The ‘The One Line’ copycat sub-brand, which Nike manufactured and over 40 years ago shut down, produced the rarest shoes Nike has ever made, and they don’t even have a swoosh on them. The One Line brand of shoes is one of the most coveted items in Nike’s history and may be the most significant line of footwear ever produced because it was launched as a means of gaining influence at one of the most crucial points in Nike’s lengthy history – to keep the company from going out of business. The brand was used as the focal point in a multi-million dollar brawl between Nike, the Treasury and Customs departments of the US government, and rival US shoemakers. Al Gore and Ted Kennedy, both congressional Democrats from the same party, took opposing positions in the dispute over Nike’s import duties because it was so contentious inside the administration. The One Line brand strategy was successful in preventing the startup Nike reps shoes Company from going out of business for long enough to allow Phil Knight to take Nike public via an IPO.
One of the oddest and least-discussed periods in Nike’s history is the company amusingly deceiving the U.S. Customs department by using a fictitious “competitor” shoe brand named “The One Line” to reduce their import tariff payment. Given that The One Line was a significant trigger in Nike’s rise to become the world’s top sports and athleisure clothing brand, this may be the most intriguing period of the company’s development. Another intriguing detail about The One Line is that Peter Moore, who is renowned for designing the classic Nike reps shoes as well, also created the logo.
The stakes are high.
Think about this Due to mounting debt from a never-ending import tax battle with the Customs department of the federal government, Nike went out of business in 1980 instead of issuing an IPO that would have set the company up for future success. Nike’s US-based rivals Converse, Kids and others pushed the government to take action against Nike under an outdated tariff statute known as the ASP, amplifying the conflict with U.S. Customs (American Selling Price.) Nike is required to pay millions of dollars in additional back customs on shoes that they imported years earlier, creating a hard and unpredictable economic climate because Nike does not know how much it costs to import footwear.
Nike reps shoes declare bankruptcy and are no more. Phil Knight resumes his work as an accountant covertly. Retiring Bill Bowerman. Tinker Hatfield, Bruce Kilgore, and Peter Moore all work in different fields. Spot Belt and Michael Jordan agree to a sneaker contract. The most recognizable Nike shoe models, such as the Air Jordan, Dunk, and Air Force 1, are thus never produced. The Swoosh vanishes. “JUST DO IT” never comes to pass.
Even though what was just stated seems like a bizarre Black Mirror episode, it very nearly occurred. Furthermore, it seems that the most coveted and perhaps most significant pair of shoes Good Reps For Shoes has ever produced lacks the Swoosh altogether. They dress in a single, generic stripe instead.
THE KNOCKOFFS THAT SAVED NIKE, CHAPTER 1
INSIDE THE UNKNOWN STORY OF NIKE’S FIGHT TO EMBODY THE WORLD’S LARGEST SNEAKER BRAND
If you’ve been reading our site for a time, you’ll be aware that we focus on the rarest and least well-known shoe manufacturers from the 1970s and 1980s. Everything from fake 4 stripe shoes worn by elderly celebs to upside-down non-Nike swooshes to rock and roll superstar Eddie Van Halen proudly donning Payless Pro Wings sneakers during his peak shredding years.
