For all you people hating on Nike, why don't you guys make something better? If you think you have a better idea in terms of how skateboarding should be represented in the footwear/ soft goods industry, you should hit Don Brown up and make something happen.
People buy Nike because there's nothing else out there that's better. From the quality, to the price, to the aesthetic, to the team, core skate shoe brands simply couldn't compete when they had such a strong hold on the industry before Nike came and decimated them. Perhaps if your favorite "core" brands were as great as you think they were, they wouldn't have let something like that happen.
And don't give me the "Nike can outspend anyone," because we all know that's not it. I don't care what business you operate within, if your idea sucks then there's no amount of money that can save you.