Nike's bid to challenge old-school Adidas Cool gets winded
Its reboot of the Cortez with a big campaign isn't shifting as many sneakers as hoped for, and the sales are falling. Adidas, however, is garnering more buzz
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IN 1967, the company that would become the world-famous shoe brand Nike needed an identity for its new, state-of-the-art running shoe.
Co-founders Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman settled on "Aztec", but, as Mr Knight's autobiography tells it, industry giant Adidas had a track spike called "Azteca Gold", and was allegedly threatening to sue.
The Nike founders, firing the first volley in what was to become a decades-long rivalry with the German shoemaker, decided to call their new shoe the "Cortez" - after "the guy who kicked the (crap) out of the Aztecs".
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