From Partners to Lawsuit - The Nike & Asics Relationship
Nike might be the biggest sneaker brand today, with a total revenue in 2021 topping $44.5 billion.
Nobody can deny that the swoosh is the most iconic logo not only when talking about sneakers, but perhaps even the world. But what many people do not know is the wild relationship Nike had with Asics.
Everything begins with a young Phil Knight, during his days at Stanford Graduate School of Business. His paper, “Can Japanese Sports Shoes Do to German Sports Shoes What Japanese Cameras Did to German Cameras?”, leads to his future success.
For his graduation trip, he headed to Kobe, Japan, where Asics, still known only as Onitsuka at the time [Onitsuka, GTO, and Jelenk merge to become Asics in 1977] was located. Impressed by the high quality & low costs, Phil contacts Onitsuka for a meeting, and gets distribution rights for the western US by the end of it. When asked about the encounter, Kihachiro Onitsuka [at the time 44] states that the young ambitious Phil [at the time 24] overlapped with the image of his younger self, and he wanted to trust that energy.
After returning to the states, Phil and his track coach Bill Bowerman started Blue Ribbon Sports in 1964, what is today known as Nike. While at first sales were not good, by 1969 they were able to focus solely on BRS. At this point, BRS and Onitsuka had a very good relationship, with BRS giving advice on the US market, and Onitsuka changing their shoes based on it.
In an attempt to create the perfect shoe, they cut ties with Onitsuka, and ask Asahi Corporation to produce shoes for them. BRS created their first shoe with the Swoosh in 1971.
Later, the iconic “Cortez” shoe that Bowerman created while still with Onitsuka causes trouble between BRS and Onitsuka. Both sides wanted to use the name and design, which led to BRS suing their former partners, resulting in Onitsuka paying over $1 million and having to change the name from the Cortez to the Corsair.
While we aren’t saying one side is to blame, both brands wouldn’t be who they are today if it weren’t for their past. Next time you wear a pair of Nike or Asics shoes, thank the other brand.
