every Nike wearer is a Nike advertisement.

Despite, not being familiar with the term, most everyone that we talked to in the focus groups considered themselves to be participants in athleisure. Females tended to be more likely to acknowledge their love of athleisure, while males generally wore it due to the added functionality. Both genders appreciate the comfort, but females seemed more attached to the style.

When it comes to purchasing, the most important factor to millennial users seems to be price, followed by style and durability tied for second. Some participants initially stated that style or durability was the most important, however as the conversation moved forward, they let on that price does have more of an impact.

Females typically prefer a “fun” in store experience while shopping which is why some of the participants were partial to Pink and Victoria's Secret over traditional athletic brands that historically aim themselves at men. Though, due to the fact that price is such an issue, discount stores like TJ Maxx, Wal Mart, and Marshall’s were also among favorite points of purchase. In regard to online shopping, most participants preferred to find a desired fit in store. They then move to purchase various patterns of the same product and fit online. This reflects research from Phase 1 of the study.

Wearable technology was not looked on so favorably by the majority of the millennial participants. Devices are seen as overpriced, useless, and a trend. However, all participants did say that if cost were no object, then they could see themselves using the product for things like exercise, sleep, and travel.

As far as athletic brands are concerned, Nike was considered to be the most universal across the board according to focus group participants. Participants described them as reliable, durable, and everywhere. Despite this sentiment, they are not seen as the brand that you purchase for a specific function. Under Armour was more believed to be an outdoor brand with premium performance. Adidas was considered to be the go-to brand for soccer equipment. However for anything else, athletic or otherwise, Nike was the definite favorite.

In the future, Nike should be further embracing the athleisure trend. It’s popularity is undeniable, but their advertising has yet to reflect it to its fullest potential. They should figure a way to promote their Apple integrated app in a way that complements athleisure. According to our research, the perception of Nike among millennials has already begun to shift away from the performance brand that they started out being. They are more seen as a general apparel brand for everyday use, and this could be a way for Nike to grab a larger hold of the apparel market

outside of athletics.

Figure 13. “Focus Group Findings”. Source: Team 5. 2016

Rese arch II . Qual itati ve Stud y: In- dept h Interview

After conducting previous research, we decided to also use this method of analysis. Not only will we be able to use this data to analyze consumer habits, but we will be able to determine opinions based on participants viewpoints. This survey uses a variety of open ended question. We intended to have our survey purposely designed like this so we can ask a series of follow up questions. The questions may go off the interview guide in order to establish a better comprehension towards the common consumer. We are addressing a series of issues in this

interview. These questions can range anywhere from if they have noticed each trend, if they participate in that trend, why or why not they participate, their views on Nike and athleisure and if they are consumers of wearable technology. These questions are not limited and can have a series of follow up questions not expressed on the interview guide.

We are anticipating to conduct 15 interviews. Each session will last at least 30 minutes. Our interview guide has a total of 22 questions, including personal demographics. There may be more added if the researcher has additional questions for the participants. Each member will interview 3 random participants. It is suggested that the researcher conducts the interview in a quiet and remote location. Before the interview is administered, the participant should know the survey will last a least half an hour. The researcher may conduct this interview any time after November 12th, but submit their work by November 17th. It is up to the researcher to ask these questions in a professional manner and potentially ask additional follow up questions. Not only will this make the survey as accurate as possible, but it will also help us to further analyze the collected data.

C. Participants:

Our research strictly focuses on millennials and their habits as consumers. Therefore, in order to find participants, we need to find people who were born during this time period. It will be easy for our team to find these types of participants because we are surrounded by a college campus.

Most students were born during this generation. In order recruit participants, we used a series of different approaches. First, we did not want to target students who are strictly wearing athleisure type clothing. We want to recruit people who are wearing a variety of clothing. With that being said, we will not recruit participants at the gym or in front of an athletic store. This would cause bias towards athletic apparel. So if someone is sitting outside the Mountainlair or walking down the street, they are the types of people we will interview. If they are wearing some type of athleisure, that will be acceptable as long as they do not look like they are going to be participating in some type of athletic activity. We want the selection process to be as random as possible. We will also attempt to gather a variety of male and female participants. This way we can see this different attitudes of consumers across genders. We will also make sure these people have enough time in order to fully complete the interview. This interview is meant for additional open-ended question that may not be labeled on our interview guide. It is important that participants have enough time to answer our questions as detailed and accurately as possible.

D. Interviews Guide:

In order to keep the interviews longer 30 minutes, we used a series of tools to help with the time boundary. We established an interview guide that will be used by each researcher. We included an introduction paragraph to explain the research we are conducting to our participants. We also included a conclusion to express our appreciation for completing this interview. We have 19

questions on our guide. Three questions are designed in order to understand our participants personal demographics. Each question should last longer than 2 minutes.The guide is about three pages of questions. If the participant has additional time, the questions may last longer. It is crucial that we receive detailed and comprehensive information from the participant.

E. Project Schedule:

Since we are conducting both focus groups and online interviews, we decided to break up the individual interviews between teammates. On November 12th, the interview guide will be prepared and presented to the group. Each member is responsible for conducting at least three interviews with random participants. After conducting each interview, each member is responsible for typing a 1-2 page paper analyzing what their participants expressed. Each member will have a completed report by Thursday, November 17th.

F. Analysis of Results:

Our team conducted 15 in-depth interviews in order to assess and determine the new trend of athleisure. We interviewed ten males and five females between born between the years 1980- 2000.

Our participants ranged from the ages of 20-30. We mostly focused on interviewing college students and or millennials who lived around the college campus. Many of our participants were Caucasians who were mostly born on the East Coast region. With an exception of a few, most of our participants were college students with a part time job. After conducting these interviews, we can draw multiple conclusions on the athleisure and wearable technology trend.

About 50 percent of our participants stated that they are familiar with this trend. The other 50 percent of participants were either somewhat aware or completely unaware of this trend. It can be concluded that even though this is a current movement, many people may not recognize these clothes as a trend but rather just as normal apparel.

Since we interviewed mostly college students, it is no surprise that most millennials stated that they've seen this trend mostly in campus and around the classroom. It can be concluded that millennials consider athleisure acceptable attire when conducting their daily routines. The movement toward more casual clothing is apparent in this generation especially for everyday clothing functions. Most of our participants said they consider themselves to be a part of this trend. Many of our participants wear this apparel to class, the gym and sometimes even work. It can be assumed that this movement is slowly becoming more noticeable and is also growing in popularity.

G. Conclusion:

When we asked our participants what gender is most likely to be seen wearing this trend, most people said females are heavy users of this movement. It can be determined that females are more aware of this trend than males. Females are more likely to wear and purchase this clothing due to its versatility. Many of the interviewed participants stated that females follow the athleisure trend because of the fashionable articles of clothing. Females have a wide variety of choice and males seem to just have basketball shorts and sweatpants. It can also be inferred that this is a common trend in women because they see more female celebrities wearing this trend and want to be a part of this style. Women are usually the first gender to start a new clothing trend, and it can be seen through athleisure.

When we asked our participants which athletic apparel brand they prefer, seven out of 15 people said they favor Nike to be their most favorite brand. Four out of 15 participants stated that their favorite brand is Under Amour. Four out of 15 stated their favorite brand was either Adidas, Puma or other. It can be assumed that most athletic apparel consumers prefer to wear and purchase Nike products. Many participants stated that they purchase this brand because of the quality and the comfortability. It was also stated that participants do not purchase these clothes often because they are durable and longlasting. It can be considered that most consumers purchase this brand not only because of the current trend but because of the specific clothing elements.

We then asked our participants about the new movement of wearable technology. 13 out of 15 people were aware or familiar of this new trend. Many consider this technology to be Apple watches or FitBits. Many millennials stated that even though they do not own any wearable technology, they see this trend in the environment around them. Five out of 15 participants have owned or currently own a piece of this technology. Participants expressed that their favorite technology products are Apple products. It can be determined that millennials are not heavy consumers in wearable technology due to the fact that they use most applications on their mobile devices or personal computers.

Our participants also agreed that females are more likely to own or wear these devices. It was determined that females wear this technology because it is trendy or they wear it to track their athletic performance. Millennials also stated that the older generation is more likely to wear this technology because it allows them to participate in physical activity while determining their progress.

When we asked our participants if they would consider wearing these devices in the future, many stated they would not own this technology. Many millennials expressed that these devices are not affordable and impractical. It can be assumed that since most millennials are currently students, they cannot afford to purchase expensive products. It can also be concluded that millennials have other devices that can also track their performance and record their progress. It can be determined that millennials are not heavy consumers of the wearable technology trend.

After conducting these in depth interviews, many conclusions can be determined. First, consumers believe that females are primary purchasers of athleisure and wearable technology because of the style of these products. Second, consumers believe that this attire is considered

causal and acceptable in everyday use. Third, millennials are not heavy consumers of wearable technology because the products are too expensive, and they do not consider this a current trend.

Research III. Quantitative Study: Online Survey

A. Overview: The goal of this survey is to discover consumer opinions regarding athleisure and wearable technology. Our team decided to use an online survey since we could reach a wide variety of people, while being able to quantify the submitted data. Our goal was to have at least 100 millennials take this survey.It was designed to analyze the research based on the brands of the athleisure industry. We decided to use millennials because our previous research uncovered that millennials are the next big consumer in Nike’s athleisure apparel. We used an accessible online survey platform called Qualtrics. This helped us easily discover the data that was submitted by millennials. Our survey consisted of 20 quantitative questions, with an additional four demographic questions. We also included a control question that had nothing to do with the content of our survey. This helped us eliminate participants who were not reliable and just aimlessly answered the series of questions. After two weeks of data collection, 107 consumers completed this survey. It became apparent that we had a majority of females take this survey over males. The data collected helped us draw conclusions and analyze the inferential population regarding consumers’ habits through millennials.

