NIKE PROJECT

About Nike
Nike is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier
based in the United States. The company is headquartered in
Beaverton, near the Portland metropolitan area of Oregon. It is the
world's leading supplier of athletic shoes and apparel and a major
manufacturer of sports equipment with revenue in excess of $18.6
billion USD in its fiscal year 2008 (ending May 31, 2008). As of 2008,
it employed more than 30,000 people worldwide. Nike and Precision

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Castparts are the only Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the
state of Oregon, according to The Oregonian.
The company was founded on January 25, 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports
by Bill Bowerman and Philip Knight, and officially became Nike, Inc. in
1978. The company takes its name from Nike (Greek word), the Greek
goddess of victory. Nike markets its products under its own brand as
well as Nike Golf, Nike Pro, Nike+, Air Jordan, Nike Skateboarding and
subsidiaries including Cole Haan, Hurley International, Umbro and
Converse. Nike also owned Bauer Hockey (later renamed Nike Bauer)
between 1995 and 2008. In addition to manufacturing sportswear and
equipment, the company operates retail stores under the Niketown
name. Nike sponsors many high profile athletes and sports teams
around the world.

HISTORY
Nike, originally known as Blue Ribbon Sports, was founded by University of
Oregon track athlete Philip Knight and his coach Bill Bowerman in January
1964. The company initially operated as a distributor for Japanese shoe
maker Onitsuka Tiger, making most sales at track meets out of Knight's
automobile.

The company's profits grew quickly, and in 1966, BRS opened its first
retail store, located on Pico Boulevard in Santa Monica, California. By
1971, the relationship between BRS and Onitsuka Tiger was nearing an
end. BRS prepared to launch its own line of footwear, which would bear
the newly designed Swoosh.
The first shoe to carry this design that was sold to the public was a
football shoe named "Nike", which was released in the summer of 1971.
In February 1972, BRS introduced its first line of Nike shoes, with
the name Nike derived from the Greek goddess of victory. In 1978,
BRS, Inc. officially renamed itself to Nike, Inc. Beginning with Ilie
Nastase; the first professional athlete to sign with BRS/Nike, the

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sponsorship of athletes became a key marketing tool for the rapidly
growing company.
The company's first self-designed product was based on Bowerman's
"waffle" design. After the University of Oregon resurfaced the track
at Hayward Field, Bowerman began experimenting with different
potential outsoles that would grip the new urethane track more
effectively. His efforts were rewarded one Sunday morning when he
poured liquid urethane into his wife's waffle iron. Bowerman developed
and refined the so-called 'waffle' sole which would evolve into the
now-iconic Waffle Trainer in 1974.
By 1980, Nike had reached a 50% market share in the United States
athletic shoe market, and the company went public in December of
that year. Its growth was due largely to 'word-of-foot' advertising (to
quote a Nike print ad from the late 1970s), rather than television ads.
Nike's first national television commercials ran in October 1982 during
the broadcast of the New York Marathon. The ads were created by
Portland-based advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy, which had formed
several months earlier in April 1982.
Together, Nike and Wieden+Kennedy have created many indelible print
and television ads and the agency continues to be Nike's primary
today. It was agency co-founder Dan Wieden who coined the now-
famous slogan "Just Do It" for a 1988 Nike ad campaign, which was
chosen by Advertising Age as one of the top five ad slogans of the
20th century, and the campaign has been enshrined in the Smithsonian
Institution. San Franciscan Walt Stack was featured in Nike's first
"Just Do It" advertisement that debuted on July 1, 1988.
Throughout the 1980s, Nike expanded its product line to include many
other sports and regions throughout the world.

Products
Nike produces a wide range of sports equipment. Their first products were
track running shoes. They currently also make shoes, jerseys, shorts,
baselayers etc. for a wide range of sports including track & field, baseball,
ice hockey, tennis, Association football, lacrosse, basketball and cricket. The
most recent additions to their line are the Nike 6.0, Nike NYX, and Nike SB

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shoes, designed for skateboarding. Nike has recently introduced cricket
shoes, called Air Zoom Yorker, designed to be 30% lighter than their
competitors'. In 2008, Nike introduced the Air Jordan XX3, a high
performance basketball shoe designed with the environment in mind.
Nike sells an assortment of products, including shoes and apparel for sports
activities like association football, basketball, running, combat sports, tennis,
American football, athletics, golf and cross training for men, women, and
children. Nike also sells shoes for outdoor activities such as tennis, golf,
skateboarding, association football, baseball, American football, cycling,
volleyball, wrestling, cheerleading, aquatic activities, auto racing and other
athletic and recreational uses. Nike is well known and popular in youth
culture, chav culture and hip hop culture as they supply urban fashion
clothing. Nike recently teamed up with Apple Inc. to produce the Nike+
product which monitors a runner's performance via a radio device in the
shoe which links to the iPod nano. While the product generates useful
statistics, it has been criticized by researchers who were able to identify
users' RFID devices from 60 feet (18 m) away using small, concealable
intelligence motes in a wireless sensor network.
In 2004, they launched the SPARQ Training Program/Division. It is
currently the premier training program in the U.S.

Some of Nike's newest shoes contain Flywire and Lunarlite Foam. These are
materials used to reduce the weight of many types of shoes.
In the video game Gran Turismo 4 there is a car by Nike called the NikeOne
2022, designed by Phil Frank.

