Saturday 18 June 2011

From $35 to $1 million, the Swoosh story


The Nike swoosh created by designer Carolyn Davidson for Phil Knight and his fledgling Nike brand cost $35 in 1971. When first presented, Phil's comment was 'Well, I don't love it, but maybe it will grow on me'...
Today the Nike brand is worth $10.7 billion (Interbrand), the most valuable sports brand in the world. Knight is not only a outstanding entrepreneur, he is also a world class philanthropist. He has donated $230 million to the University of Oregon, $100 million to its Athletics Fund, $105 million to Stanford Graduate School and $100 million to the Oregon University Cancer Institute.
In 1983 he organized a party for Carolyn, gave her a diamond and gold Swoosh ring and an envelope containing 500 Nike shares, which today are worth... nearly $1 million. Just share it!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I had always heard the story that they "swoosh" designer was completely ripped off. That's nice to know she was compensated a little better in the long run with stocks. Thanks for sharing this!