This survey is designed to conduct research on the use of athleisure and wearable technology based on the following objectives:

● Analyze overall millennial consumer habits with athleisure. ● Determine characteristics in purchasing athletic apparel. ● Examine millennial use of wearable technology. ● Evaluate which brands are popular among millennials. Figure 14. “Athleisure.” Source: Nike (2016)

C. Survey Project Details:

I. Background Investigation - In order to find the opinions and viewpoints of consumers regarding athletic apparel, we need to conduct an online survey that can reach a variety of people. The survey will give us data regarding the uses of athletic apparel as everyday clothing. II. Research Objectives - This survey is designed to conduct research on the use of athleisure and wearable technology. It was also designed to analyze the research based on the brands of the athleisure industry. III. Research Methodology - Online Survey

- An online survey has a faster response rate and the data can be easier to quantify. - For our sample, we only sent this survey out to millennials. - After conducting previous research, we decided to sample only millennials, because we discovered that generation will be the next big consumers of athleisure. - Our data gathering instrument is Qualtrics. Qualtrics is an online survey platform. Qualtrics is easy to use and it allows participants to take the survey on their phones and computers. It allows us, as the researchers, to have all of the results compiled in one place using sources of quantitative and qualitative data. - We will use closed-ended and open-ended questions. We also will use the Likert- type scale questions and semantic-differential questions. - We will leave the survey open for 2 weeks. The online survey will be accessible to everyone who has Internet access. IV. Data analysis - The type data analysis that we are using is quantitative. Since this is only a subset of a population, we are using inferential as our type of data analysis. We are taking the data results from this subset of the population and inferring that the results would be very similar to that of the entire population. V. Time frame - Our team designed this survey on October 26th, 2016. We will distribute and open up this survey on November 2nd, 2016 and will close it on November 16th, 2016. From November 16th-18th, we will analyze and define the data results. VI. Limitations - Our biggest limitation will be time, since we only have 2 weeks to keep the survey open. Another limitation is the problems that the majority of participants will be from the West Virginia University campus.

D. Online Survey Analysis:

We designed our survey in order to see what brands consumers prefer to wear. Out of 107 people, 71.9% people ranked Nike as their favorite brands. 12.2% of people ranked Adidas as their 2nd favorite brand. 11.2% of people ranked Under Armour as their 3rd favorite brand. 2.8% of people stated Puma was their 4th preferred brand. 1.8% of people stated that Reebok was their 5th preferred brand. When we asked our participants to express what brand they preferred, most millennials said that Nike was their favorite out of the top five most popular athletic brands in the United States. Therefore, it can be concluded that most millennials prefer to wear Nike brand products.

1. Athleisure Explained

We then explained the definition of athleisure in order to teach our participants a new term that has recently been trending. When we asked how familiar they are with this term, 44% of participants stated that they were extremely familiar with this term. Only 7.8% of people declared they were not familiar with this term at all. It can therefore be determined that most participants are familiar with the term athleisure. But it can also be assumed that participants who said they do not know this term are unknowingly wearing athleisure. Based on the data regarding awareness of the athleisure trend, most people are knowingly conscious of this fashion. We can assume that people are aware of this trend because they see it on a daily basis. We then needed to find out how many people are interested in this trend. The overall data proved to us that many people are interested in this fashion, even if this was their first time hearing this term. It shows that people are willing to know more about how Athleisure is becoming a fashion movement. Even though some people are not aware of this fashion, it can be determined that they do not see this as a trend and see it more as normal clothing.

Figure 15. “Nike Everyday Outfit.” Source: Nike (2016).

2. Athleisure Awareness

107 Millennial Participants

Figure 16. “Familiarity With Athleisure”. Source: Qualtrics, (2016).

After giving our participants the definition of athleisure and asking them questions regarding their awareness and interest of this trend, we moved on to see if they participate in this fashion. We asked our participants if they consider themselves to be a part of this trend. 28 percent of participants stated that they strongly agree of being involved in this trend. 5.6 percent of participants strongly disagree in regards of not being a part of this trend. Majority of participants consider themselves to be a part of this trend. It can be assumed that the minority of participants either do not wear athletic apparel in general or do not wear it leisurely. It could also be concluded that the people who do not consider themselves to be a part of this trend may not classify their types of clothes as athletic gear (e.g. leggings, yoga pants).

3. Athleisure Perspectives

After we asked a majority of close-ended question, we decided to ask our participants to write out their opinions through an open-ended question. We asked our participants to describe why they participant in this trend. There is no way to quantify everyone's personal response. Most participants used words like “comfortable”, “easy”, “functional” and “fashionable.” By using an open-ended question, we can get a variety of opinions from our participants that cannot be addressed through close-ended questions. From their statements, we can conclude that majority of our participants wear Athleisure because it is versatile while simultaneously being easy, comfortable and fashionable. But because we had a significant amount of females fill out this survey, it can assumed that woman wear these clothes because it fits the needs of comfort while being fashionable.

Figure 17. “Participation in Athleisure”. Source: Qualtrics (2016). 107 Participants

In order to figure out which gender prefers to wear Athleisure, we asked our participants to decide which gender they think participates more in the trend. 58 percent of participants selected that females are more likely to wear this apparel. 42 percent of participants said that males are more likely to wear athleisure. The data stated that participants think females are more likely to wear this apparel. Because the data was close in percentages, it can be concluded that both genders wear athleisure. But from the majority vote, it can also be stated that females are wearing this apparel more than the males.

When we inquired our participants to consider what characteristic they look for in clothes, most participants stated that comfort is their main concern. After comfort, participants said there second concern is style. It can be concluded that people would choose to be more relaxed throughout the day rather than uncomfortable with other clothes.

F i g u r e

1 8 . “Participants Gender”. Source: Qualtrics (2016). 107 Participants.

People also expressed that style is something they look for when shopping for clothing. It is assumed that most people follow clothing trends, and style is heavily considered when purchasing these products. People also declared that they felt neutral as to whether or not money was a factor in their decision. It can be agreed that people don't mind spending money if clothing is stylish, comfortable, or good quality.

4. Movement of Athleisure

The athleisure trend is rapidly growing. Many people wear these clothes everywhere. When we asked our participants their opinion on wearing this attire in the workplace, many people were comfortable with this happening. But the majority of participants stated they were slightly uncomfortable with this trend moving into a work environment. It can be concluded that people want to feel professional and successful at work. Even though they might feel more comfortable in athleisure attire, people still want to make good impressions and look professional. It can therefore be concluded that people think sweats and yoga pants aren't acceptable for something such as a business meeting.

In order to discover where this trend appears the most, we asked our participants to describe where they are more likely to wear this clothing. 88.9 percent of people said they wear this clothing at the gym. 51 percent of participants said they somewhat wear this clothing to class. 54 percent of participants stated that they wear this attire when running errands. 43.7 percent of people stated that they strongly disagree in wearing these clothes to work. Originally, athletic clothing was designed for the gym and other physical activities. When we asked our participants where they are most likely to wear Athleisure, it was not surprising that majority of participants wear this attire to the gym. Participants expressed that they often wear this attire to class and while running errands. It can be inferred that people are following this trend but it hasn't fully became appropriate for every occasion. It can be concluded that even though this trend is flowing into other settings, many people still wear these clothes to the gym.

5. Nike, Athleisure, and Consumer Purchasing

Overall, we wanted to understand people’s thoughts about Nike specifically being a part of this athleisure trend. In regards to Nike being a part of the athleisure trend, 59.8 percent of people strongly agreed that they are included in this trend. Nobody disagreed or strongly disagreed with this statement. From these results, we can conclude that the majority of people know that Nike is a big part of Athleisure. Nike is one of the biggest athletic companies in the world, so we expected more people to know that Nike is heavily a part of this trend.

In order to see how often people purchase athletic apparel, we asked how frequently participants purchase these products. Our findings showed that majority (48.6 percent of participants) tend to purchase athletic apparel every two to three months. Our results also showed that 15.9 percent of participants only purchase athletic apparel once a year. Since the majority of people purchase athletic apparel every two to three months, it can be concluded that athletic apparel is durable and long lasting, so people do not have to buy it often. This also concludes that buying athletic

apparel is not always a priority.

In addition, we wanted to evaluate how often people specifically purchased the Nike brand products. Our results were very close, with 39.3 percent purchasing Nike products once a year and 38.3 percent purchasing Nike every two to three months. Since these results were so close, we can conclude that Nike products are not purchased often by our participants. It can be concluded that these products are fairly expensive because they are durable and long-lasting.

There are many outlets in which athletic apparel can be purchased from. These range from online, department stores, sporting good stores, official brand stores, discount retail stores and fast fashion stores. Our top two results were sporting good stores and discount retail stores. 33.6 percent of participants purchase athletic apparel from sporting good stores such as Dick’s and Modell’s. 23.4 percent of participants purchase athletic apparel from discount retail stores such as Walmart and TJ Maxx. From these results, we can conclude that since most of the participants are college students they either want to purchase athletic apparel at a discounted price or they want to find athletic apparel in the most convenient way.

It is well known that the pricing of athletic apparel can vary, but we wanted to see what the average participant will spend on brand athletic apparel. The majority of our participants, 65.4 percent, said that they spend less than $50 on brand athletic apparel. None of the participants stated that they spend more than $200 on brand apparel. We can conclude that since most of our respondents are students and millennials, they do not have enough money to afford higher end branded athletic apparel.

6. Wearable Technology

Because wearable technology is an up and coming trend, we wanted to see how many people own a piece of wearable technology, such as a Fitbit or an Apple watch. Our results shows that only 36.5 percent of our participants own a piece of wearable technology, while the other 63.6 percent of our participants do not own a piece of wearable technology. Even though this result was surprising, we can conclude that our participants cannot afford devices such as a Fitbit or Apple watch or just simply do not want to wear one.

More specifically, we asked people if they are more likely to purchase Nike apparel that includes integrated data with a piece of wearable technology, such as an Apple watch or Fitbit. The results proved that people are unlikely to purchase this type of integrated product. Since the majority of our participants do not own wearable technology, we can conclude that consumers are unlikely to purchase Nike apparel that is integrated with pieces of wearable technology. It can also be concluded that people are less likely to purchase an advanced product if they do not already own the original version of that particular merchandise.

We then wanted to analyze wearable technology and its different attributes. For this question, we used a semantic differential scale to get our results. The majority of participants said that

wearable technology is somewhat fashionable, somewhat affordable and a somewhat permanent staple. From the data gathered, it can be determined that the participants agree on wearable technology being very functional. It can be concluded that consumers like purchasing products that are practical and durable.

After the participants answered questions about wearable technology, we asked how likely they are to use it in the future. 25.2 percent of survey participants stated that they would be moderately open to purchasing wearable technology in the future. 5.6 percent of our survey participants would be extremely unlikely to purchase wearable technology in the future. Wearable technology can be somewhat expensive, and not everyone is interested in tracking their steps or into fitness period. Therefore, it can be determined that millennials are unlikely to purchase this technology in the future.

