innovation at nike

I'm reading about Nike's CEO Mark Parker and how he created the Nike Air line of shoes, saving the company and the brand: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/148/artist-athlete-ceo.html.

I remember Nike Air shoes were really big (in terms of ads - not many could afford them) in India in the early 90s, and I remember longing for those Rs. 2000 worth shoes when the average Nike sneaker probably came for a fourth or a third of that. It is nice to understand, years later, what went into those shoes and what they meant for one of the largest innovators in the world.