Where Did You Buy Your Nike Clothing?
If you are an average U.S. citizen, it is likely you own something with a Nike logo on it. Self-reported medium- to high-income people are more than 50% likely to own Nike products.
Nike is the largest supplier and manufacturer of athletic shoes, apparel and sports equipment in the world. The brand value of Nike is nearly $35 billion. This Beaverton, Oregon, company is now a worldwide brand.
But something is changing at Nike.
Now, you may look at this chart and say, “But Mark, 65% of Nike’s sales are not direct.” But the trend line is telling of a monumental shift, and it will change retail forever.
A shift is happening in the marketplace. You may continue to hear little blips of “shop local” here and there, but going direct is where digital is taking most major brands. Stores of the future will not be the same. It’s time to reimagine before it is too late.
Mark Mathis
Mark wrote his first direct-mail fundraising letter in 1981 for the University of Iowa Center for Advancement. The effort raised a few million dollars in undiscovered wills and legacy gifts. From that day forward Mark discovered a love of the big idea that moves the needle.
After 12 years at KWWL, Mark became a business owner as a co-founder of ME&V — rebranded as AMPERAGE in 2015. After 25 years of leading creative teams in video production, graphic design, PR, writing and web development, Mark transitioned out of ownership in 2021. Today he serves in an employee role as special projects consultant.
He is creatively ambidextrous — son of an artist and engineer — and famous for distilling complex ideas down to a few words and a few visuals. Mark is a writer. When he found that many nonprofits struggled with complex branding puzzles, he wrote the book, “NonProfit-NonMarketing .” He also wrote a novel called “Reenactment.”
Mark is an active blogger OneMinuteMarketer® with nearly 1,000 readers each week on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter. One of his most popular YouTube videos is on “How to Look Good on Zoom.”
One of Mark’s fondest business memories was being named to INC 500 two times and attending the INC 500 conference with other winners. Mark is considered by some a Civil War expert (and that explains his novel). Mark also served as an adjunct professor in the business and in the communications departments at Wartburg College.
Mark is a graduate of the University of Iowa and is currently vice president of the University of Iowa Journalism and Mass Communications Advisory Board.
Mark is married to state Sen. Liz Mathis, and the two love to travel, even when it means being trapped by a volcano in the Czech Republic for three weeks.