E. Online Survey Conclusion

The demographics of our participants permitted us to analyze the data in many ways. The age of our survey participants ranged from 18-33. The mean age of people who took the survey was 20.3. The standard deviation came out to be 1.67. Since millennials are the next main, large group of consumers, we focused on primarily surveying this generation. We targeted students around the West Virginia University campus. However, there were a few outliers that were not students, but were still apart of the millennial generation. It can be determined that most of the participants are current or previous students. Also depending on whether or not students work, we can understand their purchasing decisions and habits of athletic apparel depending on their income. It can also be concluded that the majority of the people are full-time students and are not full-time employees. We also came across bias when looking at our participants ethnicity. Based on the percentage responses, majority of this survey was taken by white females. Since more females took this survey, it can be concluded that the results are bias towards the female attitude. As a result of their being four females researchers and only one male researcher, we can conclude more females were expected to complete this survey due to the fact that the word was spread to mostly to our female friends. This quantitative study helped us further understand millennial purchasing habits throughout athletic apparel.

Figure 19. “Just Do It.” Source: Nike (2016).

III. Overall Conclusion and Suggestions: Just Do it

Throughout this project, we have learned a lot about Nike and their consumer interest in its brand. Nike provides high quality athletic apparel and gear to its consumers making it one of the top athletic brands in the world. Nike stands out amongst other brands because of its high standard merchandise, celebrity endorsers and consumer loyalty. Throughout this project, our goal was to conduct primary and secondary research in order to answer and justify our hypothesis.

A. Research Question 1 Analysis:

After we conducted an extensive investigation through secondary research, we discovered that millennials were the next generation of Nike consumers. This was to be our main focus in order to be able to define and analyze characteristics of this upcoming consumer. One of these characteristics was the new style of Athleisure and wearable technology. We found that millennials are more likely to purchase Athleisure apparel than other generations due to current trends. Not only did we discover this information through additional research but we also uncovered a imminent clothing movement. With this data, we sought to seek out which gender will be the next primary consumer through this generation.

As a result of these findings, it was determined that females seek to wear the trend more often when they are influenced by their peers. This made female millennials the optimum subjects for our research. While conducting our focus groups, online survey and personal in-depth interviews, we found that females were thought to purchase and wear more Athleisure merchandise than males. According to Business Insider women in their 20’s and 30’s are employing the “Athleisure trend,” in which customers are buying attire like leggings with the desire of wearing them ubiquitously to the gym or a night out (Business Insider, 2015). After conducting our research, this claim was supported due to the fact that most of our participants concluded that females wear athleisure daily because of items such as yoga pants, leggings and sportswear sneakers. Nike says the women's clothing line could add $2 billion in additional sales by 2017 (Nike, 2015). This generation will need to be Nike’s next targeted consumer when it comes to advertising and marketing. Overall, our research has allowed us to conclude that females will be the next consumers to move this athleisure trend forward.

B. Research Question 2 Analysis:

Secondary research also demonstrated a drastic movement of athletic apparel in a variety of different settings. This change illustrated the shift between casual attire into formal environments. As far as casual attire in American Fashion, our team wanted to discover how millennials felt about this transformation through current trends. Results showed that participants have noticed this conversion of casual attire through the classroom and even at the workplace. Many participants stated that they prefer to wear clothes that are more comfortable even if that means shifting this trend into the work environment.

According to the IBISWorld Industry Report, the Athleisure fashion shift was so sudden, that between the business years 2012-13 and 2013-14, Nike’s revenue grew by 23%; it has an

otherwise 6.1% average annual growth rate (Petrillo, 2016). It can be concluded that millennials are in favor of wearing casual and comfortable clothing, making this trend become more popular and fashionable through all formal and non-formal settings.

C. Research Question 3 Analysis:

Since millennials are also defined as the “technology generation,” our team wanted to discover the perceptions and attitudes towards wearable technology. According to CIO (Chief Information Officers), it was estimated that 39.5 million American adults regularly use wearable devices like smartwatches and fitness trackers in 2015 (Martin, 2015). Our team decided to test this assumption. After conducting a series of qualitative and quantitative research methods on wearable technology, we found that most participants do not own these devices. Our participants has a somewhat negative attitude towards these products. Most millennials stated that these devices are too pricey and can be impractical since they already own other devices.

Since majority of our participants are students, it’s understandable as to why they believe wearable technology is too expensive. When the students have full-time jobs, it may be easier to obtain a FitBit or an Apple watch. Participants also claimed that wearable technology is for people who are fitness conscious, or just into the fashion trend. Therefore, participants saw these devices as unimportant products. It’s possible that when students graduate and get full-time jobs, they might reconsider the wearable technology trend. When one can afford and obtain something a more positive light can be shed. It can be concluded that millennials are not heavy consumers of wearable technology and are unphased by this trend; therefore Nike should change marketing techniques or not heavily focus on advertising these products to this generation.

C. Suggestions:

Even though our research proved that women are the next upcoming consumer, our results could be impartial. This data could have been biased due to the fact that the majority of our participants were females. It also could have been skewed since most of our research came from students at West Virginia University which only makes up a small portion of the population. Although most participants were students, these millennials came from a variety states and backgrounds, which gave us a better understanding of the common consumer. It is suggested that a larger and more diverse population is needed in order to successfully and accurately campaign for Nike’s upcoming millennial consumer.

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Research Plan……………………………………………………………………….47

Research Timeline…………………………………………………………………..48

Research I…………………………………………………………………………..50-65

FGI Moderator Guide……………………………………………………………….50-52

FGI Transcripts……………………………………………………………………....53-64

Moderator’s Reflection Note…………………………………………………………64-65

Consent Forms…………………………………………………………………….....88-112

Research II………………………………………………………………………....66-79

In-depth Interview Guideline and Responses ……………………………………...66-79

Research III………………………………………………………………………...80-87

Online Survey Questionnaire……………………………………………...... 80-87

Research Plan

Research Question One

- How does millennial interest in Athleisure apparel differ between genders?

Since millennials are heavy Nike consumers, we want to research and understand the new target audience of athleisure. It has already been established that women are more likely to embrace

athleisure as daily apparel. We would like to gauge the interest in the trend among males of the same age group to determine whether or not a marketing campaign geared toward them would be successful.

In order to test this, we plan to conduct a survey asking respondents questions regarding their daily apparel habits. We will aim for a sample size of at least 250, but a response sample of 100- 150 will be suitable. We will recruit via email, social media, and speaking in lecture halls. The survey will be directed mainly at males due to the fact that it is already known that females have already adopted the trend.

Research Question Two

- How do millennials feel about the move towards casual attire in American fashion?

American fashion has slowly been moving towards a more casual tone, with athleisure tipping the scale towards all out comfort. We want to gauge how the children of a more formal generation feel about the shift away from clothing like collared shirts and khakis. In order to measure millennial attitude toward the trend, we intend to conduct focus group sessions of 5-7 participants. During this session, we plan to facilitate conversation that will shed light on how they feel towards casual/athletic attire in everyday life. We plan to record audio from each session.

Research Question Three

- What is the general perception of wearable technology among millennials?

The adoption of wearable technology has already started to increase among older generations, but millennials are still wary of the market segment. We would like to measure general perception towards wearable technology among millennials of both genders. We feel this is important because there has been an overall shift towards high-tech merchandise in almost every industry. In order to gauge true sentiment, we plan to conduct individual interviews with 10-15 different people. In order to get the most representative sample, it would be beneficial to have a sample with a 50% adoption rate of wearable technology. However, since we already know that millennials are less likely to buy into wearable technology, it may be difficult to find such a sample.

Research Timeline

October 24th: Research Plan completed

October 31st: Survey for RQ completed and distributed

November 10th: Focus Group Sessions 1 and 2 for RQ2

November 16-18th: Focus Group reports

November 12th: Individual interviews for RQ3

November 17th: In-depth interview reports

November 16th: Close Survey, analyze all data

November 16-30th: Finish Phase II

Research I. Focus Group

Focus Group Moderator Guide:

I. Introduction

1. My name is Benjamin Wasser, and I will be the moderator today. Thank you for participating in this focus group. 2. The goal for today is to discuss trends in the athletic apparel industry and the big players

in the athletic apparel industry, specifically Nike. 3. I am working as an independent marketing researcher for the Reed College of Media, and am not affiliated with any of the brands we will be discussing today.

II. Ground Rules

1. This session is predicted to last between 45 minutes to an hour. 2. Please turn off all electronic devices. 3. This focus group session is being monitored and both audio and video are being recorded. I will not be taking notes, however those observing may send notes in from time to time. 4. During this discussion, keep in mind that there are no wrong answers and we encourage everyone to participate. You do not need to answer each question, but if you remain quiet for a long period of time, I will ask you what you are thinking. 5. Only one person is to be talking at a time. 6. Please avoid side conversations, as they can be distracting to the group. 7. Once again, keep in mind that this is a group discussion, and not a Q&A. Feel free direct responses towards each other and ask follow up questions. 8. Are there any questions for me before we begin? 9. I will now ask once again that everyone check their phones to make sure they are turned off.

III. Ice Breaker (5 minutes)

1. Now in order to get comfortable with me and the people around you, we will introduce ourselves. 2. Please tell us your name, where you are from, how long you’ve been in town and something you enjoy to do in your free time.

IV. Experience - Athleisure (10-15 minutes)

1. What do you think of when you think of the term “athleisure?”

2. Is this a term that you have heard before? 3. (Give definition of athleisure) Athleisure is a current American trend that re-purposes athletic apparel for everyday use. 4. To what extent would you say that you participate in this trend? 5. What brands do you generally sway towards when purchasing athletic apparel for everyday use? 6. Where do you tend to purchase athletic clothing most? a. Sporting Good stores (Dick’s, Modell’s) b. Department stores (Walmart, Target) c. Official Brand stores (Nike, Underarmour) d. Discount Retail stores (T.J. Maxx, Gabriel Brothers) e. Fast Fashion stores (H&M, Forever 21) f. Online

V. Experience - Wearable Technology (10-15 minutes)

1. When you hear the term wearable technology, what specific products do you think of? 2. How do you feel about wearable technology in terms of fashion? 3. How do you feel about wearable technology in terms of practicality? 4. If cost were no object, would you see yourself using wearable technology? 5. Do you currently own or use any wearable devices? a. Which products?

VI. Experience - Nike (10-15 minutes)

1. How familiar are you with Nike brand? 2. What types of products does Nike offer? What is unique to Nike?

3. What do you think of the Nike brand? a. Words that come to mind b. Reputation c. Competitors d. Brand Image 4. Are you a user of Nike products? 5. What products do you use? 6. How would you describe your brand loyalty to Nike? 7. What do you value most about the Nike brand? a. Corporate Social Responsibility b. Product

i. Material ii. Tech iii. Cost 8. How often do you purchase these products? 9. Where do you prefer to purchase Nike products? a. Why?

VII. Communication/Advertising

1. What do you think is the best way for a company to reach you? 2. How well do you feel Nike communicates with you? 3. How do you feel about Nike’s advertising efforts? a. Can you recall any specific advertisements? b. How credible do you think Nike is as a Brand? 4. Can you name any brand ambassadors of Nike? a. Do you think that the ambassadors represent Nike in a positive way? 5. When it comes to athleisure, do you feel the trend is represented well in advertisements?

