Good Morning POU!
Its not a secret that the athletic footwear industry practically makes all strategy and marketing decisions based on appeals to the African-American male consumer between the ages of 12-35.
Indeed, the realization of this demographic’s influence has been a pillar of the marketing strategy of the Nike empire. Though Nike has faced occasional controversy for its overt pursuit of minority patronage, it’s hard to ignore the brilliance of these efforts considering the company’s $24.1 billion revenue in 2012 with an 8% five-year compound annual growth rate.
According to Forbes, a sizable chunk of Nike’s revenue comes from its Jordan Brand subsidiary, which controlled 58% of the U.S. basketball shoe market in 2012 and is immensely popular with African American males in particular. The Jordan Brand grew between 25-30% in 2012, and generated more than $1.75 billion globally including apparel (Jordan Brand sneakers alone generated $1.25 billion in wholesale revenue in the U.S. in 2012).
But while Nike seeks out the black consumer, what of its actual designers? Instead of only using black faces to market their footwear, who gets to sit in the creative seat and design the shoes? Believe it or not, there have not been many at all. Only a select few have been able to break the glass ceiling and fulfill a dream of designing for the top athletic footwear companies in the world.
Wilson W. Smith III
Considered the Godfather of Design by up and coming designers in the industry, Wilson Smith III is a Design Director at Nike Inc. He has, over the past 30 years, worked on projects that run the gamut of the design profession—retail, graphics, architecture, footwear, experience and apparel—and developed product for some of the greatest athletes in Nike’s history: Michael Jordan, Serena Williams, Andre’ Agassi, and Roger Federer.
Graduating with an architectural degree from the University of Oregon, Wilson began his Nike career in 1983 assisting VP Special Projects Design Tinker Hatfield—then corporate architect—before transitioning to Basketball and Cross Training footwear design. Wilson’s initial position was as the Corporate Interior Designer. He designed showrooms, stores and offices, as well as various graphic publications. In 1987, he made the jump to Product Design in footwear and some apparel. In 1993, Wilson helped design signature lines for several of Nike’s top tennis athletes, eventually serving as Design Director for Nike Court. In ’97 Wilson became the first dedicated designer for Brand Jordan, designing the Air Jordan XVI & XVII. For the past 6 years has served as a Design Director in the Zoo for special projects creating innovation for Core Performance and NSW footwear.
What has consistently defined Wilson is his incredible passion around coaching, teaching and giving back. Whether serving as innovation lead for N7, aiding recovery efforts in Haiti, serving as an adjunct professor at the U of O or leading projects for the Better World team or Nike’s Ability Network, Wilson’s commitment to the next generation of designers and the power of design to positively impact the world has created a presence and legacy that will only grow stronger in his latest Nike position as a DNA Design Specialist with an emphasis on Academic Outreach.