In 2019, something spectacular happened at a Sotheby’s auction. The world held its breath as Miles Nadal claimed the rare and renowned 1972 ‘Moon Shoes’ specially handcrafted by Bill Bowerman, Nike’s co-founder, for an outrageous $437,500. 

Since Nike’s Moon Shoes are the most expensive sneakers ever sold, it’s no longer an exaggeration to say that the company is the greatest shoe brand of all time.

The Moon Shoe

Courtesy: CNN

Today, Nike controls an estimated market share of 50%, has held the title of world’s most valuable apparel brand several times, and with the introduction of Nike’s self-lacing shoe, it seems the brand’s value will take another leap.

But the story—like we saw in Phil’s book, Shoe Dog—would have taken a different tone if Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman, Nike’s founders, had taken a different path during the naming of their company.

What path you ask? Well, it all began in…

The Early Days

A young Phil Knight, while studying in the University of Oregon, was a member of the sports team coached by Bill Bowerman. But Bill wasn’t just any ordinary coach, he had an intense fascination with optimizing his running shoes, and Phil was the first student to try Bill’s modded shoes.

Courtesy: Unsplash

Fun fact: Otis Davis won the 1960 Summer Olympics 400 meter dash with the very first shoe Bill customized for Phil Knight.

After Oregon, Phil attended a Stanford MBA program, where he theorized that Japan would overtake Germany in the production of running shoes. And just like that, the idea of venturing into the shoe industry began taking shape in Phil’s mind.

In Search of Passion

At the end of his stay in Stanford, Phil travelled the world in search of opportunity, inspiration, and passion. He visited several countries including Hong Kong, Vietnam, India, Egypt, Jerusalem, Rome, and Greece.

Nike adjusting her sandal 

Courtesy: Khan Academy

During his stay in Greece, the budding entrepreneur visited the temple of Athena, where he saw a piece of art that left a permanent print on his memory, the statue of the goddess of victory, Nike, adjusting her shoes.

The Birth of Blue Ribbon Sports

In 1964, after his quest for inspiration and passion, Phil took his first major step into the shoe industry and attempted to strike a deal with the executives of Onitsuka to become the sole distributor of the Japanese shoe brand, Tiger, in the US. When asked—during the meeting—what company he was with, Phil quickly recalled the blue ribbons from track events and replied, “Blue Ribbon Sports of Portland, Oregon”.

Phil’s presentation didn’t just convince Onitsuka of the immense rewards Tiger stood to gain from entering the American market and undercutting Adidas—the leading brand—it was also the birthplace of the brand, Blue Ribbon Sports.

Phil and Bill began selling Tiger shoes from the trunks of their cars, and sure enough, sales grew and the union between Blue Ribbon Sports and Tiger blossomed into a match made in heaven.

A New Brand is born

But sadly, nothing lasts forever. The relationship between both companies became strained after Tiger discovered Blue Ribbon Sports had re-designed and sold their version of the Tiger Cortez under a new line.

Both companies formally split in 1971. And Phil, knowing his company needed to manufacture and distribute its own shoes, decided he needed a new brand name and logo that fits this growth.

Phil met a shoe factory in Guadalajara, and placed an order for 3,000 soccer shoes. He also enlisted the help of a young graphic artist, Carolyn Davidson, famously known for creating Nike’s iconic swoosh logo.

Courtesy: Unsplash

But even though Phil had gotten a logo, and had also prepared a magazine ad to coincide with the release of the first shoe samples that were already set to hit the market in Japan, he still lacked one thing, a brand name.

And to get the best name, Phil assembled his employees to brainstorm a strong name for the company. Days went by and the team generated tons of generic names and a few unique ones like Falcon, and Dimension Six, yet they couldn’t decide which name was best.

Thankfully Jeff Johnson, an employee managing the company’s East Coast factory in Exeter, New Hampshire, after reading an in-flight magazine about great brand names had gone to bed that night only to see the name of the Greek goddess of victory, Nike, in a dream. Johnson quickly called Bob Woodell that morning to inform him about the name.

Initially, Phil wasn’t excited about Nike, but he later conceded, stating that:

“A lot of things were rolling around in my head, consciously, unconsciously. First, Johnson had pointed out that seemingly all iconic brands — Clorox, Kleenex, Xerox — have short names. Two syllables or less. And they always have a strong sound in the name, a letter like “K” or “X,” that sticks in the mind. That all made sense. And that all described Nike.

Also, I liked that Nike was the goddess of victory. What’s more important, I thought, than victory?” – from Shoe Dog by Phil Knight

The first Nike shoe—an instant hit—entered the market on the 18th of June, 1971, and since then Nike’s sales and market share have continued to rise to the top. But Nike doesn’t just owe its success to its amazing products, clever marketing campaign, and celebrity endorsement, but to its cool logo, catchy tagline and most of all, its unique brand name.