Manufacturing
Nike has contracted with more than 700 shops around the world and has
offices located in 45 countries outside the United States. Most of the
factories are located in Asia, including Indonesia, China, Taiwan, India,

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Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan, Philippines,and Malaysia.Nike is hesitant to
disclose information about the contract companies it works with. However,
due to harsh criticism from some organizations like CorpWatch, Nike has
disclosed information about its contract factories in its Corporate
Governance Report.

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ASSEMBLY LINE
For the education, We studies about general working step, after that
we can take the result to analy for improvement in the next.

For the education of thes work instructure, will start from collection
many data in the current condition of the sale of sport shoes
assembly line by notice, interrogate, masure time taken, record
and study the old data of factory from planning division manager,
Chief department, Chief worker and workers in the assembly line
of the sole of sport shoes. When we already got the data, we
took them to study and analyse. It made us know the problem on
assembly line of the sole of sport shoes that is the times problem.
They use many times (much -more times) in production line. We
use the principle of Motion and Time Study to find the cause of
problem and to solve all of them for the high efficiency job
including to increase the quantities of products

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 When the production
process was
already improved,
we can decrease
the number of
employees and
reduce the cycle
time of production
that it made the
short time to
produce and to
increase the
quantities of product. Besides, It' s tobe increase the
productivity line . The assembly line workers handled about 3,400
sneaker shoes per day on the assembly line. A completed shoe
weighed 200-500 g. The metal last weighted 400-1,200 g. As the
lines were not completely mechanized, the workers passed shoes to
the next worker by hand. 2) In the line selected for the study of
work actions, 28 female workers and one male worker were
engaged. The work direction of the line was one-way (from left to
right or vice versa). The actions of the workers were classified
into four fundamental actions: i) grasping the shoe or tool, ii)
extending or iii) bending of the arms, and iv) keeping the arms in
a certain position. These fundamental actions were repeated more
than 3,400 times per day by each worker. The time spent in
holding a shoe in the left hand was longer than that of the right
hand in holding a shoe or tool. 3) Results of medical examinations
showed a higher prevalence in assembly line workers than that in
non-assembly line workers. Especially the prevalence rate of
tapping test, pain sensibility test, vibratory sensibility test,
Morley's test, tenosynovitis in the fingers, tenderness at spinal
muscle around the thoracic vertebrae, levator muscle of scapula,
trapezius muscle, rhomboid muscle, infraspinatus muscle, greater
pectoral muscle, anterior scalene muscle, thenar eminence, biceps
muscle of arm, brachioradial muscle, and antebrachial flexor
muscle were found to be different significantly by McNemar's
test between the two groups. These disorders were appeared in
the left shoulder, arm and hand. 4) As the non-assembly line

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 workers were not engaged in compulsory work or in one-way work
direction, they injured the right side (skillful side). On the
contrary, it is considered that compulsory transfer of shoes and
one-way work direction imposes a heavier load on the left side of
the body in assembly line workers, and consequently they injured
the left side more severely. 5) It is concluded that the sustained
task of handing over shoes to the next worker or one-way work
direction caused cervicobrachial disorders of assembly line
workers, especially on the left side of the body.

Customer Driven Production Plan

A customer order driven production planning method is developed by
combining the buying behavior of the customers, i.e. the required customer
delivery lead time, with the production capacity needed to meet the
customer orders. The method can be applied in order to determine the WIP
cap and the work-ahead-window of a CONWIP controlled production and can
also be used to implement a new market driven production planning. In
addition an a priori check is presented to investigate the ability to install a
pure make to order system

TEAM CONCEPTS

IMPORTANT TEAM CONCEPTS

1. How to drill, the buddy system and intensity
Drill to teach and learn
Drill to work out and get in match shape
Drill to learn the moves better
2. Train for mastery, train to win
Train to get into shape
Train to get better
Train to be better
Train right to perform right
3. Avoiding illegal holds and techniques
Don't use illegal holds or techniques that cost you points or matches

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4. Practice rules and training rules
5. Come on time
6. Come to practice hard
7. Have a positive attitude
8. Listen to the coaches
9. No talking in the wrestling room or weight room
10. Bring both wrestling and running shoes to practice every day
11. Team work and team goals
12. To learn to love wrestling
13. Learn to work hard for your goals in and out of wrestling
14. Learn to win...and lose...sportsmanship
15. Learn to practice correctly
16. Learn what it is to be a good wrestling team mate
17. Learn responsibility to your team, teammates, and yourself
18. Learn that losing is easy and winning is hard
19. Get better everyday, every week, every match, every month, every
season
20. Improve every day
21. Be a good citizen
22. Be a good student
23. Set high goals for yourself and your team
24. Act vs. React
25. You set the pace of your matches
26. Take control of you practices and matches
27. Take charge, don't be taken in charge of
28. Workout gear
29. Recommend getting your own headgear
30. Bring both running and wrestling shoes
31. Recommend bring extra shirt
32. Wear gear that fits, no baggies
33. Wash workout gear everyday, recommend buddy system
34. Bring your own water to practice
35. Fund raising

