Nike Report

nike report

NIKE

History

Nike was incorporated in 1972 as a joint venture between Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight. In the beginning Nike was a footwear distributor and over the years it grew to become a global marketer of athletic footwear, apparel and equipment.

The guiding philosophy of the company is found in the mission statement and company goals. The mission statement is: "To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world" (Nikeinc.com/about). A key part of the mission statement is in the definition of the term athlete as defined by co-founder Bill Bowerman when he made the observation that "if you have a body, you are an athlete" (Nikeinc.com/about). The stated goal of the company is "to carry on his legacy of innovative thinking, whether to develop products that help athletes of every level of ability reach their potential, or to create business opportunities that set Nike apart from the competition and provide value for our shareholders" (Nikeinc.com/about).

Nike employees more than 35,000 people across six continents in over 160 countries and when you count suppliers, shippers and store employees the number of employees climbs to nearly one million. They are headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon and they are not limited to just the Nike brand as they have a portfolio that includes several wholly-owned subsidiaries; Cole Haan, Converse Inc., Hurley International LLC, NIKE Golf, and Umbro LTD.

Corporate Structure

Nike began life as a partnership between Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight in 1964 when after years of working together on developing shoes for track runners, founded a company called Blue Ribbon Sports. That company was the precursor to what was become Nike in 1972. By the 1980's Nike was a well established and publicly traded company.