Sam Walton: If we work together, we’ll lower the cost of living for everyone… we’ll give the world an opportunity to see what it’s like to save and have a better life.

Sam Walton was one revolutionary entrepreneur that didn’t just see the great chasm separating cold-hearted businesses from their overly cautious customers, but went ahead to provide so much insight and solutions to businesses that, 62 years later, his corporate culture and cost-reduction methods are still heavily implemented around the world.

Walmart has raised itself as a force in the retail business, offering its customers literally everything from delicious biscuits and household items to luxury cars. And this is something that allowed the Walmart brand to set trends that countless retail shops rush to follow.

Now, with the massive amount of success Walmart has achieved over the years, it can be difficult to believe that it all started with a single store in Bentonville, Arkansas. But that single store was the spark that lit the flames of Sam Walton’s business empire.

Walton’s First Step

Moving to Bentonville with his family afforded Sam Walton the perfect opportunity to purchase a store from a certain Luther E. Harrison, and start his own business, Walton 5&10.

The first and most important step Sam took while starting his business was identifying and solving a pressing need in his customers that other retailers of the time like Kmart could not satisfy.

And how did he achieve that?

For one, his retail business focused on sending mail ads particularly focused on his target audience, controlling the prices of his products, and building large distribution warehouses that greatly reduced his product distribution time.

But it didn’t end there because Sam made it a point to leverage his business’s rural surroundings—which were untouched by big retailers—to grow a supportive customer base in locations with reduced competition.

So, Why is Walmart Called Walmart?

Understand that the need for a new name for the Walton 5&10 became necessary as Sam’s business grew from a single dime-store to a sprawling network covering multiple locations.

Sam needed a name that’d be easy to say, sound nice, and also enhance the value of his business. To achieve this, he turned to Bob Bogle, the trusted store manager he’d lured from the state health department by offering to pay him 25% of the store’s net profit in addition to his salary.

And sure enough, Bogle came through. He put his creativity to work, and crafted Wal-Mart, a brilliant combination of ‘Mart’ from ‘Supermart’ and ‘Wal’ from ‘Walton’.  

In 1962, Sam announced that the name of the business chain would become Wal-Mart. And yes, it didn’t take long for Wal-Mart’s solid brand name and immense growth to spread the business, effectively transforming it into a national retail chain.

Wal-Mart was an instant success not only because it was easy to say, and remember, but because it offered customers a hint of the services offered by the brand. The name stuck.

How is Walmart Doing Today?

Walmart—right from its early days—had set itself apart from the competition not only because his business saved customers billions of dollars but because Sam Walton had a strong desire for gathering information. Until his death, Sam was well known for copying, improving, and implementing concepts from his competitors.

Today, Walmart’s consistent customer-focused innovation, digital growth, amazing retail presence, and efficient supply chain, has given the company a solid financial footing in the market.

How can you tell when something is important to a brand? When it’s communicated in the brand’s name. Companies like Best Buy, Standard Oil, and Costco have made it a point to communicate their brand’s value, mission, and goal in their name.

Costco is widely known for its ability to make a ton of profit, not only from selling its goods but from selling customers an annual membership for shopping at their stores. In 2019, Costco generated a massive $3.35 billion from membership fees alone.

This strategy allows Costco to sell goods at lower prices than its competitors. Costco has become so good at engaging this business model that, just like Tesla, they don’t spend a dime on advertisements. And because Costco doesn’t advertise, they invest a lot into delivering exceptional services that inspire their customers to draw in more referrals to the company.

Costco’s Reliable Pricing Policy

If there’s anything Costco is known for, then it’s the company’s reliable pricing policy. Costco’s entire business model depends on the brand’s extreme care for its loyal customers, making sure these customers get the best luxury products for the lowest price possible.

Costco’s philosophy—their amazing pricing policy and the fact that the brand offers only 4,000 products at a time, unlike the millions of products offered by their competitors—has set them apart in their industry, transforming Costco into what it is today.

Like we mentioned earlier, the company operates the most profitable membership-driven warehouse chain, and the brand has gathered an enormous membership base that by the end of Covid-stricken 2020, it still had over 105 million paid members.

But we all know that that wasn’t the only thing that made Costco. Costco’s brand name was born because the company’s founders had been quick to identify the effects of a solid brand name on a business because what good is a business that offers products at the cheapest rate if no one knows it even exists? 

So Why is Costco Called Costco?

Costco was founded in 1983 by Jim Sinegal and Jeffery H. Brotman. Their first warehouse opened in Seattle, and they built their business principles on the ideas of Sol Price, the founder of FedMart, who’d earlier started a similar warehouse retail business called Price Club.  

It’s important to know that Jim Sinegal wasn’t just any employee at FedMart. Sol Price personally mentored Jim before the birth of the first warehouse in Seattle.