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PRODUCTION PROCESS
A New Approach in CAD System for Designing Shoes The needs on shoe
market change today faster than ever. The shoe series are therefore
smaller and the new shoe models have to be developed faster. The classical
design of a new shoe is bound to the shoe last that is the form on which a
shoe is constructed. The last gives the shoe a shape.To construct the
appearance of a new shoe, the style lines are drawn on the shoe last. The
style lines are geodesic curves that partition the shoe last surface in the 3D
patches which have to be flattened in the plane to\ get cutting model for
shoe uppers manufacturing.The flattening of these patches is therefore a
reverse engineering process to assembling the leather parts for the shoe
upper. This process is expensive and requires a well-trained developer. To
make the design process faster and the production of new series cheaper,
special CAD/CAM systems are used. The final result obtained by all CAD
systems for the shoe design is a flat pattern based on the style lines, drawn
on the shoe last. To generate flat patterns, the shoe last has to be
digitized. The style lines can be drawn either on the real shoe last or later
on the digitized one. If the style lines are drawn on the real shoe last, the
lines have to be digitized, too. The designing of shoe uppers consists of two
phases: reconstruction of digitized surfaces and flattening of these
surfaces. An especially hard problem is flattening of the digitized surface
since distortions like tearing and overlapping can occur in resulting flat
pattern. Generally, an arbitrary surface cannot be unrolled into the plane
without the distortions, since the distortions can only be completely
eliminated if the surface is developable.It is clear that the pattern designer
wishes to reduce distortions to the minimum. This is very hard to do
automatically, although some methods reducing the distortions significantly
exist already.Especially serious problems in pattern generation are caused by
overlaps in generated pattern.Since deriving patterns from 3D surfaces is an
old problem.many methods have been developed already. We have divided
them into two groups: methods for flattening the surfaces in one piece and
methods for per partes surface flattening.The methods of the first group
are not suitable for automatically flattening of arbitrary surfaces, since
overlaps are eliminated from the generated pattern only if the surface is
developable. The exceptions are some new methods that were developed for
faster rendering of surfaces modelled with irregular triangle

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meshes and for non distorted texture mapping. Gu presents an interesting
method to convert irregular triangular meshes into completely regular
structure, called geometry images. The name is not given by accident since
the surface geometry is presented by an image where standard compressing
algorithms can be used. Zigelman’s method uses a set of mathematical
techniques called multi-dimensional scaling, to flatten the surface into plane
where the texture is mapped. Both methods eliminate overlaps from the flat
pattern, but the geodesic distances between points are not preserved. This
is important if we want to use a generated pattern for composing 3D
objects. To eliminate overlaps and preserve geodesic distances, methods of
the second group are more appropriate.

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Marketing Segmentation
Market segmentation is an essential part in today's business world. It is
because not all customers have the same requirement and a market strategy
which does not recognize this fact will result business failure. Market
segmentation is the process of splitting customers, or potential customers
within a market into different groups, or segments, within which customers
have the same or similar requirements satisfied by a distinct marketing mix.

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Nike has been successful in market segmentation for selling their soccer
boots, which resulted in a significant market share in that particular product
category in recent years...
...Professional soccer players include all the players playing football as their
career. This segment is ranging from the players in the top of the world to
those who are hardly recognized by people. Their needs for soccer boots is
high, most probably the highest in the market. They need soccer boots
which can enhance their performance: comfortable when running on the field
and playing football and provide them with good ball control. Price is not a
major factor for them when choosing a pair of soccer boots, because they
are either having a high salary or they are sponsored by their clubs or even
the manufacturers of soccer boots. What they need is a pair of high quality
soccer boots which is a combination of well design and good materials...
...The price of the boots showed that Nike's major target customer groups
are those on a high income level, or those who are willing to spend on
expensive items. So the ranking of the professional and amateur soccer
players are high on the KCV table. The need of a pair of good quality soccer
boots in the two groups is high and price is not their major considerations.
Young people is also a main target customer group for Nike because the
brand has been developed into a famous one and it is well-known for it high
price and style. Nike's footwear is said to be an expensive goods today.
Consumers like the young people, who emphasis much on brand and identity is
more likely to choose Nike.

THE SUMMARY OF 4 Ps
1. Product

Nike offers a wide range of shoe, apparel and equipment products, all of
which are currently its top-selling product categories. Nike started selling
sports apparel, athletic bags and accessory items in 1979. Their brand Cole
Haan carries a line of dress and casual footwear and accessories for men,
women and children.

They also market head gear under the brand name Sports Specialties,
through Nike Team Sports, Inc. They sell small amounts of plastic products

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to other manufacturers through Nike IHM, Inc. Bauer Nike Hockey Inc.
manufactures and distributes ice skates, skate blades, in-roller skates,
protective gear, hockey sticks and hockey jerseys and accessories.

2. Price

Nike’s pricing is designed to be competitive to the other fashion shoe

retailers. The pricing is based on the basis of premium segment as target
customers. Nike as a brand commands high premiums. Nike’s pricing strategy
makes use of vertical integration in pricing wherein they own participants at
differing channel levels or take part in more than one channel level
operations. This can control costs and influence product pricing.

3. Place

Nike shoes are carried by multi-brand stores and the exclusive Nike stores
across the globe. Nike sells its product to about 20,000 retail accounts in
the U.S. and in almost 200 countries around the world. In the international
markets, Nike sells its products through independent distributors, licensees
and subsidiaries. Independent distributors need not adapt to local pressures
because the 4Ps of marketing are managed by distributors.

4. Promotion

Promotion is largely dependent on finding accessible store locations. It also

avails of targeted advertising in the newspaper and creating strategic
alliances. Nike has a number of famous athletes that serve as brand
ambassadors such as the Brazilian Soccer Team (especially Ronaldino,
Renaldo, and Roberto Carlos), Lebron James and Jermane O’Neal for
basketball, Lance Armstrong for cycling, and Tiger Woods for Golf.