VIII. Close

Thank you all once again for participating in today’s session. Focus groups are an incredibly valuable tool for marketing researchers to gather insight on the consumer markets. Thank you again.

Focus Group Transcript

Focus Group Session 1:

Moderator: So my name is Benjamin Wasser and I will moderating the session. The goal for today is to discuss trends within the athletic apparel industry, as well as the big players. Specifically, we will be talking about Nike today as we get further into the discussion. Before we get started, I want to let you all know that I am working as an independent researcher for the Reed College of Media, and I am not affiliated with any of the brands we will be discussing today. So let’s go over some ground rules before we jump in. This session is predicted to last around 45 mins to an hour. I’m going to ask that everyone turn off their phones. I want to also let you all know that this focus group is being recorded. I will not be taking any notes, but those

observing may send notes in, or chime in from the speaker overhead. During this discussion, there are no wrong answers and we encourage everyone to participate, but you do not need to answer every question. Only one person is to be talking at a time. This is so that we can clearly hear who is talking when we go back over the audio. This is a group discussion however, and not a simple question and answer. Are there any questions for me before we get started? Excellent, well once again please turn off all cellphones and we can begin with getting comfortable with the room. So let’s go around and say our names, where you are from, and how long you’ve been in town. P1: Im Janine, I’m a sophomore and it's my second year in Morgantown. P2: Im David, Im a senior and this is my 4th year here. P3: Im Sarah, Im a junior and this is my 3rd year here. P4: Im Jess, Im a senior and this is my 4th year here. P5: I’m Brittany, I’m a sophomore and this is my 2nd year here. Moderator: And again, I’m Ben and I’m a senior here. Ok! Let’s jump in. Who here has heard of the term athleisure before? P5: I have. Moderator: And what comes to mind? P5: Just being in athletic clothing and lounging. P3: Yeah I agree with that, but I’ve never heard the term before. Moderator: So only one person has heard this term before, but that’s okay. Athleisure is a current trend in American fashion. It started around 2013, and it’s the repurposing of athletic apparel for everyday use. So you guys pretty much hit it right on the head. So to what extent do you all feel you participate in this trend? P5: I sometimes wear yoga pants because they’re quick, comfortable, and easy to wear.

P4: For me it’s probably every day. I mean, this is the only time in the past couple weeks that I’ve actually worn real shoes, not sneakers. Moderator: Is there a reason you choose to wear sneakers everyday? P4: I’m a graphic design major so I’m walking around a lot, and doing a lot of physical stuff in the CAC. I’m always in one building so it’s just more functional. M: What about you, David. Are you a participator in the Athleisure trend? P2: You know, pretty much anytime I’m home I’m wearing athletic shorts. I don’t wear pants in my own house. Moderator: What about when you go out to eat or run errands? P2: Depending on the weather, I’d probably wear shorts there too. I mean it really depends on where I’m going, but for the most part sweats or shorts are fine. If I’m going out, I at least try to be presentable. Moderator: So when you’re wearing athletic apparel… Sarah I see you’re wearing tights or

leggings now.. do you have any particular brand that you sway towards more? P3: I wouldn’t say I wear one specific brand. If I’m buying yoga pants, I’d usually go to Pink or Victoria’s Secret. Moderator: So you wouldn’t say brand is the most important factor when buying athletic clothing? P4: I’d say for the most part I only buy yoga pants from Pink. I feel like they're more comfy and they last longer. Plus they’re made to be cute. Moderator: Janine, would you say you’re an active participant in Athleisure? P1: Most definitely. I love wearing my sweatshirts and leggings. As long as they’re comfortable. Moderator: What makes an article of clothing more comfortable? P1: definitely cotton sweatshirts. (P6 enters) Moderator: Well hello Dayna. P6: Sorry I’m late. Moderator: No problem at all, would you like to introduce yourself to the group? P6: Hi I’m Dayna. Moderator: (Basic ground rule and topic explanation) Moderator: So where do you all generally purchase athletic apparel? Brick and mortar retail? Online? Department stores? Fast fashion like H&M or Forever 21? Athletic apparel stores? P2: When I have money I go to Dick’s, when I don’t, I go to Walmart. P5: I agree with that, but it kinda depends for me. I still like online shopping though. I don’t have to move, or go anywhere.

P4: When I’m home in Northern Virginia I’ll go to Dick’s, but here in Morgantown I just go to Walmart. Moderator: How about you Dana? Any particular brands or places to shop that you prefer? P6: I like Nike. Moderator: What is it about Nike? P6: It's reliable. You know you're getting a quality product. Moderator: I know you over here said you prefer Pink. Is their reliability that keeps you coming back? P4: I feel Pink is more durable. They have a thicker legging material that doesn’t rip as easy. P3: Yeah, and going into a Pink store is fun. Moderator: So what you’re saying is that durability and experience while purchasing are important to you? P4: Definitely. Moderator: So around the room, is experience something that you all look for when shopping

for athletic apparel? P6: Depends on how I’m shopping. If I go in knowing what I’m looking for, it doesn’t matter what the experience is like. If I’m going in to shop around, then yeah, I care about the experience way more. Moderator: We’ve covered a lot about Athleisure. Does anyone have anything else to say before we move on? P4: As much as I like Pink, it's still about what product I’m buying. For leggings and yoga pants, I’ll go to Pink, but for sneakers I'll buy Nike’s. Moderator: Does anybody do any athletic apparel shopping online? P5: Yeah, but I like to find the fit in store first, then I can buy more patterns online. P1: Yeah I find something I like then go on Amazon. P2: And there's always some sort of discount you can find online. Moderator: So when it comes down to it, price seems to be the biggest determining factor. (Nods around the room) Moderator: Is there anything else that you all would like to comment on before we move along? (Pause) Okay, well let’s shift gears a bit then. When you hear the term wearable technology, which products tend to come to mind? P6: FitBit P4: Apple Watch Moderator: FitBit and the Apple Watch? Okay so in terms of fashion, not practicality or functionality, in terms of fashion, how do you all feel about wearable technology? P2: I wouldn’t wear it myself, but I don’t think differently of people who do. I personally just don’t think it looks fashionable.

Moderator: Would you say wearable tech is in fashion? P2: It's getting there, but not quite yet. P4: I mean I’m wearing my FitBit right now. P1: I think at least with the apple watch, they’re so expensive that I still don’t see the need for one. Moderator: But what about in terms of practicality? If you all had a smartwatch, what sort of things could you see yourself using it for? P2: I’d use it for exercise. P6: Yeah Moderator: Okay, and what specifically for exercise? P2: You know, like on the iphone apps that track how far you run. P4: Well on my FitBit it’ll vibrate to tell me to stand up for a bit, or I can read text messages on it, or just use it as a watch. Moderator: Now if cost were no object, could you all see yourself using a smart watch? (yesses from around room)

Moderator: Other than Jess, do any of you currently own any wearable technology? P5: I mean I don’t but my family and friends do. But everytime I think, yeah let's get one of those and start exercising more, I just think about how much I like food.. P4: honestly, the FitBit has not gotten me to exercise more. It just makes me more aware of how little I exercise. Moderator: So you all seem to agree that if you were to use wearable technology, you’d use it for exercise. Any other uses you could foresee? P4: I like that the fitbit tracks your sleeping patterns. It senses how much you move and your heart rate, and lets you know how well you’ve been sleeping. Moderator: Interesting. Our research has even shown that is where wearable technology is heading. P4: This definitely has help my sleep better. Tells me how many hours of sleep I got. How many hours of REM.. Moderator: Gotcha. Well we’ve covered a lot about wearable tech. So let’s go ahead and switch gears again. We’re going to now be discussing Nike itself. What types of products does Nike offer? P6: Pretty much anything and everything that you could ever need for athletics. Moderator: And what would you say is unique about nike? P2: It’s universal. It’s in every sport. It ranges from golf to lacrosse, and I can’t really think of another overarching brand like that. P1: I agree with that.

Moderator: So Nike is universal, but what other words come to mind when you think of Nike? P6: Reliable P3: Durable P5: Comfy P6: Cute Moderator: What about Nike’s reputation? P3: Credible P6: You know you’re getting a good product. Moderator: Can you think of any of Nike’s competitors? P4: Under Armour P3: Adidas P6: Reebok P4: New Balance P6: Puma Moderator: How do you feel these brands stand up to Nike?

P6: I feel the only one that could really compare is Under Armour, but that’s my opinion. Moderator: Is anyone here partial to under armour over nike? P2: I think Nike looks better honestly. P4: yea, but I think it's about the function. Like I really like Under Armour’s coldgear. Like if you're going camping or something, I’d pick Under Armour over Nike. Moderator: So you would say that Under Armour is built more around a particular function, whereas Nike is more universal. (nods around room) Moderator: So how many of you are users of Nike products? Everybody? Wonderful. Now which products do you find yourself using? P2: Shirts and shorts. P6: Shoes, leggings. Moderator: Now are all of you aware of corporate social responsibility? (nods) Moderator: How do you feel Nike upholds their corporate social responsibility? P4: I feel it’s a lot better than in was 5 years ago. Moderator: Why would you say that? P4: I think there was a lot of backlash on how and where their shoes were made, and how much the workers were paid. But I feel like with the Nike women’s marathon and things like that, they're actively trying to show people that their better. Moderator: How often do you wear Nike products now? P6: every day

P2: Yeah, a lot of the time. Moderator: How often do you purchase Nike products? P6: if I have money, generally I'll buy something Nike. P5: see, Nike is just so durable that I haven’t had to replace anything in probably years. P6: That’s true, these shoes I’m wearing I've had since sophomore year and I don’t see them ripping anytime soon. Moderator: Now wear do you purchase Nike products? P4: DSW for shoes. They carry nike shoes, and they’re cheap and they have a good range of product. Not just necessarily nike even though that’s what I usually end up with. P1: I don’t necessarily have a place I always go to just since Nike is kind of everywhere. Moderator: When choosing athletic products, what is the most important factor to you? P6: Durability. I want something that will last. P2: Style. If i'm gonna spend money on something, I want to know I’m going to like wearing it. P5: Comfort for me. Especially if I’m going to be using it for sports. I don’t care what it looks like. Only if its comfortable and performs well.

