In a recent music video, R&B singer Rihanna debuted in tight cropped tops, loose khaki trousers and a white fedora hat, which looked like a street outfit. New designer work. According to Nike Inc., it is actually a sportswear.

Over the years, Nike has been using professional athletes like Michael Jordan to act as a spokesperson to attract male customers. Now its image spokesperson has a new goal: dancers. Nike has specially designed shoes and sexy sportswear for women enthusiasts such as fitness hip-hop. The appearance of fitness hip-hop is also due to the rise of hip-hop style fast-paced music, which is also the typical music style of big-name singers Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez.

Nike wants to open up its little women's market. For this reason, Nike launched a tight short-sleeved vest, a low-rise slacks, and a sexy short-sleeved shirt in its latest fitness hip-hop series. It is suitable for both the gym and the nightclub. Pants and vests can be long or short, and customers can freely wear different styles to wear their own style.

Each piece of clothing is designed to help the dancing person move freely, and uses breathable sweat-absorbent materials to keep the body cool. The $125 "Nike Speed ​​Corset" uses a sweat-absorbent fabric that also includes soft support material. Two different styles of sneakers provide arch support for the dancers who often need toes, and have specially designed leather and rubber soles for changing dance movements.

Grace Kim, a 22-year-old college student, describes herself as a "community fan." She often participates in athletic programs such as exercise bikes and fitness street dance. Women like her will be the target of Nike. Kim said that wearing casually can make people feel uncomfortable even in sports.

For the fiscal year ending May 31, sales of Nike women's and women's shoes accounted for 20% of the total Nike brand sales. The company expects fitness walking and yoga will bring greater business opportunities, and said the increase in the entire Women's Department is double-digit. Nike’s revenue last year was $13.74 billion.

In the course of Nike's development, the trend of women-centered sports such as aerobic exercise has not attracted enough attention, and competitors such as Reebok International Ltd. have been able to take advantage of this opportunity. . Nike will infrequently shift its goal to female customers, and it will basically apply its consistent strategy of sports marketing. It works well in male groups, but Mindy Grossman, vice president of the company’s global apparel business, claims to be effective. This strategy does not apply to female clients.

Crossman said that we need to find a marketing strategy that is most suitable for women.

To this end, she and her team focused their attention on women's participation in the sport, although these sports events have been very different from those of traditional competitive events that Nike had achieved decades ago.

Nike executives are already aware of the opportunities for fitness dance, but Darcy Winslow, the company's global general manager, said that when the question was discussed for the first time several years ago, everyone debated whether the dance was sporty. Nike launched its first fitness dance series in the spring of 2005.

The shift in attitude is helping Nike gain more shares in the women's sports market, and sales of women's sports products are rapidly surpassing men's sports products. According to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, sales of women's sportswear increased by 9% to $17.4 billion from 2000 to 2004, while sales of men's sportswear dropped by 11% over the same period. % to $13.4 billion.

Retailers are also taking more space to sell women's sports products. David Campisi, president of Sports Authority Inc., said that under the leadership of the strong sales of Nike Women's Wear, its women's clothing division achieved double-digit growth in revenue in 2005.

Kampez said that female consumers are more willing to spend money to buy things. He said that women’s average purchases are generally higher than men’s, partly because women like to buy products that match the colors.

The strong sales of women's sportswear also show that more and more women participate in exercise, and sportswear is accepted by fashion. The core consumers of Nike's fitness dance apparel are 22 to 28-year-old women who do not want to sacrifice fashion for sports functions. They want both.

In addition, Nike also launched a fitness dance series DVD and fitness courses, hoping to attract more female consumers.