Nike also sponsors events such as Hoop It Up and The Golden West
Invitational. Nike’s brand images, the Nike name and the trademark swoosh,
make it one of the most recognizable brands in the world. Nike’s brand
power is one reason for its high revenues. Nike’s quality products, loyal
customer base and its great marketing techniques all contribute to make the
shoe empire a huge success.

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Product Strategy
Product Strategy is perhaps the most important function of a company. It
must take in account the capabilities in terms of engineering, of production,
of distribution (sales) existing in the company or of time to acquire them (by
hiring or by mergers). It must evaluate the customers expectations at the
time of delivery. It must guestimate the competition (including new
entrants) probable moves to enter the same market.

Product strategy by Bull appeared sometimes erratic and not coordinated,

specially during the periods where product lines run independently. However,
it has been dominated by very old trends rooted in the Sales Network during
the 1950s defining Bull's market around the business applications, and
fighting against the sole IBM as competitor.

So, the company adopted its version of IBM's business model, following IBM
with a variable delay, in the domain of products, price and market following.
Sometimes new opportunities appeared and some innovative products were
developed, (e.g. time-sharing in GE time, smart card applications) but they
faded as marginalized by the Sales Network. In fact, the Sales Network was
not conscious of the pressure it exerted on Planning and Engineering. Often,
it focalized on IBM's short term moves, ignoring the reasons for those
moves (sometimes due to legal constraints, sometimes by internal fighting
inside IBM, other times because other competitors moves).
While IBM's influence on Bull was extremely important, the reverse existed
sometimes (1). Dispute between IBM World Trade and IBM US domestic may
have been fueled by some worry of IBM European salesmen about some
Bull's (and GE's or Honeywell's) products.

The capability of Bull to match IBM's offer on the market never existed.
Before the GE's merger, Bull did not address the US market directly and by
consequence excluded itself from the market segments needing the
quantities only addressed by a worldwide market (such as large scientific
computers). Another market that was ignored (knowledgeably) early was the
small scientific market; its margins did not matched the corporate model.

Bull never did a comparable investment to IBM's in the technology area.

Each time it (or its American associates) tries a significant move, the
success did not reward it. The reasons of the failure were multiple:

15 NIKE PROJECT
overestimation of the return on investment, lack of a long term perspective
(that existed in architecture and software), size of market. Some more
specific problems were due to the lack of experience in fundamental physics,
themselves related to the isolation of the engineers.

For historical reasons related to the acquisition of a park of customers and

for "political" reasons, Bull did not succeed to shut down a product line
before the 1990s. Its resource limitations did not allow to embark in the
simultaneous developments of more than one or a couple of compatible
processors at the same time. Product Planning had to prepare several
product line plans and to invent models within each product line to match the
competition prices and performances. Models were developed from a single
engineering design with the same manufacturing cost by slowing down the
processor clock or adding dummy cycles and/or by reducing the
"connectivity" of the system.
When the performances exceeded IBM's target, the system was not sold at
full speed to avoid the risk of undercutting IBM future announcements'
price and keeping some reserve power to react against a competition "mid-
life kicker".
New higher models were also created by unleashing the design constraints
after one year. New lower models were created by slowing down a bit
already shipped processors.

This strategy worked well as far as the manufacturer controlled completely

the customer configuration by leasing the systems. The first evolution of
the model was the advent of clones manufacturers. They obviously attacked
IBM's market but GE, Honeywell and Bull strategists ordered to take all
measures, sometimes detrimental to product and service costs, to escape
cloners. The architecture or the assembler of the machines remained
confidential, source and object code of programs was secrete, network
architecture was not available even to peripheral suppliers, peripheral
interfaces were modified and the differences kept in vaults... Bull argued to
the persons objecting the strategy (suppliers, other manufacturers,
customers ) that it would respect the "de jure" standards (such as ISO's or
ANSI's) but that it did not have to follow the "de facto" standards (such as
IBM's). That changed in the 1980s when "Open Systems" became Bull's
religion.

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Another IBM decision impacted the business model, it was unbundling. While
the IBM pricing was more or less related to development and manufacturing
costs, adopting the same price for Bull's items where software, for instance,
was reproduced in far smaller number of copies, lead to a disconnect
between decisions to produce and customers acceptation. Specially in the
late 1970s and the 1980s, Bull embarked in many developments with a very
low production rate, but they were asked to match the IBM's catalog. Later,
in the late 1980s, the competition with open systems, lead to some re-
bundling of the offer (the word was "packaging") where for instance
associate a purchased data base system with a memory bank and even an
additional processor.

Pricing Strategy
The key reasons for the success of Nike are associated with its global brand
promotion. Due to its extensive advertising campaigns the Nike’s brand is
known in almost every household worldwide.

Considering the major revenue increase over the last decade, the company
has proved its popularity and high demand for its products among people.
Nike’s brand management strategy as a key of its global success is based on
the sponsorship agreements with the world-class athletes, including
individual performers and sport clubs. Mainly all kinds of sportswear
equipment are branded with Nike’s logo which reminds people of success and
associates it with the achievements of star performers. In such a way, Nike
not only expands its corporate image worldwide, but also enhances the
healthy lifestyle and devotion to sport activities.

Unfortunately, despite million-dollar promotional and advertising campaigns,

the original Nike’s products remain unavailable to most people worldwide.
The price for individual items is rather high and so the overwhelming
majority of purchasers buy franchise copies holding Nike’s logo. However,
this is one of the justified and reasonable business strategies applied under
the conditions of globalization.