P3: I'd rather spend 20 dollars more on something I want that get something cheaper that I won’t end up wearing. Moderator: Off the top of your heads what is the best way for a company to reach you? P6: Social media P2: Television and youtube probably. P3: Instagram and twitter are probably the most popular for me. Moderator: Do you feel you see Nike ads regularly. P3: I wouldn’t say regularly. I can’t remember the last time I saw a nike ad, same with Under Armour though. P6: the only one I can recall is the one with the kid running on the street. P2: The only one I can remember is just lebron holding a basketball or something. Moderator: That’s a good Segway, can any of you name any of nike’s brand ambassadors or celebrity endorsers? P3: The US Olympic Team P2: The Oregon football team. Moderator: Any other celebrities? P4: Lebron Moderator: Would you say these people represent Nike well? P3: Definitely. Olympians are the best of the best, and we win a lot. Moderator: Now jumping back to athleisure. Would you say that Nike brands themselves more as leisure wear or performance wear? P2: I think they’re balancing out.

P6: I think they’ve always been a performance brand. But now they’re starting to market their performance in a cute way. Moderator: How do you all think of this trend of wearing more casual clothing in public? P6: Love it P3: Love it. P4: Me too. P6: It's comfortable. I don’t have to go to class in jeans . Moderator: If this trend were to move into more formal settings like the workplace, would you be comfortable with that. P4: If everyone in the office were wearing athleisure, it'd be cool. But I’m not going to just do it. M: Are their any thoughts left to add? P5: I feel that the comfortability of athleisure wouldn’t match with a work environment. The two contradict each other. Moderator: Thank you all for participating today. We really appreciate the help.

Focus Group Session 2:

Moderator: So my name is Benjamin Wasser and I will moderating the session. The goal for today is to discuss trends within the athletic apparel industry, as well as the big players. Specifically, we will be talking about Nike today as we get further into the discussion. Before we get started, I want to let you all know that I am working as an independent researcher for the Reed College of Media, and I am not affiliated with any of the brands we will be discussing today. So let’s go over some ground rules before we jump in. This session is predicted to last around 45 mins to an hour. I’m going to ask that everyone turn off their phones. I want to also let you all know that this focus group is being recorded. I will not be taking any notes, but those observing may send notes in, or chime in from the speaker overhead. During this discussion, there are no wrong answers and we encourage everyone to participate, but you do not need to answer every question. Only one person is to be talking at a time. This is so that we can clearly hear who is talking when we go back over the audio. This is a group discussion however, and not a simple question and answer. Are there any questions for me before we get started? Excellent, well once again please turn off all cellphones and we can begin with getting comfortable with the room. So let’s go around and say our names, where you are from, and how long you’ve been in town. P1: My name is Corey, and I’m a freshman. P2: I’m Sydney, I'm also a freshman. P3: Im Joshua, also a freshman. P4: I'm also josh, and I'm a senior.

P5: I'm katy, and I’m a super super senior. Moderator: Again, I'm Ben, and I'm a senior. So who here has heard of athleisure before? P1: It's like athletic apparel right? Moderator: Close. Any other thoughts? P5: It's like gym to school to wherever. Moderator: Pretty much spot on. Athleisure is a trend in American fashion that repurposes athletic apparel for everyday use. Going out to eat, running errands, going to work etc. So to what extent would you say that you participate in this trend? P2: A lot. All the time. (P6 Enters – ground rules gone over again) (Name: Haley) P3: I’m wearing it right now, so literally every day. Moderator: What brands come to mind when you think of athleisure? P3: Jordan, Adidas. P2: Under Armour. P5: I don’t really think about it by brand beyond what’s on sale at TJ Maxx. Moderator: Would you say that price is a big factor for you when purchasing? P5: Yea, I only wear that type of clothing when I’m running around town doing errands or

something. P1: I like Nike stuff, but it's expensive so the only nike stuff I own came as gifts. P6: I don’t worry about price as much, I'd rather have something of quality than something cheap. P1: I purchase on style, so I like American eagle or aerie type of stores. Moderator: Well where are you all purchasing athletic apparel? Department stores? Fast Fashion stores? Official brand stores? P3: I never go to the official brand stores because that’s where the prices are the highest, so I guess I probably prefer marshalls. P5: I prefer bigger stores where I can find sales P1: I get my leggings from Walmart. To me leggings are all black and they all stretch. Moderator: What about online? P5: Not really. P2: If I know it fits right. P3: Yeah I probably shop the most online. There's more variety and it's easier to find deals. P4: I usually go to the Nike outlet by my house, but also sporting good stores. If i'm looking for something super specific, I'll go online. Moderator: Any brands you're particularly partial to? P4: Nike for anything except soccer. For soccer, it's always Adidas.

P2: I don’t know if you know anything about Roadrunner, but it’s an athletic store in California where I'm from and that’s where I like to shop. Moderator: Is there anything you like to add to this idea of athleisure? If this trend were to move into a more formal setting like the work place would you be comfortable with that? P5: I don’t particularly care for it so much. I like the idea of structured clothing for a formal setting. Maybe I’m old school, but I think it would make for a negative first impression. I wouldn’t want to wear sweatpants and a blazer . P2: If everyone else was wearing it, if it was the norm I’d be so down with it. P6: I guess it's where your at, but it does seem like that is becoming the norm at least in the classroom and college setting. P4: Ya know, I think work is just supposed to be formal. Moderator: When you hear the term wearable technology, what do you think of? P2, 4, 5: Apple Watch P1: Fitbit P3: Nike Fuelband P5: Heart rate monitor Moderator: In terms of fashion, not practicality or functionality, how do you feel about wearable technology? Again in terms of fashion?

P4: I think it's like a trend. Moderator: What do you mean? P4: People wear them more and more, but it doesn’t seem like anyone is actually using them. Moderator: What about in terms of practicality? P5: I mean could you type an email on a watch? Doesn’t seem very practical to me. I could never do business on a watch, beyond notifications or for exercise. P1: Again, it's not really fashionable, and I don’t see smartwatches as all that practical either. Moderator: If the cost of wearable tech wasn’t an issue, would you use it yourself? P3: Yeah. P2: Yeah. Moderator: What for? P2: Exercise and fitness and stuff.. P3: Seems like it would be a more efficient way to stay connected, also I'd probably use it just as a watch. P5: I could see it as a travel tool. It might be really cool to have a discrete map instead of being glued to a phone. P4: It’d be useful for me since I run a lot. Moderator: So let's jump to Nike and your experience with the brand. What types of products come to mind?

P3: Sneakers P6: Shoes P5: Hats P3: Jerseys P1: Sweatpants. Love their sweatpants. Moderator: What makes Nike unique? P2: I just feel like it fits the best out of all the brands. P6: And it's durable too, like that’s why I'm okay with spending a bit more on nike cause I know it'll last. P5: I’d agree. It super durable. P3: All of their celeb endorsements too, they seem to really reach out to the kids to get them invested in the brand early. Moderator: So other than durable, what other words come to mind when you think of nike? P1: Sports P2: I think they're on top of the Nike brands P5: I think of them as like first big player in sports. When I was a kid it was Reebok and Adidas, but Nike has had the longevity. Moderator: What about their reputation. P5: I’ve heard a few things about child labor.

Moderator: Can you name any of Nike’s competitors P5: Under Armour P3: Reebok P2: Puma is making a comeback. Moderator: How often would you say you purchase Nike products? P3: If I like it I buy it. P6: It's not really a set thing. P1: Probably like 3 or 4 times a month. P3: Yeah like every 2 weeks. P5: I’m like a couple times a year. Moderator: Is there any loyalty to a particular athletic brand? P3: Nike for sure. P2: I don’t really care, it's more about what I like. I just seem to like Nike more often. Moderator: Is everyone aware of corporate social responsibility? Would anyone like to take a stab at it? P5: It's basically how a company upholds themselves morally and ethically in terms of their practices and place in society. From manufacturing to business to advertising. Moderator: Spot on. How would you all describe Nike’s role in CSR?

P5: I just know about the child labor scandal. P1: I think they’re pretty good. P3: They’re advertising is pretty inspiring and motivational P6: Yeah I really like their ads. Moderator: So what medium is best for a company to reach you? P1: Social media. P6: Youtube probably. P2: Commercials, I watch TV sometimes. P5: Yeah or like Hulu ads or something. P6: Yeah exactly, sometimes they're annoying but sometimes it's something I want to see. P4: Youtube and Twitter is probably where I see Nike the most. P5: I don’t have Twitter so I’d say Facebook. P2: Billboards on road trips. Moderator: How well would you say that Nike communicates with you? P5: I don’t see their ads anywhere. P3: I see them everywhere! Since I buy from them, every time I go online I see Nike ads. P4: I’d say the same thing. P6: Whenever I watch TV I always see LeBron James repping Nike. Moderator: As far as celebrity endorsements are concerned are there any other people that come to mind?

P4: Derek Jeter? Moderator: Would you say that athleisure is represented well by Nike? P4: I’d say it seems like they know it exists, but they aren’t actively selling it as Athleisure. P5: I don’t know, I feel like they’re definitely pushing the comfort side of athletic clothing. It seems like they’ve definitely expanded their lines. P2: And Nike and the logo is so recognizable. So just by people wearing it more and more, it's being branded through that. P5: There’s also Pink. Moderator: Interesting point. Would you say that you prefer non-athletic brands’ athletic style apparel to clothing from athletic companies? P6: Yeah I like nike, but Pink and Victoria’s Secret are made for women and they’re made for comfort. P5: Yeah nike is still made for performance and they use that performance material. American eagle or something like that is more comfortable, but you wouldn’t go to the gym in it. You could probably argue that American Eagle or Pink is even more Athleisure than Nike. Moderator: So what would you say you value most about the Nike brand? P6: I just love it.

P2: Everyone wears it. Its acceptable across the board. P1: I don’t know.. I think I really prefer American Eagle, and Old Navy and stuff like that. P3: When I was a kid I was looking up to Kobe and all their athletes and I just wanted to be like them and have what they have. They inspired me. P5: And they’re the standard. Its total brand recognition. We’re ingrained at this point to see them as something desirable. You always feel safe buying nike. Moderator: Anything else to add around the room? Alright then. Thank you all again for participating. We really appreciate it.

Moderator Reflection:

My name is Benjamin Wasser, and I acted as the moderator for both sessions of our research team’s focus groups. Fortunately, I had previous experience moderating focus groups for the Daily Athenaeum, West Virginia University’s student newspaper, in 2014. It had been a couple of years, but I wasn’t walking in blind. People coming into focus groups frequently have no idea what to expect. They’ve voluntarily agreed to sit in an unfamiliar room, with unfamiliar people, to discuss an often unfamiliar topic. It can be a bit overwhelming, awkward, or uncomfortable. My goal as the moderator was to help our participants feel as comfortable as possible in order to drive genuine discussion about the athletic industry and the Nike brands.

