Nike's Possible Marketing of Toning Shoe

To: PhilKnight@Nike.com

Subject: Nike’s possible marketing of a toning shoe.

Mr. Knight,

I am sending you this email after the discussion we had on Wednesday at the cafeteria, about the problems that Nike is facing with the development of toning shoes. Even though I was really surprise that my opinion on the question interest you, since I just started working for the company this week, I am pleased and honored to give it to you. This issue is complicated. With the toning shoe, rival companies such as Skechers or Reebok have found new customers that used to buy Nike products. Nevertheless, I believe that Nike should stay out of the toning shoe business because it is only a trend, that has no scientific results, and that could hurt our company's high performance brand image. Therefore developing other shoes for women's fitness is, in my opinion, the thing to do.

Toning shoes were supposed to force muscles to work more while working, and therefore help active women to work out more efficiently. But scientific researches have not shown any significant results. It is therefore imaginable that the development of toning shoe is only a trend that will not last. Nike has been known for the past forty years as a high performance brand producing only high quality sporting goods. Following the “trend” would associate toning shoes with our brand, which could hurt the company's image, if the success of this new type of exercising shoe does not last, or if toning shoes are proofed to be inefficient.

Nike has imposed itself as the worldwide leader in the production and sales of sporting goods. A huge part of this success depends nowadays on the very good image that the brand has. Going into the toning shoe business would probably be beneficial for the company, on a short time basis, since it would increase the sales of women's running shoes. But, on the long term, it could become a terrible move. If the toning shoe business reveals to be a simple trend, it could be...