In the recent years, Nike was reported to apply unfair working practices,
involving child labour, insufficient working conditions, under-standard wages
etc. In addition to this, the company was subject to legal claims for unfair

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public campaigns associate with the advertisement of corporate brand.
Therefore, Nike’s further business success necessitates changes and
reconsideration of its business strategies. To this end, recently Nike has
ceased its irrelevant practices and tries to lead socially and environmentally
responsible business operations.

It also comes as no surprise that the company constantly challenges anti-

globalization claims. To this end the company should emphasise on
transparent practices, considering human rights and social concerns. In this
respect, the company should regain the image of more socially-oriented
player on a global scale. Therefore, Nike’s management is fully aware that
large corporate revenues gained from multinational operations should be
combined with socially-oriented projects aimed at recycling and
environmental campaigns.

Opportunities Facing Nike In The Future

In the foreseeable future, Nike’s facing great opportunities backed up with

the company’s 2008 financial success. The company will continue to
implement its corporate projects and programmes to suit the demand and
social needs of its worldwide customers. Though, the main emphasis will be
put on promotions and so new sponsorship agreements will be concluded with
the rising stars.

Possible Challenges Facing Nike In The Future

It is rather difficult to predict corporate challenges to be faced by the

company considering the overall adverse affects of global financial crisis.
Most likely, as many other multinational businesses, Nike will close its
subsidiary offices in a number of countries and/or shorten manufacturing
rates in Asia.

Overall, it is apparent that Nike has a solid potential background to hold

strong competitive stance in the foreseeable future. Hopefully, in terms of
further business orientation strategy, the company will become more socially
responsible in the eyes of average consumers, and so the availability of its
brand products will further increase.

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Place
Niketown at Oxford Street, London

Nike sells its product to more than 25,000 retailers in the U.S. (including
Nike's own outlets and "Niketown" stores) and in approximately 160
countries in the world. The company also has a
program called Nikkei at nikeid.com, which allows
customers to customize designs of some
styles of Nike shoes and deliver them directly
from manufacturer to the consumer. Nike sells
its products in international markets
through independent distributors, licensees,
and subsidiaries.

Sponsorship
Main article: Nike sponsorships

Nike has signed top athletes in many different professional sports to

endorsement deals in order to further promote their products.

Nike's first professional athlete endorser was Romanian tennis player Ilie
Năstase, and the company's first track endorser was distance running
legend Steve Prefontaine. Prefontaine was the prized pupil of the company's
co-founder Bill Bowerman while he coached at the University of Oregon.
Today, the Steve Prefontaine Building is named in his honor at Nike's
corporate headquarters.

Besides Prefontaine, Nike has sponsored many other successful track & field
athletes over the years such as Carl Lewis, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and
Sebastian Coe. However, it was the signing of basketball player Michael
Jordan in 1984, with his subsequent promotion of Nike over the course of
his storied career with Spike Lee as Mars Blackmon, that proved to be one
of the biggest boosts to Nike's publicity and sales.

During the past 20 years especially, Nike has been one of the major
clothing/footwear sponsors for leading tennis players. Some of the more
successful tennis players currently or formerly sponsored by Nike include:
James Blake, Jim Courier, Roger Federer, Lleyton Hewitt, Juan Martín del

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Potro, Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal, Pete Sampras, Marion Bartoli, , Mary
Pierce, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams.

Nike is also the official kit sponsor for the Indian cricket team for 5 years,
from 2006 to 2010. Nike was awarded the contract for US$43 Million.

Nike also sponsors some of the leading clubs in world football, such as
Arsenal, Manchester United, FC Barcelona, Inter Milan, Juventus, Porto,
Steaua, Borussia Dortmund, Red Star, Aston Villa, Celtic and PSV Eindhoven.

Nike sponsors several of the world's top golf players, including Tiger Woods,
Trevor Immelman and Paul Casey.

Nike also sponsors various minor events including Hoop It Up (high school
basketball) and The Golden West Invitational (high school track and field).
Nike uses web sites as a promotional tool to cover these events. Nike also
has several websites for individual sports, including nikebasketball.com,
nikefootball.com, and nikerunning.com.

Promotional strategy

Advertisement

We Are What We Wear

In the late 20th century American, the cultural capital of corporations has
replaced many human forms of capital. As we buy, wear, and eat logos, we
become the henchmen and admen of the corporations, defining ourselves
with respect to the social standing of the various corporations. Some would
say that this is the new form of tribalism, that in sport corporate logos we
ritualize and humanize them, we redefine the cultural capital of the
corporations in human social terms. I would say that a state where culture is
indistinguishable from logo and where the practice of culture risks
infringement of private property is a state that values the corporate over
the human.

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Have we come to this? In light of the rash of killings over Nike shoes in 1991
and the continued market dominance of the brand, clearly Nike exerts a
significant social and psychological force on the American consumer. It is my
assertion that Nike appeals to a buying public that treats fitness as a
worthy individual goal which simultaneously imparts social identification. The
question remains, how? Nike ads, when first released were "treated like new
plays or books" (Katz, 1994:153). Through semiotic analysis of a number of
Nike advertisements, I hope to uncover at least the clues to Nike's pull on
public imagination. (The Media and Communications Site concerning semiotic
analysis informs this discussion and stands as a great study aid and
interesting read)

Unlocking Nike's Ads

I plan to work with a small number of Nike ads that speak to the entire
genre, though a thorough analysis would include the Air Jordan series, the
women-oriented "Empathy"campaign, and All Conditions Gear ads to name a
few. I hope to incorporate a wider variety of Nike advertisements at a later
date.

