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The Decisions that Led to Nike as We Know It

Phil Knight

Nancy Napier dives a little deeper into what decisions played pivotal roles in creating the brand and icon that is so familiar today.

“A few employees tried to find a name that all could agree on. Knight liked Dimension Six but no one else did. Other options were Falcon, Bengal and finally Nike, the Greek goddess of victory. Knight had loved Greece during his trek around the world in the early 1960s. That connection helped him warm to the Nike name. Also, one of his employees then mentioned that great brand names—Clorox, Xerox, Kleenex — had common features: a strong sound, no more than two syllables, and some letter like “K” or “X”.”