Chapter 498 Lin Dong Must Lose!

The difference between LED lights and phosphorescent rubber is actually just a way of thinking.

Imitation is easy...

For a big brand like Nike, it is actually very easy to deal with the new products of such small workshop opponents.

The marketing department always has researchers who pay attention to new products. Once there is a new model on the market, Nike can make it in less than three days, lay out the production line in ten days, and launch it in half a month! Then, with the help of public opinion and Nike's own reputation, and then using a large number of sales channels, the original version can be labeled as a pirated version in minutes, leaving the original with no room for survival. This is also the reason why small workshops are simply unable to compete with such big brands, and why Nike always regards Adidas as the most troublesome opponent, because when facing a sports goods dealer of the size of Adidas, they can also have overwhelming advance publicity and a large number of distribution channels, so that you can't copy it at all.

But the problem now is that the reputation of Under Armour's phosphorescent rubber shoes has been established, and it is fierce as soon as it appears. With the influence of the supersonics and Lin Dong, it became popular all over the United States overnight.

In this case, if Nike still uses the same method to deal with small workshops as before, using knockoffs to replace genuine products, it will obviously not work.

All American consumers know that you are just a counterfeiter, and they will label you as "shameless" and "disrespecting intellectual property rights". Standing at the bottom of moral public opinion, you will never win the favor of consumers.

I was careless...

Phil Knight was so angry that his teeth were itching.

A small workshop has achieved the publicity strength of a top brand. Relying on a good product and Lin Dong's influence and popularity, it actually killed itself by surprise.

Then you have to take the second path, and make some upgrades and changes based on the imitation.

He uses phosphorescent rubber, so Nike has to find a substitute material. He designs high-top shoes, so Nike has to design something else to distinguish it from Under Armour's fluorescent shoes. Although the selling points are actually the same, the materials and styles are different. In addition to Nike's own sales advantages and quality assurance in the minds of consumers... Phil Knight feels that he is at least 70% to 80% sure of winning this battle.

A small workshop that has been ruined by itself now wants to turn over?

That is impossible. No business tycoon will ever allow an enemy to turn over again on his own track. That is much more terrible than facing a new enemy.

Phil Knight could vaguely feel that this was no longer just a grudge between him and Lin Dong, but the aggressive Under Armour had already made him feel threatened.

Under Armour must be defeated!

Nike's R&D department worked all night and worked overtime.

Under Armour started promoting on December 12 and started issuing on the 20th. By January 6th, Nike finally found the right direction.

If phosphorescent rubber cannot be used, then use fluorescent powder.

The two materials have their own advantages and disadvantages. Compared with the former's whole piece of brightness, fluorescent powder is not inferior to the other in brightness, but it adds a sense of starry sky. The visual effect is actually slightly better than phosphorescent rubber.

But the only trouble is that fluorescent powder is actually a radioactive substance. To put it simply, it is harmful to the human body.

Of course, it is possible to handle this kind of radioactivity, but the process of fusing materials becomes much more complicated, which also makes the cost of this pair of fluorescent shoes not cheap.

If this is an ordinary workshop, making a quick buck, then naturally it does not need to pay attention to such a small problem. A pair of shoes can only be worn for a year at most, and the radioactivity will not make your feet rot or cause any major diseases, at most it will cause some allergic problems.

But since it is to bring down Under Armour, then naturally there can be no handle left. Phil Knight still does not intend to save money here. After all, Under Armour's current flash shoes are priced at US$799 on the official website. No matter how high the cost of his fluorescent shoes is, selling them for US$499 is still a big profit, and by the way, he can also undercut Under Armour at a high price.

So, when the NBA game was in full swing, on January 11, Nike's official website had already posted an advertisement for the new fluorescent shoes.

James 1st generation!

In fact, according to Phil Knight's original intention, the exclusive sneaker series for LeBron will not be launched until next year, preferably after defeating the Supersonics.

But now the fire has reached my eyebrows, so I have to rush to use it first.

James 1 uses the latest fluorescent rubber material independently developed by Nike. The main feature is that it looks more dazzling than phosphorescent rubber and is more reliable than the Under Armour brand!

Nike's production line has been put into use and has passed the market quality inspection. It is expected to be officially launched on January 20th, with a launch price of only 499! And Nike officially promised that this will also be the official price of this shoe after it is finally fully launched on the market, and it will not be sold at 799 like Under Armour.

Phil Knight was sipping his red wine in the office and appreciating the enthusiasm of many loyal Nike fans on the Internet, and a faint sense of comfort surged in his heart.

New materials + price war, how will Under Armour respond?

After working hard for more than half a month, I can finally have a good sleep.

But I didn't expect to see the secretary's anxious report as soon as I got up the next day.

——Under Armour launched a new flash shoe, the dragon version is still 799, the main feature is Lin Dong’s exclusive, and the ordinary version is priced at 199…

Phil Knight wanted to laugh, facing Nike’s price war, is this going to go the extreme high-end and extreme low-end route, avoiding market overlap with Nike?

To be honest, Plank, who built Under Armour from scratch, is worthy of this simple and effective trick.

The cost of fluorescent shoes is indeed too high. With current technology, it is not easy to deal with the radioactivity of fluorescent powder. If Under Armour sells it for 299, Nike can still compete with it, but 199... not only will it not make any profit, but it will also lose money.

Although Nike does not mind and has enough confidence to fight this kind of price war when it comes to extreme situations, it is obviously not the best way.

Fortunately, I had expected it and launched the second card, the public opinion card.

The James 1st generation was jointly created by three famous designers, Eric Avar, Hatfield, and Aaron Cooper. The appearance is technological and fashionable, and Nike has studied ergonomic design for decades. What can you compare with Under Armour?