Nike's ads, like any other business's, require interpretation. Some of this
reading goes on at the conscious level, some unconsciously. As opposed to
extremists on either side of the interpretative question, I fall most nearly
to the constructivist point of view in that I view meaning as an interplay
between text and the reader. Chandler writes, "Texts are full of
indeterminacies which require the reader's active interpretation. We must
draw not only on our knowledge of language, but on our knowledge of the
world." Thus, readers of advertisements bring with them a surface
knowledge of the language as well as a set of preconceived ideas about how
to relate the ad to themselves. These mental templates are known as
schemata. Examples of these may include ideas of the rebel, corporate
businessman, or avant-garde artist as well as Southern Baptist churches,
universities, or mechanics' garages.

21 NIKE PROJECT
Ads work on a variety of different levels including, but not limited to, sign
typology, paradigmatic meaning, psychological appeals, emotion, roles,
values/beliefs, and knowledge. Again, the impact of an ad comes from the
interplay between these various aspects of make-up and the reader's own
notions about him/herself and the world.

So, taking the "Test Your Faith" ad as our first example: Straight off, the
reader finds him/herself thrust into the schema of religious worship. Not
only must the viewer literally look up to the runner, but he/she receives the
imperative to "Test your faith." The runner pictured appears in the midst of
a run and rests easy in the knowledge of his own god-like attention to
fitness. Likewise, the runner has no identity beyond his role in the ad. That
is, we cannot see his face, giving him an added element of the unknown
divine. The reader feels cowed looking from a subordinate position at the
figure of the runner in his element. The text implies a direct connection
between exercising (in this case, running) and religious questioning. (cp. Nike
and the Sanctification of Sport in the History section of this project) The
writers seem to suggest an element of transcendence possible in exercise, as
well as the need to continually question who we are in relation to our gods
and what we hold most sacred. For the runner in the ad, exercise is the
object of sanctity.

Yet the reader might inhabit a different role by placing themselves as the
runner in the ad itself. Transported from reading a magazine to the middle
of a run, filled with the sensual pleasure of using one's body, the reader
identifies him/herself as the 'tester of faith.' And finding the purity of
exercise within the soul, the reader can accept a measure of hearty self-
congratulation.

A slightly dissimilar angle for interpretation would be to imagine the set of

causes or drives that propelled the runner in the ad from his home to the
streets for a run. Recall Bauman's statement of drive for fit bodies. The
measure of the individual in contemporary society rests upon the extent to

22 NIKE PROJECT
which they exercise their body. Seeing the runner engaged in a long run
should impel the reader to imagine their own set of values and desires. What
would it take to get them on the streets for a run? How important is
exercise to that person? The ad places fitness as a top priority and suggests
that the reader must acknowledge the fitness culture, even if they do not
take an active part.

Finally, the gritty gray and white tones of the advertisement insinuate a
harsh world in which running becomes an escape. Reading the ad, perhaps
themselves members of such a life, viewers will immediately seek the release
and redemption that running and exercise offer.

Moving on to another example of running

advertising, we look at "You either ran...": Again
placed in the dichotomy between athletes and
spectators, the reader need only answer one
question. Have I run today? Respondents will
fall neatly into two categories and can take with them the requisite set of
emotions that come with their answer. Identification and affiliation with
others, approval, self-worth, and pride all spring from the answer 'yes.'
Meanwhile, shame (first and foremost) and ostracization from the 'in-
crowd' leave a bitter taste in the mouths of those answering 'no.'

Marketing analysis
Nike, Inc. is engaged in the design, development and worldwide marketing of
footwear, apparel, equipment and accessory products. It sells its products to
approximately 18,000 retail accounts in the United States and through a mix
of independent distributors, licensees and subsidiaries in nearly 200
countries.

Nikes athletic footwear products are designed for specific athletic use,
although some of its products are worn for casual or leisure purposes. The
company creates designs for men, women and children. Running, basketball,

23 NIKE PROJECT
childrens, cross-training and womens shoes are the Companys top-selling
product categories.

Nike also markets shoes designed for outdoor activities, tennis, golf, soccer,
baseball, football, bicycling, volleyball, wrestling, cheerleading, aquatic
activities, hiking and other athletic and recreational uses. It sells active
sports apparel that covers most of these categories, athletically inspired
lifestyle apparel and others.

We present Analysis of Nike Inc. A complete and comprehensive analysis of

Nike Inc, the worlds leading computer software company, includes an
overview of the sporting goods & equipments industry in the United States,
a PEST Framework Analysis of the US Sports Goods & Equipments Industry,
and then moves on to analyzing the company itself.

Company analysis includes a history of Nike Inc, a business segment analysis

of the segments Nike Inc operates through, a look at the organization
structure of the company, a geographical operating segments analysis, an
analysis of the company’s major competitors namely Adidas AG and Reebok
International Ltd.

A financial analysis of Nike Inc is presented in the report which includes a

ratio analysis, basic profit and loss analysis, presentation of the company
balance sheet, and much more.

Nike Recruitment
Nike Employee Workplace Surveys are detailed accounts of jobs and careers
at Nike, including, but not limited to corporate culture, diversity, hours,
dress code, and opportunities for advertisement. Nike Salary &
Compensation Surveys include information about base salary, signing and
year-end bonuses, stock options, vacation time, and other special perks and
reimbursements that make up total compensation at Nike.