But why is this important? Sol Price, the father of retailing, was a force in the retail industry. His innovative retailing concepts inspired Sam Walton, Jim Sinegal, and lots of other entrepreneurs. And if there’s anything these entrepreneurs learned from Sol, then it’s an impeccable sense of social responsibility.

In 1993, two of his students, Walton and Sinegal, approached Sol Price for a merger. Price denied Walmart but reached a deal with Costco, birthing the PriceCostco warehouse corporation. But although both companies held onto the same philosophy—helping customers save more by keeping costs low—this match-made-in-heaven wouldn’t last very long.

In 1994 the Price family started a different warehouse club chain completely unrelated to  PriceCostco, in Central America and the Caribbean.

Initially, both companies stuck together in the US because the new Price company didn’t interfere with their markets but even this too couldn’t survive for much longer because, in 1997, the brand officially dropped ‘Price’ from its brand name and reverted to Costco.

Costco’s reputation for building customer loyalty by offering great products at affordable prices would mean little if the brand had a weak name that didn’t communicate the brand values. Costco, as a brand, was built on helping customers manage their spending, hence the name Costco, or rather, ‘Cost Company’.

And it was Costco’s focus on decimating the cost of a product that made the company unique and elevated it to where it stands today.

Costco: A Unique Retailer

Besides the fact that Costco is a haven for customers seeking superior products at a great price, the company has been praised on several occasions for its worker-friendly policies. Costco is as loyal to their employees as they are to their staff, which explains why the company’s jobs are highly sought-after.

A company would struggle to satisfy its customers if it cannot satisfy its employees. And offering great wages, like Costco does, is one way brands can incentivize their workers. 

Back in 2014, President Obama paid a visit to Costco and commended the company for taking quick steps in implementing a $22.65 per hour minimum wage, something that Amazon and Walmart—at the time—could not meet.

FlipKart is an Indian e-commerce company that is one of the country’s most successful startups to date. Based out of Bangalore, the company was initially an online bookstore before evolving into a complete e-commerce platform. Today, it offers an online marketplace for a range of products from groceries and consumer electronics to fashion and other lifestyle items. The company even develops its own product collections for some of these areas.

Let’s take a look at the story of Flipkart, including its evolution and how Flipkart came to be Flipkart.

The Founders of Flipkart

Flipkart was founded by two friends, Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal, in 2007. The friends have a long history dating back to childhood, where they attended school together. As coincidence would have it, both individuals got accepted into the same college (IIIT in Delhi) and followed individual careers in IT. While both men went their separate ways, beginning their careers with different IT companies, Binny and Sachal were reunited at Amazon in 2007.

It was here that the first ideas for Flipkart began to form. Each of the men became bored with their individual roles and started yearning for something more, and the concept for Flipkart was born. Binny and Sachal put in a combined $6,500 to launch the company and left Amazon in September 2007 to focus on their new business endeavor. By the end of the same month, they’d launched their online book store.

How Flipkart Became Flipkart

The name ‘Flipkart’ was chosen with a strategic purpose. Binny and Sachin wanted a name that was broad enough to grow with a business, rather than limiting them to the sale of online books. They also wanted something that was simple, memorable, and catchy enough to stand out from the crowd. These characteristics provided strong guidelines for creating a successful business name.

After playing around with a few ideas, they landed on FlipKart. FlipKart literally comes from the idea of ‘flipping products into a kart’, an excellent reference to the nature of online purchases. 

The Journey of FlipKart

Over the years, FlipKart has made many business decisions to expand from a humble $6,500 online book retailer to the $11 billion e-commerce platform it is today. In 2009, the founders of FlipKart secured their first investment money to a total amount of $1 million. This was a huge support in their endeavors to grow the business and resulted in them experiencing an annual revenue of $1.89M in the 2009-2010 financial year.

In June 2010, FlipKart became India’s largest online book retailer. The same year, Tiger Global invested $10 million into the company and FlipKart expanded into mobile sales. The following years saw further investment and greater expansion. By 2011, FlipKart was selling all sorts of products including stationery, electronics, and other household items. In 2012, their range expanded even further to include a babycare range, menswear, and ebooks. Womenswear was added the following year.

FlipKart continues to experience significant success today and is India’s largest e-commerce platform.

The Importance of a Good Business Name

It seems that Binny and Sachin knew a thing or two when it came to getting their company name right. When naming a business, it is important to find something that is clear and uncomplicated. The last thing you want is consumers struggling to say, spell or remember the name. FlipKart is effective on all accounts – it’s short, it’s simple, and it’s captivating enough to stick in someone’s mind. 

While it’s impossible to determine whether FlipKart would have achieved the same level of success under an alternative name, we can assume that the selection of this particular label only aided the company’s growth. 

There’s no denying that Flipkart has established itself as a competitive player in India, as well as in other international markets. It has broken many impressive records for eCommerce in India and looks as though it will be continuing on this trajectory.