Nike comes to Kenya .....formally !

I think this ought to be one of the best moments for Kenya's sports circles. One of sports most famous manufacturers makes it entry (albeit formally) into the country. Having seen the company sponsor our national teams in the form of kitting and provision of sports equipment, it didn't augur well for the company not have a presence in such a strategic place.
I remember around 2003-4 when they had an advert of Kenyan athletes training and running in the Rift Valley ( funny that even the Ethiopians who have proved to be Kenya's main rivals also come from....yes Great Rift Valley....I digress !), and I asked myself, why they couldn't even have a store at any of the shopping malls (or 'exhibitions' as Kenyans have gotten this hype around).
This is going to be a good entry with some of the teams which the company sponsors expected to be having busy schedules. Athletics is one of their mainstay disciplines along with the Kenyan Rugby team among others.
What maybe of concern though is that there are too many counterfeit products in the local market and Africa generally. This might affect their bottomline since the pricing of their products at times seems prohibitive. But then again, given Kenyans have been known to be some of the most conspicous spenders, they might just cream the market.
Go on, try one of their stores in the region ( one has opened at the Nakumatt Westgate in Westlands) as we wait for more to come along. There's also a radio station running a promo on one of its programmes for listeners to win assorted prizes from this legendary company( read "label") .
Quick Check:
I'll have to say I was a bit disappointed having gone to the Nike branded shop at Nakumatt Westgate. They have a limited number of items which might not appeal to the market they had wanted to target but then let's hope they are able to get additional lines such as basketball,athletics and maybe even casual wear.
I also noticed two other brands with shops there, Converse and Adidas (please don't sue me for using these on the same blog article, it's just that I thought I'd mention it !)
Did you know.......
that NIKE which is pronounced as NI-KEY, is the winged goddess of victory according to Greek mythology.
The NIKE 'swoosh' embodies the spirit of the winged goddess who inspired the most courageous and chivalrous warriors at the dawn of civilization. The SWOOSH logo is a graphic design created by Caroline Davidson in 1971-she was a student at Portland State University in advertising. She met Phil Knight who taught accounting at her institution and did some freelance work for him. She was asked to design a logo that could be placed at the side of the shoe, and in response handed him the SWOOSH, he handed her $35.00 ! Now you know the rest of the story.....

Acknowledgement: Nike Consumer Affairs