24 NIKE PROJECT
Nike Business Outlook Surveys provide information about strengths and
weaknesses in competition, distribution channels, products and services,
employee morale, human resources, etc. that Nike employees consider
helpful for jobseekers considering employment at the company.

Nike Interview & Recruiting Surveys are detailed accounts of the

recruiting/hiring process and interviews at Nike (how many rounds of
interviews, who conducted the interviews and whether there were any
specific interview questions you remember of note).

Experience by a Employee
Ayre joins Nike with more than 20 years of human resource corporate and
consulting experience. He most recently was head of talent and performance
rewards for PepsiCo, where he worked since 1990. During his time at PepsiCo
he led worldwide and regional human resources positions and lived in
international markets, including China, for eight years. He currently is a
board member for the WorldatWork and National Business Group on Health
organizations. At Nike, Ayre will lead human resources strategy globally
for the Nike brand and Nike, Inc. affiliate brands. The company has more
than 28,000 employees worldwide.
"The talent and passion of Nike people worldwide is one of our greatest
competitive strengths," Parker said. "We're very pleased to have David join
Nike. His deep experience leading human resources strategies in global,
diverse organizations will be a tremendous benefit as we grow our company
and continue developing and attracting the best talent in the industry."
For two years in a row, Nike has been named by Fortune magazine as one
of the "100 Best Companies to Work For." Nike also is recognized as a best
place to work for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees by the
Human Rights Campaign Foundation.
NIKE, Inc., based near Beaverton, Oregon, is the world's leading
designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel,

25 NIKE PROJECT
equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness
activities. Wholly owned Nike subsidiaries include Converse Inc., which
designs, markets and distributes athletic footwear, apparel and
accessories; NIKE Bauer Hockey Inc., a leading designer and distributor of
hockey equipment; Cole Haan, a leading designer and marketer of luxury
shoes, handbags, accessories and coats; Hurley International LLC, which
designs, markets and distributes action sports and youth lifestyle
footwear, apparel and accessories and Exeter Brands Group LLC, which
designs and markets athletic footwear and apparel for the value retail
channel.

Why does Nikes Trains it Employees

Typical Reasons for Employee Training and Development

Training and development can be initiated for a variety of reasons for an

employee or group of employees, e.g.,:
• When a performance appraisal indicates performance improvement is
needed
• To "benchmark" the status of improvement so far in a performance
improvement effort. As part of an overall professional development
program
• As part of succession planning to help an employee be eligible for a
planned change in role in the organization
• To "pilot", or test, the operation of a new performance management
system
• To train about a specific topic (see below)
• Typical Topics of Employee Training
• Communications: The increasing diversity of today's workforce brings
a wide variety of languages and customs.
• Computer skills: Computer skills are becoming a necessity for
conducting administrative and office tasks.

26 NIKE PROJECT
 • Customer service: Increased competition in today's global
marketplace makes it critical that employees understand and meet the
needs of customers.
• Diversity: Diversity training usually includes explanation about how
people have different perspectives and views, and includes techniques
to value diversity
• Ethics: Today's society has increasing expectations about corporate
social responsibility. Also, today's diverse workforce brings a wide
variety of values and morals to the workplace.
• Human relations: The increased stresses of today's workplace can
include misunderstandings and conflict. Training can people to get
along in the workplace.
• Quality initiatives: Initiatives such as Total Quality Management,
Quality Circles, benchmarking, etc., require basic training about
quality concepts, guidelines and standards for quality, etc.
• Safety: Safety training is critical where working with heavy equipment
, hazardous chemicals, repetitive activities, etc., but can also be
useful with practical advice for avoiding assaults, etc.
• Sexual harassment: Sexual harassment training usually includes
careful description of the organization's policies about sexual
harassment, especially about what are inappropriate behaviors.

General Benefits from Employee Training and Development

• There are numerous sources of online information about training and

development. Several of these sites (they're listed later on in this
library) suggest reasons for supervisors to conduct training among
employees. These reasons include:
• Increased job satisfaction and morale among employees
• Increased employee motivation
• Increased efficiencies in processes, resulting in financial gain
• Increased capacity to adopt new technologies and methods
• Increased innovation in strategies and products
• Reduced employee turnover

27 NIKE PROJECT
 • Enhanced company image, e.g., conducting ethics training (not a good
reason for ethics training!)
• Risk management, e.g., training about sexual harassment, diversity
training