You sell the dragon model for 799, purely to sell Lin Dong's fame and the freshness of phosphorescent rubber; you sell the ordinary model for 199, which is completely low-end.

In a word, if consumers buy the 799 dragon model, they are paying an IQ tax; and if they buy the 199 ordinary model, they have no taste and don't understand shoes, or even a poor guy who doesn't deserve to wear good shoes.

I thought this hidden trick could bring down Under Armour in a minute.

But I didn't expect that when the American media mocked Under Armour for this, Plank only used a light word to press Phil Knight to the ground and rub him for 10,000 years.

The designer of Under Armour's first generation dragon model is Professor Johns Knepper...

Who is Johns Knepper? A lifetime honorary professor at Johns Hopkins University, he is now an absolute authority in ergonomics research in the United States. Two of the designers Nike mentioned are his students!

Do you dare to say that the shoes he designed are not as good as those of your designers? Do you dare to say that there is no technological content?

Naturally, they are all slanders, which do not damage Under Armour's reputation at all, but instead help Under Armour to make a wave of advertisements.

This has hung Nike in the air.

Not being able to compete with the designer, the advantage of fluorescent powder being brighter was buried. It even became the target of ridicule by fans because of being slapped in the face.

The most uncomfortable thing is the price of Nike, 499... Those who are willing to spend money don't mind paying 300 more to buy the most popular Lin Dong style authentic product, and those who are reluctant to spend money... I buy a pair of 199 popular models, isn't it better than your 499?

And what's more terrible is that it is called a regular model, and the design seems to be very simple, but it reveals an indescribable perfection and ease and comfort.

What kind of coconut shoes are these? Once they were released, they became a trend in an instant. The official website sold them for 199, but due to their limited production capacity, they were in short supply. They were still hyped up to about 1,000 US dollars on the black market... This damn coconut! It feels even more popular than the dragon model!

Nike's fluorescent shoes were only popular for a few days, and then the sales volume declined rapidly. In this market, they can't compete with Under Armour at all.

Price reduction?

It is impossible to reduce the price, otherwise even the last few middle customers will betray you and you will have to find another way out.

Nike's design department is working overtime again, planning to launch an upgraded version of the James 1.

They spared no effort in design and no cost, and also seized the aesthetics that the whole United States has been led astray by Under Armour, moving towards a simple style, but the simplicity of the appearance does not mean that the interior is simple. All the necessary high-tech is piled up, and the production line must be fully upgraded, but the price is still 499.

This is really a bloody investment. The main point is to strangle Under Armour in this market with super high cost performance, and never let it make a comeback.

With a large amount of capital investment, it is still possible to grab some time.

In mid-February, before the All-Star Game, the new shoes were finally released after working overtime.

Although LeBron is still in Japan, this does not prevent Phil Knight from taking the sneaker and TV team to Japan to shoot a special series, recording LeBron's daily training interviews, and interviewing those famous trainers for a special program. At the same time, he also took advantage of this wave of operations to launch new sneakers.

But he had just finished recording this program when the All-Star Game began.

When Lin Dong appeared on the court wearing the brand new pair of coconut shoes, he led the Western All-Stars to beat the Eastern team, and won the Eastern team by more than 30 points without mercy...

After fans all over the United States accepted the simple style of the first generation of coconut shoes, and received excellent feedback on the lightness and comfort after wearing them, the reputation had already risen, and this style became more and more popular.

So much so that this more simple second-generation coconut shoe, the dragon model No. 2, appeared on Lin Dong's feet and already tightened the hearts of fans all over the United States. They even stopped using phosphorescent rubber. Instead, this time, the selling point was completely on design and style.

Phil Knight understood.

Flashing shoes are just a transitional product of Under Armour.

Use Lin Dong's fame and phosphorescent rubber to get American fans to accept it first, then transition to the ordinary model with phosphorescent rubber and simple coconut design, and then transition to the current ergonomic model with pure coconut design...

Under Armour is cautious at every step, and it is not a one-shot attempt to make quick money.

Professor Nepp can only provide Under Armour with technical support in ergonomics, but trendy things like phosphorescent rubber and coconut appearance design are definitely not from Professor Nepp's hand.

Any of these ideas is enough to lead a trend, enough for a company to eat for many years, but Under Armour is now throwing them out one after another like free cabbage!

It seems that Plank has not only been running his small workshop honestly in the past two years, but has been preparing to attack Nike!

The opponent came prepared, and Nike is now completely led by the opponent. Phil Knight can even feel that Under Armour's trump cards are far more than these.

After all, if he were Plank, facing a powerful opponent like Nike, he would still dare to continue to launch new models at the current speed. There is only one reason, that is, the opponent still has more designs in his hands!

Go after? Go to compete with Under Armour in design?

Frankly speaking, Phil Knight feels that this battle is really difficult to fight. After all, the enemy is in the dark and we are in the light. You don’t know how many trump cards Under Armour has in his hand, but you have been led by the nose.

They can't compete in this aspect. If things go on like this, Under Armour will be able to bite off a big piece of meat from Nike in less than half a year. And I heard that Softbank has invested in them again. Under Armour is madly expanding their production lines. At the current momentum, Under Armour will be able to return to the scale when they went public in less than half a year! Even threatening Nike's position!

Then we can only...

Boom!

Phil Knight slammed his fist on the desk hard, forcibly calming his inner anger.

Going back to the source, all the problems are still with Lin Dong.

Without Lin Dong's brand influence and publicity, even if Under Armour has better products, such a small workshop is not qualified to compete with Nike.

So, as long as Lin Dong is defeated, Under Armour can be killed!

This year's playoffs will soon be here.

Lose, Lin Dong must lose!

Thinking of this, Phil Knight's eyes were filled with blood.

At all costs!