The most important thing our group did was put together a specific moderator’s guide to stick to. It wasn’t a script to be followed verbatim, but it covered each bit of information that we needed to gain from the discussion. It allowed me to keep the discussion on the proper rails, while allowing for a bit a room for the discussion to freely roam. It also let me pay attention to who was and wasn’t speaking without losing track of where we were in the discussion. It helped me think about multiple things at once. The audio was important for this as well. Knowing that everything was all recorded meant I could think clearer about where we needed to go.

I wish that we had thought through the video aspect a bit better, however it turned out that people's’ voices were unique enough to identify who said what during the transcription process. The transcription process was a bit more time consuming than I counted on, but it helped with analyzing the information.

Out of everything we did to prepare for the focus group, using the Think Tank room was the best thing we could have done. It provided a high tech space that was comfortable to be in.

The fact that we had unseen observers listening in also proved helpful. They were able to freely discuss amongst themselves while taking notes.

In order to find participants, I spoke to a 250 student journalism 101 lecture that catered to students living on the Evansdale Campus. They would already be on that side of town during our lectures, and their professor offered extra credit for their attendance. We also offered bagels to all those who would participate. Within 10 minutes of leaving the lecture, I had enough emails to fill our focus group.

Moderating was an experience that I really enjoyed. It was interesting to hear different answers to questions we’ve been asking during the whole research process. We began this research with a general idea of what we thought we would find, however participants in this focus group caused us to reevaluate the way we thought about the problem. It seemed that while each person had different reasons for feeling a certain way about the topic, a general group consensus did exist. However, I can’t help but think that it’s possible that a few prominent speakers in the sessions swayed the beliefs of those less confident on the topic.

Research II. In-Depth Interviews

In-depth Interview Guide and Responses:

Introduction: Hello. This interview is designed to gather research which will eventually be used to determine the functions of athleisure and wearable technology between millennial consumers. Your information will be kept confidential. The data that is obtained will only be used for research and analysis purposes.

Interviewed by: Alexa Anderson Interviewed by: Benjamin Wasser Interviewed by: Sydney Corbitt Interviewed by: Madeline Matthews Interviewed by: Christina Cook

1. What is your name? - Matt McNamara - Brett Daniels - Alexandria Battle - Hannah McGuire - Jeron Amoroso - Andy Caridi - Keegan Lynott - Nick Burt - Joanne Yahn

- Raphaelle Greco - Samuel Hartiens - Allie Hildebrand - Dominique Edwards - Will Dean - Jeremy Bennett

2. What is your age? - 21 - 22 - 21 - 22 - 25 - 20 - 20 - 22 - 21 - 21

- 20 - 20 - 24 - 29 - 30

3. What is your gender? - Male - Male - Female - Female - Male - Male - Male - Male - Female - Female - Male - Female - Male - Male - Male

4. Are you familiar with “athleisure”? If you answered no, can you explain what you think “athleisure” might be? - Yes, I have heard of the term before.

- No I am not. My guess is that it has something to do with athletic clothing. - Yes, I love athleisure. - I have heard of it a few times before. - No I have not. Is it some type of athletic clothing? - Yes. - Yes, heard the term before. - Yes, often sees term. - Somewhat familiar with term. - Yes, have heard the term - No, I have not. I would guess that it's casual athletic apparel - Yes, I heard it previously - No. Is it clothing line for athletic people that go to the gym - Maybe athletes having leisure time - I have no idea.

Definition of Athleisure: the use of athletic clothing (e.g. hoodies , yoga pants, sweats) that are designed to be worn both as athletic apparel as well as casual clothing.

5. Athleisure is a current trend in American fashion that re-purposes athletic apparel for everyday use. Have you noticed this new clothing movement? If so, where have you noticed this shift in fashion? - I have noticed this mostly in class. - Typically, I see people in the grocery store supporting this trend. - I have seen this shift in class and at the mall. - I have noticed this trend a lot in the classroom. I think it is just comfy to sit in class while wearing it. - Now that I know what Athleisure means, I guess I see it a lot at the grocery store or out in public at less fancy restaurants. - Yes I have seen this shift mostly in class. People do not really dress up anymore. It is more casual. - I notice it at the gym. - I see it around campus and in class. - I often see this when sitting in class. - I have noticed it with trendy moms and college kids. - I have noticed it in my classes a lot. - I see it everywhere. Around campus, shopping, getting food. - Yes, I see tights everywhere. Women are always wearing tights no matter the weather (“thicker ones” when it’s colder). I see it on campus, with everyday use and running errands. People don’t dress up anymore unless there’s a special event. - Yes, with girls wearing running shorts and guys wearing basketball shorts all the time. I

noticed the popularity growth in the past five years. - No.

6. Would you say you are a part of this trend? If you said yes, why do you wear this trend? If you do not wear these clothes, explain what types of clothes do you prefer to wear. - Kind of. I wear basketball shorts almost everyday. I think that they are comfy. - I would say so. It’s comfort that matters most to me. - Absolutely. It is easy and comfortable. - Absolutely I am. I love wearing yoga pants everyday. They provide minimal effort in the morning when I do not feel like putting on nice clothes. - I would say so sometimes. If I am out running errands I’ll wear basketball shorts and a t- shirt . But at work I have to wear nice clothes. - Yeah, I think mostly everyone is at this point. - I would say I am a part of this trend. I always wear sports clothes around campus and the house.

- I mostly wear these clothes on a daily basis. It’s convenient when I go straight from class to practice. - I don’t really wear this trend. But I do wear athletic clothes when I go to the gym. - Yes, it looks like I tried but I didn’t, and it’s still cute. - Not really, I usually try to dress nice. - Yes, I wear a lot of leggings and soccer shorts with comfy t-shirts. - Yes, it’s quick and comfortable. I’m usually late to class anyways so it’s the fastest thing to put on - No, I mostly wear jeans, khakis and chinos. I wear basketball shorts in the summer. - I just wear normal clothes and casual dress, like jeans, khakis and a shirt.

7. In your opinion, which gender is more likely to wear these types of clothes? Why do you think this? - Males because females typically like to dress up more. - Females because they like yoga pants. - In my opinion, definitely females. My friends and I are always ones to wear athletic apparel to class, work or to run errands. - I think females because I think there is more of a variety of options for us. - Definitely females. They see it as more fashionable. - I think it is half and half. Males wear gym attire just as much as females. - Females because a lot of them wear it. - Females. I see a lot of female celebrities wearing it so I think a lot of girl wear these clothes because of that. - Females since this attire is currently trending - Females, because they like to keep up with trends. - Females, I usually see girls wearing a lot of leggings. - Both genders, girls like leggings and comfy clothes and guys can be sort of lazy and

don’t like to dress up. - Females, because their type of clothing is fashionable and comfortable. Guys don’t have those kinds of options. - Girls, because I just see them wearing it more - Either, but probably girls more because they’re more likely to wear something athletic and appropriate to wear out.

8. If you follow this trend, where are you most likely to wear athleisure type clothing? If you do not wear athleisure, where do you see people representing this fashion? - I usually wear it to class. - I wear this trend to class everyday. - To class and work. My work setting is more casual, so it is acceptable. - To class mostly. - Most likely while I’m out running errands or hanging out with friends. - Class and at the gym.

- I mostly wear this attire everywhere. - I wear these clothes to class and then practice. - I only really wear this to the gym - I wear it to class and everyday activities like shopping or running errands. - I wear it to the gym or when I’m relaxing at home, but that’s it. - I wear these clothes all the time unless I am going someplace nice. - Anywhere from class to the club depending on the day. I think athletes wear their sports gear to the club because it’s easier to get girls. - Campus mostly because that’s where most of my time is spent, but pretty much anywhere though - I don’t see it.

9. Are you a consumer of athletic apparel? If so, what you do consider your favorite brand and why? - Yes. My favorite brand is Nike. - Of course. I prefer Under Armour. - Yes. I love Nike. - I own mostly Puma and Victoria’s Secret PINK. Puma is different from the rest so that is why I wear it most. - I am a consumer when I do not have to buy professional clothing. My favorite brand is Nike. - I love Adidas. I think that they are really underrated. - Yes I am a big consumer. I usually wear Under Armour. - I’m an avid consumer of Nike. - I don't really buy these clothes. I usually only have brand name if I get them from a second-hand store. - Not really, I buy sneakers and leggings but not for working out. I usually get anything that is cheap, like from TJ Maxx.

- I work out a lot, so I buy a lot of Nike and Under Armour. - Yes, I usually buy Nike if I want good quality, but if I just want new athletic clothes I buy whatever is cheap. - Yes. Nike, because it’s always on sale and they always come out with new styles. Adidas could have the same things come out that look similar from 20 years ago. - Not regularly, but I do own Nike and Under Armour. Under Armour is more of my favorite. - Yes, Under Armour because of the style

10. How often do you purchase this apparel? Where are you most likely to buy these products (e.g. online, in-store, etc.)? - I don’t shop much, but when I do, it is usually for athletic apparel, so I would say a few times a year. - Every few months.

- I usually purchase athletic wear at least once a month because I wear it so often. - Maybe once every month. I like going to TJ Maxx because it is discounted. Obviously the PINK stuff I buy at Victoria’s Secret. - Only a few times a year because I get a lot of use and my Nike stuff is really durable. I typically buy at Modell’s. - Only a few times a year, but I typically find myself at Walmart because it is cheap. - I usually purchase these clothes every few months. Depends what I am willing to spend on it. - I buy these products monthly becuase I need them for Hockey. Typically purchased at Dick’s. - I never buy these products. Usually get them from second-hand stores. - At least once a month, usually from third party stores. - Every few months, usually at full price stores because I feel like they have better products, - Whenever I need something new. I usually purchase things online because I don’t like going into the store. - Twice a month, in stores - Rarely. The last time I bought athletic apparel was the start of the summer. I always buy in stores. - Somewhat frequently. I buy things online because it’s cheaper.

11. Would you consider Nike to be a part of this movement? Do you think Nike has more Athleisure type clothes or more athletic gear? - Yes. I think they have the same amount of both. It is hard to say. - They definitely are. As far as I have seen, I think that they have more athletic clothing. - I think that they started this movement. I personally think that they have more athleisure clothes. - Absolutely. I think they are the ones who started this trend. I think they have more athletic gear, but are starting to make more Athleisure type.

