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20. 1979
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Shoe Dog, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Entrepreneurship, Experience, and Perseverance
Leadership
Global Economies
Balancing Family and Work
Summary
Analysis
Knight continues waging his war against United States Customs and the bureau-kraken. In an ingenious move, he decides to create a new shoe, which he sells at incredibly low price. He deliberately makes the shoe cheap because he knows the market will have to accept the shoe as a competitor and lower the total import price Nike has to pay. Additionally, Knight starts running advertisements slamming the U.S. government for their role in persecuting Nike.
Knight’s low-priced shoes will lower the import tax Nike has to pay in the future, though it is unclear whether it will change what Nike already owes. Knight knows this, which is why he also begins a PR campaign against the government. At this point, he figures Nike has built up enough goodwill with the public for his campaign to be successful.
Themes
On top of everything else, Nike files an antitrust suit that says its competitors deliberately lobbied to enforce the import law because they knew it would hurt Nike and only Nike. Knight and his team believe this move is an unfair business practice and that the United States government is allowing it to go unchecked. In response to Nike’s aggressive actions, the bureau-kraken has to start genuinely rethinking his position.
The antitrust suit is the only legal move Nike can turn to. Everything else Knight and his team do is to get the public on their side. At this point, the bureau-kraken begins to change his mind about Nike because he realizes Knight and his team are more of a problem than he realized.
Themes
Eventually, the bureau-kraken and his people offer Nike a deal. If Nike pays the government $9 million, then they will call it even. When Knight hears the deal, he does not want to take it. He thinks it is grossly unfair that he should have to pay any money given that Nike did not do anything wrong in his eyes. However, everyone around Knight urges him to take the deal because it will save Nike and it is likely the best deal he is going to get. Begrudgingly, Knight pays the $9 million and finally puts the entire saga behind him.
Knight does not want to pay the $9 million because he thinks doing so is admitting guilt and possibly setting a bad precedent for the future. Knight has a keen sense of justice and thinks paying any amount to the government is an injustice. However, his feeling is not so strong that he is willing to sacrifice everything he has built over the past decade and a half.
Themes
Now that he no longer has to worry about Nike’s debts, Knight once again thinks about going public. If he does go public, Knight plans to issue two different kinds of stock, one which would go to the people at Nike, and one which would go out to the public. Splitting the company up this way ensures that Knight and his people will never lose control of Nike. When Knight explains this idea to his board, they unanimously vote that Nike should go public.
Finally, after raising the question many times, Nike fixes its cash-flow problem once and for all and decides to go public. This decision will instantly turn Knight and his closest friends into millionaires and ensure Nike's future. Now, Nike can finally be the leader in sports apparel that Knight always wanted it to be.
Themes
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Shortly after this vote, Knight gets a letter from the Chinese government asking him to come visit their factories. Knight goes to China and takes Chang, Strasser, and Hayes with him. After touring China, Knight makes a deal with the Chinese Ministry of Sports. According to the deal, the Chinese Olympians competing in 1980 will all wear Nike shoes and clothes. Additionally, Knight makes a deal with the Ministry of Foreign Trade, which allows Nike to use two Chinese factories to manufacture their shoes. This is the first time in 25 years that an American shoe company has managed to get a deal in China.
Nike's deal with China is a landmark deal both in Nike's history and in the history of the global economy. In the present day, China is still the leading manufacturer of Nike products. In the following decades, many other companies in the United States similarly exported their manufacturing overseas, especially to China. Once again, Knight achieves a major goal that no one else has ever managed before.
Themes
When Knight returns to America, he sets his sights on making Nike a publicly traded company. He goes through all of the proper protocols and fills out the necessary paperwork, which he hands in to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Then, in September of 1980, he announces his plans to the public. After the announcement, he takes Johnson with him across the country to promote Nike’s stock, which will soon hit the market.
Knight's decision to take Johnson with him around the country is a moment of validation for Johnson, whom Knight has treated questionably throughout the memoir. Luckily, Johnson will soon have enough money to move wherever he wants and as often (or as little) as he likes.
Themes
In collaboration with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Knight decides Nike will go public on December 2, 1980. The only thing left for Knight to do is set the stock price. In order to do so, Knight has to negotiate with the firm he hired to oversee the process. The firm insists it is in Nike’s best interest to enter the market at a rate of $20 per share. However, Knight believes $20 per share is much too low and insists on $22 per share instead. When the firm sees Knight will not budge, they accept his price.
It is unsurprising at this point that Knight gets his way when negotiating with the firm. Knight fights for his company, and his stubbornness and perseverance pay off. Here, Knight knows what Nike is worth and is confident that the public will see things the way he does. However, he will not know for sure if he is right until the price hits the market.
Themes
After finishing the deal, Knight goes home and tells Penny about his success. She is not surprised—she knew Knight would get his price. After talking to Penny, Knight puts Matthew and Travis to bed. Then, he thinks about how much money he is about to make. After running the numbers, Knight realizes that his net worth will be roughly $178 million.
Now that Knight does not have to worry about money anymore, perhaps he will finally have more time to spend with Penny, Matthew, and Travis. After all, although there is still much to do, Knight has made it to the top of his respective field and become one of the richest men in the world while doing so.
Themes