- I guess they are moving towards it but I am not really up to date with all of their latest products, so I would say they have more athletic gear. - Nike is definitely one of the top brands who are a part of this. They have about equal amounts of both I think. - Yeah I think it is a part of this movement. I think nike has both types of clothing. - I think Nike is strongly a part of Athleisure. But I think Nike has more athletic clothes. - I guess Nike would be considered in this trend. - Yes, I think that Nike is dominating this trend. They have been producing more athleisure recently than they have before, but I think they are still mostly producing athletic gear. - I haven’t really noticed. I see a lot of Nike on my social media timeline though, and it’s usually athleisure. - Definitely, I feel like Nike sort of started the trend. I feel like they sell mostly athleisure. - Yes, athleisure clothing. More of their gear will be online or at stores like Dick’s Sporting Goods.

- Yes, equal mix but I don’t know. - More athletic gear.

12. If Nike were to come out with a clothing line geared toward a more casual fashion, would you purchases these products? Why or why not? - I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to buy it, but probably. - I might. It would depend on what the male clothing would look like. - Absolutely because I think it could start to be even more accepted in more professional workplaces. - If it was affordable, then yes. Again I am not a huge Nike user but I would be willing to check it out. - Not really interested to. - I don’t think I would go out of my way to because I am not really high fashion nor do I care. - I would most likely buy these products. - I think I would rather stick to buy Nike products that are strictly for sports. - Since I don't really buy Nike athletic clothes, I might consider buying clothes that are more professional and casual. - Yes, I like casual athletic gear because I don’t really work out. - Probably not. I usually just purchase athletic gear. - Definitely, I really like their casual athletic clothes. - Depends on the price, since Nike is my brand of choice - Maybe.It has to look cool, be comfortable and reasonably priced. “It’s Nike and they aren’t reasonably priced.”

13. Are you familiar with “wearable technology”? If no, can you explain what you think “wearable technology” might be? - Devices like Fitbit. - Yes. - Yes, Fitbit and devices like that.

- Yep, I have my Fitbit on right now. - Yes I have heard of it. - Yes, like Fitbit. - Yes I am familiar with this term. - Yes. - Somewhat aware of this term. - No, I would guess something like dri-fit. - Yes, like smart watches. - Yes, technology for athletics. - Yes, like an Apple watch. - Yes, watches that sync to smart phones like a Fitbit. - Sort of, like a Fitbit.

Definition of Wearable Technology: the category of technology devices that can be worn by the consumer which often includes tracking information relating to health and fitness.

14. Wearable technology is a current athletic trend that have made it easier for athletes to track their progress and performance. Have you noticed this new trend? Where have you noticed this use of athletic technology? - I’ve noticed it mostly in girls around campus. My sister also has one and wears it everyday. - Yes, mostly around campus and at the gym. - Yeah, I have noticed people wearing it everywhere just in general. - This has been a huge trend, especially within the last year or so. I have noticed it amongst my group of friends, almost all of us have a Fitbit and we challenge each other to who can get the most steps per day. - I notice it around the workplace and for just everyday wear. - I notice a lot of people wearing it around campus or to the gym. - I see some people wearing these around. I usually see it when I go to the gym. - Yeah, I've seen this trend. I mostly see it in older people. - Yes, I have seen this trend. I see a lot of people wear Apple watches in the CAC. - Yes, after New Year's resolutions and at the Workplace and gym. - Yes, I see a lot of people using it when I am at the gym. - I see some people around campus wearing it. - Yes, on out of shape caucasians mostly. Athletes don’t need to use them. Younger people (ages 13-26) use them for technology. Older people, probably around 35 use them for health reasons. - Yes, with Nike Plus, Fitbits, and Apple watches. I’ve noticed them around my peers. - Yes, people I play sports with wear them.

15. Would you say you are a part of this wearable technology trend? If you said yes, why do you wear these products? If you do not utilize this variety of technology, what technology do you use on a daily basis? - No I do not own a Fitbit. I own a phone and a laptop, both Apple products. - I don’t have a desire to own a Fitbit or Apple Watch, but I own an iPhone and MacBook. - Yes, I own a Fitbit. - Yep. I wear it just for fun honestly. I like keeping track of my steps and competing with my friends to see who can get the most. - No I am not and really do not have a desire to be because I feel like it is more feminine. I just use my phone and laptop on a daily basis. - I have a Fitbit, but I rarely use it anymore. I thought it was a trend at first but then I was tired of wearing it on my wrist. - Do not own any of these products. I just use my Iphone.

- Yes, I own an Apple watch. - I usually use my phone or computer for everything. I mainly have Apple products. - No, I can’t afford it so I usually just use my iPhone and the Health app on it. - Yes, I have a fitbit that I use a lot when I’m working out. - Yes, I use my fitbit when I go running to keep track of how I’m doing. - No, I just use my cellphone. I don’t have $300 to put on my wrist. - I used to use Nike Plus. I just use my phone and laptop everyday. - No. I use my phone, laptop and tablet everyday.

16. In your opinion, which gender is more likely to utilize this type of technology? Why do you think this? - Females because I think the products are more feminine looking. - I have never seen a male wear a Fitbit. A few I have seen with an Apple Watch. But females are more likely to wear one because I think that it is more of a feminine thing. - Females because they are more interested in keeping track of their steps per day. - Definitely females because it looks more feminine. - Females because they are more likely to care about how many steps and their heart rate and whatnot. - I think females because of all of their desire to have one. Once one girl sees another wearing it, it seems like she automatically wants one. - Females, because they need it more to work out. - Females, since they like to see their performance and progression. - I think both gender use it equally the same. - Males, because it is more normal for them to wear watches and bulky accessories. - Males, guys are usually more interested in their athletic progress. - Females because I think they like to use it to keep track of weight loss. - Males, because they are more into it and more tech savvy. Females probably use it more for music and texting. - It’s not as gender specific as athleisure apparel and it’s not as fashionable as clothing. - Either, but more males. I see it more on them.

17. Are you an avid consumer of technology? If so, which brands do you prefer? - Yes, I prefer Apple. - Since I own an iPhone and Mac, I prefer Apple. - Yes, I only have Apple products so they are my favorite. - Yep, I need to be for school. I own all Apple products. - I have an iPhone and a Macbook, but I am not against other brands because I have used them in the past. - I have an Android. I am not a fan of Apple products at all. - Yeah, I also use Apple products. - I mostly use my Iphone and Iwatch for everything. - I only really use technology that are Apple products. - Yes, smartphones and laptops. I buy Apple exclusively.

- I usually buy Apple products, but I have a fitbit and a Samsung tablet. - Not really, I have an iPhone and a PC laptop, but that’s it besides my Fitbit. - Not really, Samsung, Beats that I barely use because they’re too bulky in the summer and it’s too hot and in the winter it’s hard to fit over my hat . - Yes, Apple products. - Yes, Samsung.

18. How often do you purchase these technology products? Where are you most likely to buy these products (e.g. online, in-store, etc.)? - Only if I need to, so typically once every few years. I typically go in-store. - Very rarely, once a year at most. I like buying technology products in-store. - Only when they break, so maybe once every 2 or 3 years. - Only if they break, which is every few years. I go to Verizon for my phone and Apple Store for my laptop. - Once a year I get a new phone. I like staying up to date with the iPhone. I buy online so it ships to my house. - Every 3 years. I typically go to AT&T for my phone. - Every few months. Usually online or people give it to me as gifts. - Montly. Usually online. - Rarely, only if something isn't working our breaks. - Every few years, either when my contract is up or there is a new product. I usually buy them at Best Buy. - I buy something new every year, usually from the Apple store. - I only buy new products when my old ones break or stop working. - Maybe once every two months. I do in store purchases because I want to hold it and be able to go back to the store if I have problems. I don’t want to wait on shipping and tech support. - I try to keep up with the new phone and laptop models. I have an iPad mini that I barely use and I want an Apple watch. I purchase online. - Somewhat infrequent because the products are long term items. I buy them online or in

cellphone stores.

19. Are you aware of Nike’s partnership with Apple? If you said yes, what have you heard about it? - No I am not. - Kind of. I heard about their integration with the Apple Watch. - Yes. I have heard about the Apple Watch integration but I do not know much about it. - I am unaware of it. - No I have never heard about it.

- I actually heard about it on Facebook the other day. Someone bought a product but I forget what it was honestly. - I've just recently hear about it from my friends. - I heard about it. I like to read and keep up with new technology. - I am not aware of this partnership. - Yes, they had that shoe applicator and wireless music I think. - Not really. - Yes, I’ve seen ads on my social media timeline for a watch. - Yes, the Nike Plus app with counting calories and keeping track of footsteps and running. You used to not be able to delete the app. - No. - No.

20. Would you consider Nike to be a player of the wearable technology movement? Do you think Nike’s partnership with Apple has increased Nike’s presence in this movement? - Not really. - I guess. The Apple Watch is going to help them become a part of it. - They only became a part of it through Apple. - I think that this movement with Apple will help them become a part of it, but before that they were not as far as I know. - I didn’t think that they were, but it seems like they are now with Apple. - Not before this partnership with Apple, but Apple is now helping them out. - Yeah I think they are in the movement with the Fuelband. - I would agree that Nike is a part of this movement. I think Nikes present will start to increase after this partnership. - I think they are in this trend. I'm not really sure about Apple and Nike. - Yes, Apple has helped Nike become more relevant in trend. - Not really, I don’t think it’s very popular. - I guess, they have had products like that in the past and now they’re doing the Apple Watch. - Yes. Yes because they use each other for advertisements, like co-advertising.

- Not a big one. No, because I don’t know about it. - Yes, possibly. - 21. Have you ever considered owning/Do you currently own any Nike or Apple wearable technology products? If you said yes, what product and what is your opinion on it? - No and I don’t desire to own any. - No I do not and I do not plan on it in the future because I do not feel the need to have it or spend money on it. - I like my Fitbit, so I do not think I would switch over to the Apple Watch.

- No, I like my Fitbit and would never switch over because the Apple Watch is super expensive and I don’t see the need for it when I have an iPhone. - No never. If I do not own it now, then I can’t really see myself owning in the future. - I don’t think I would ever consider it just because I do not use my Fitbit anymore so I considered it a waste of money. - I think I would own a Apple watch if these products were cheaper. - I already own an Apple Watch, but if another more advanced piece of wearable technology came around, I would probably buy it. - No I dont think ill ever buy something like that. I don't need it. - No, I don’t have a use for it. - Yes, I have my fitbit and I use it every day. - Yes, I like my fitbit. However, I don’t think I would buy something else. - No, it’s pointless. I can do the same things on a phone. - An Apple watch. It’s nifty and cool but I can’t afford one right now. - No 22. Any other comments or thoughts regarding this trend? - N/A - N/A - I will forever love athleisure because I am lazy and hate dressing up, so I hope this trend keeps growing. - I hope it continues for a long time. - No comment. - No comment. - No other comments. - I think these brands will continue to produce this technology and clothing because it is become super popular. - No other comments - No other comments. - I think that the trend is interesting, but I’m not a very big consumer of it. - No other comments. - Athleisure is a good trend. They should bring back the old Michael Jordan jumpsuits . - No comments. - No comments.

23. Where are you from?

- Pearl River, NY - Roxbury, NJ - Woodstown, NJ - Charleston, WV - Pittsburgh, PA - Columbus, OH - Los Angeles, CA

- Philadelphia, PA - Baltimore, MD. - York, PA - Bridgeport, WV - Huntington, WV; Morgantown, WV - Philadelphia, PA - Clarksburg, WV - Morgantown, WV

24. What is your ethnic background?

- Caucasian - Caucasian - Caucasian - Caucasian - African American - Caucasian - Caucasian - Caucasian - Caucasian - Caucasian - Caucasian - Caucasian - African American - Caucasian - Caucasian

25. What is your occupation? (i.e. student, part-time, full-time job) If a student, what year are you in school?

- Student with part-time job. - Student with part-time job. - Student with part-time job. - Student with part-time job.

- Full-time job. - Student with part-time job. - Student. - Student. - Student with part-time job. - Student with a part-time job on campus. - Student with a part-time job on campus. - Student with a seasonal part-time job on campus. - Student with a part-time job.

- Student with two part-time jobs. - Full-time job.

Conclusion: The survey is now complete. Thank you for your time. We appreciate your thoughts and opinions. This data will further help us draw conclusions based on the information you provided.

Research II. Online Survey Questionnaire

Athletic Trends

Welcome to the Athletic Trend Survey! Hello participants! This survey is presented by the 421 level Strategic Communication class under the Reed College of Media at West Virginia University. Thank you for taking time out of your day to complete this survey. We really appreciate your input. Our goal for this study is to understand the variety of attitudes behind wearing athletic apparel. We will use this data in order to draw specific conclusions that are needed for our upcoming research. Your feedback will be able to tell us what you as consumer prefer to wear on a daily basis. This survey will take no longer than 15-20 minutes.Your answers are completely anonymous and will be kept confidential. If you feel uncomfortable answering these questions, you may withdraw at any time. Please fill out these questions to the best of your abilities. You must be over the age of 18 in order to take this survey. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Sydney Corbitt at [email protected] . Thank you for your time and support.

1. Please rank the brands below based on your personal preference. ( "1"- being most preferred, "5"- being least preferred) ______Puma (1) ______Nike (2) ______Adidas (3) ______Under Armour (4) ______Reebok (5)

2. Athleisure: the use of athletic clothing (e.g. hoodies, yoga pants, sweats) that is designed to be worn both as athletic apparel as well as casual clothing. Athleisure is a current trend in American fashion that re-purposes athletic apparel for everyday use. How familiar are you with the "Athleisure" trend?

Not at all Slightly Moderately Very Extremely Familiar Familiar Familiar Familiar Familiar (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) How familiar ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ are you with the "Athleisure" trend? (1)

3. To what extent are you aware of this fashion trend? Not at all Slightly Moderately Very Extremely aware (1) Aware (2) Aware (3) Aware (4) Aware (5) To what ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ extent are you aware of this fashion trend? (1)

4. Given the definition of "athleisure" above, to what extent are you interested in "Athleisure"? Not at all Slightly Moderately Very Extremely Interested Interested Interested Interested Interested (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) To what ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ extent are you interested in "Athlesiure"? (1)

5. Would you consider yourself to be be a part of this new trend? ⃝ Strongly agree (1)

⃝ Agree (2)

⃝ Somewhat agree (3)

⃝ Neither agree nor disagree (4)

⃝ Somewhat disagree (5)

⃝ Disagree (6)

⃝ Strongly disagree (7)

6. Based on the question above, briefly describe why or why not you choose to participate in "Athleisure"? ______

7. In your opinion, which gender is more likely to wear "Athleisure" clothing? ⃝ Males (1)

⃝ Females (2)

8. Would you consider yourself a person who wears clothes based on the following characteristics? Least Less Neutral More Most Considered Considered (3) Considered Considered (1) (2) (4) (5) Style (1) ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝

Price (2) ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝

Material ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ (3)

Color (4) ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝

Comfort ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ (5)

9. If this trend were to flow into a more formal setting such as the workplace, to what extent are you comfortable with this new attire? ⃝ Extremely comfortable (1)

⃝ Moderately comfortable (2)

⃝ Slightly comfortable (3)

⃝ Neither comfortable nor uncomfortable (4)

⃝ Slightly uncomfortable (5)

⃝ Moderately uncomfortable (6)

⃝ Extremely uncomfortable (7)

10. To what extent do you agree with the following statements. I tend to wear athletic apparel... Strongly Somewhat Neither Somewhat Strongly agree agree agree nor disagree disagree (1) (2) disagree (3) (4) (5) ... at the ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ gym. (2)

...at work. ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ (3)

... in class. ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ (4)

... when ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ running errands. (5)

11. To what extent would you consider Nike to be a part of this "Athleisure" trend? ⃝ Strongly agree (1)

12. How often do you typically purchase athletic apparel? ⃝ Once a week (1)

⃝ Once a month (2)

⃝ Every 2-3 months (3)

⃝ Once a year (4)

⃝ Do not use (5)

13. How often do you typically purchase Nike brand products? ⃝ Once a week (1)

14. If you were to purchase athletic apparel, where are you most likely to buy these products? ⃝ Online (1)

⃝ Sporting Good stores (Dicks, Modell's) (2)

⃝ Department stores (JcPenney, Macy's) (3)

⃝ Official Brand stores (Nike, Under Armour) (4)

⃝ Discount Retail stores (Walmart,Tj Maxx) (5)

⃝ Fast Fashion stores (H&M, Forever 21) (6)

⃝ Other (7)

15. What do you typically spend on brand name athletic apparel per month? ⃝ Less than $50 (1)

⃝ $50-$100 (2)

⃝ $101-$150 (3)

⃝ $151-$200 (4)

⃝ $200+ (5)

16. Who was the President before Barack Obama? ⃝ George W. Bush (1)

⃝ Bill Clinton (2)

⃝ Abraham Lincoln (3)

⃝ Bill Murray (4)

17. Do you currently own a piece of wearable technology such as a FitBit or Apple watch? ⃝ Yes (1)

18. If Nike were to integrate a shoe and apparel line that would connect data onto an Apple Smartwatch, how likely would you be to purchase this hi-tech apparel? ⃝ Extremely likely (1)

⃝ Moderately likely (2)

⃝ Slightly likely (3)

⃝ Neither likely nor unlikely (4)

⃝ Slightly unlikely (5)

⃝ Moderately unlikely (6)

⃝ Extremely unlikely (7)

19. Wearable technology like FitBit and the Apple Watch are considered... 1 (1) 2 (2) 3 (3) 4 (4) 5 (5) 6 (6) 7 (7) Unfashionable:Fashionable ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ (1)

Impractical:Practical (2) ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝

Unaffordable:Affordable ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ (3)

Temporary Fad:Permanent ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ Staple (4)

20. How likely are you to adopt wearable technology in the future? ⃝ Extremely likely (1)

21. What is your age? ______Age (1)

22. Which of the following best describes your gender? ⃝ Male (1)

⃝ Female (2)

⃝ I prefer not to answer (3)

23. What is your current employment status? (Check all that apply) ⃢ Student (1) ⃢ Part-Time Employed (2) ⃢ Full-Time Employed (3) ⃢ Unemployed (4) ⃢ Other (5)

24. Choose one or more races that you consider yourself to be: ⃢ White (1) ⃢ Black or African American (2) ⃢ Hispanic or Latino (3) ⃢ American Indian or Alaska Native (4) ⃢ Asian (5) ⃢ Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander (6) ⃢ Other (7) ______

25. Information about income is very important to understand. Would you please give your best guess? Please indicate the answer that includes your entire household income in (previous year) before taxes. ⃝ Less than $10,000 (1)

⃝ $10,000 to $19,999 (2)

⃝ $20,000 to $29,999 (3)

⃝ $30,000 to $39,999 (4)

⃝ $40,000 to $49,999 (5)

⃝ $50,000 to $59,999 (6)

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theido mokhara

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The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. All in-text references underlined in blue are added to the original document and are linked to publications on ResearchGate, letting you access and read them immediately.

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cara mengetahui penyakit kelamin pria yang paling umum terjadi - Seorag pria lebih sering terinfeksi penyakit kelamin karena perilakunya yang kebanyakan sering melakukan hubungan seks lebih dari satu orang. Banyak juga yang "jajan" di luar dengan para pekerja seks. Karena sudah terpengaruh oleh nafsu menyebabkan mereka lali dengan bahaya penyakit kelamin yang sewaktu waktu bisa menyerang mereka.

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Flávia Piva Almeida Leite

O presente estudo se destina a levantar a questão das Fake News e o seu papel prejudicial na diminuição dos índices de vacinação no Brasil com o reingresso de doenças até então consideradas erradicadas. Dedica-se, também, a abordar quais as medidas estatais que estão sendo tomadas para esclarecer as notícias falsas à população brasileira e incentivar os pais ou responsáveis a submeter seus filhos aos programas de imunização. A metodologia utilizada na elaboração do artigo considerou artigos científicos e doutrinas específicas sobre a matéria, permitindo entender que a informação somente pode ser considerada pressuposto da democracia quando encontra fundamento em bases verídicas de fatos e de ideais, de modo que o artigo nos faz refletir sobre o conflito existente nos tempos atuais entre a liberdade de informação e direito à saúde.

Journal of Thoracic Oncology

Alex Vitorio Amadio

Hossein Kheiri

Endogenous infection and exogenous reinfection are two mechanisms responsible for the reactivation or regeneration of active tuberculosis (TB) in individuals who have experienced prior active TB infections. Following primary TB infection, only approximately 10% of individuals develop active TB. Most people are assumed to mount an effective immune response to the initial infection that limits proliferation of the bacilli and leads to long lasting partial immunity both to further infection and to reactivation of latent bacilli remaining from the original infection. Infected individuals may develop active TB as a consequence of exogenous reinfection, i. e., acquiring a new infection from another infectious individual.In this paper, we propose a new model of tuberculosis with endogenousreactivation and exogenous reinfection. The analysis reveals that the modelundergoes a backward bifurcation, where a stable disease-free equilibrium(DFE) co-exists with a stable endemic equilibrium when t...

Angewandte Chemie International Edition

Akos Vertes

Tomislav Došlić

We present explicit formulas for augmented eccentric connectivity indices of several classes of grid graphs that arise via Cartesian product. We also explore their asymptotic behavior and compute the compression ratios for considered graphs.

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