NIKE GOLF REORGANIZING, JOINING IN

COMPANY-WIDE DOWNSIZING

Even though Nike Golf "had clearly been one of the company's top
performers" recently, it was ordered to downsize operations in the same
manner as other divisions,"even those that hadn't performed as well,"
according to Gene Yasuda of GOLFWEEK. Yasuda reports, "Bearing that
equal, yet unfair, burden of reorganization discouraged" the golf division's
former leaders, GM Bob Rief, Marketing Manager Joe Moses and Dir of
Marketing Rod Tallman, who have all recently left Nike. Now, in a "reshaped
corporate landscape," Nike Golf is "emerging as a different entity," one
that will operate "almost as a subsidiary" and report to new Nike VP/Global
Brand Management Andy Mooney. Mooney has decided to spin off Nike Golf
"to let it pursue new products more rapidly and aggressively." Nike Golf
plans to introduce a golf ball line soon and Mooney said it is "in the midst of
creating a feasibility committee to explore the possibility of selling clubs"
(GOLFWEEK, 7/11 issue) CHIP SHOTS: IMG will present its first-ever
National Golf Consumer Show, March 25-26, 1999 at Cleveland's Int'l
Exposition Center. Designed to showcase the latest golf products and
services to the public, IMG plans to expand the inaugural Expo into a
National Show Series in several major metro areas (IMG)....Mark Brooks'
contract with Callaway,which he severed two weeks ago, was worth
$500,000 a year.Brooks has gone back to using Hogan clubs, but is not yet
under contract with the company. Hogan Dir of Market Development &
Player Relations Joe Henley said, "Discussions on the business side of the
relationship will most likely take place" (GOLFWEEK, 7/11)....GOLFWEEK's
"Forecaddie" reported that after Se Ri Pak's win at the U.S. Women's Open,
"word" was Samsung, which already pays her $1M per year, was considering
"sweetening" her deal. Also, a dealfor Pak, who does not currently have a

28 NIKE PROJECT
club contract, to play Callaway clubs "likely is in the offing"
(GOLFWEEK,7/11)....Dottie Pepper hired TN-based Alday Communications to
handle her PR and marketing (ADWEEK, 7/13)....With the CVS Pleasant
Valley Classic ending after this year's events,and Friendly's announcement
yesterday that it will not renew its sponsorship of the Friendly's LPGA
Classic, the state of MA has been "effectively frozen out" of the LPGA and
PGA Tours. However, in Boston, Shira Springer reports that arrangements
for a new LPGA stop in the state will "likely" be made "in the coming weeks"

OUTSOURCING
Nike, that global icon of sportswear, is a powerful lesson to organisations
considering outsourcing their IT, says visiting outsourcing expert and lawyer
Dr Trevor Nagel.
Nike never outsourced its strategic thinking, he says. Instead, the company
identified its core competencies and outsourced accordingly, says Nagel, a
partner and head of the Global Technology Practice Group, at Washington
DC law firm Shaw Pittman.
"Nike basically is a trademark and a distribution network," Nagel says.
"Companies that are in the manufacturing and distribution world are moving
very much towards the Nike model. Nike is way out there in terms of
someone who has taken this to its ultimate potential but you can see a lot of
the electronic manufacturers moving towards that," he says.Major banks are
another example of organisations that outsource much of the mundane work
of delivering the day-to-day necessities to customers while they
concentrate on developing new financial products, he says.Many
organisations' outsourcing headaches are due to farming out too little rather
than too much, he says. Outsourcing vendors can easily deny responsibility
when things go wrong if you only hand them segments of your business
processes."If you don't give the vendor the degrees of freedom to tailor a
solution, you're going to limit what they can do extensively and also you're
going to have difficulty in getting them accountable," Nagel says.
He says vendors will just shift the blame back on to the customer, which will
lead to "finger pointing and then a death spiral".Australian-born and Harvard
qualified, Nagel is vice-chairman of the International Bar Association
Committee on Technology and e-Commerce. He was a pioneer of IT

29 NIKE PROJECT
outsourcing law in the early 1990s and has advised on global outsourcing and
strategic alliance arrangements for McDonald's, Cable & Wireless, MCI and
Pepsi.Nagel was at Melbourne's La Trobe University last week to teach a unit
in the La Trobe Law Global Business Law program covering how to structure,
implement and then govern an outsourcing arrangement.
A lesson many of Nagel's clients have learned from outsourcing is the value
of consolidating outsourcing agreements."Not only were those clients not an
expert in technology - such that it made more sense to have their
requirements met by a big vendor - but they learnt they're not very good
integrators either," he says.Nagel also warns clients that saving money or
acquiring better technology are not in themselves good enough reasons to
outsource."Generally when you're outsourcing the wisest thing you can do is
look for a solution rather than look for a specific technology," he
says."During the life of the agreement you'd expect, with the speed that
technology is changing, that the technologies that deliver your requirements
and the services you want will, in fact, change in many areas."

Motivation Theories used by Nike

1.Team Work
Skillful managers form work groups when possible with the hope that peer
pressure will induce high levels of performance. This is reported to be an
effective means of motivation because individuals appear to be more
concerned with living up to the expectations of fellow workers rather than
the expectations of their bosses. Complexities arise when a group conforms
to a level of achievement rather than a high performance level, or when a
particular work setting makes it difficult to structure group activities.

2. Personal involvement

Workers who are allowed to set their own performance levels will usually try
to meet their own expectations. It is important to have the worker make a
verbal commitment regarding their anticipated achievement levels. Also,
individuals and groups are most likely to attain goals when they make a public
commitment to do so. This may be due to the fact that such commitments
are promises and most people view themselves as persons who keep their
word.

30 NIKE PROJECT
The chief problem with this strategy results from workers who maintain a
low self-image. At this point, managers are faced with the problem of
motivating a worker to think positively about himself so his self-image will
correlate with high performance. On the whole, this strategy is effective,
but it might demand a manager to reinforce an employee's strengths first.

3. work Enhancement

With this method, managers structure jobs so the work provides fulfillment.
The experiment in job enrichment underway at the Saab-Volvo automobile
plant in Sweden illustrates rather nicely how job enrichment works. They use
a team-assembly concept in which workers rotate the tasks required for
building an automobile. Basically, the entire group is responsible for
assembling the complete automobile. This is in contrast to the monotonous
production system which now characterizes auto manufacturing in the
United States.

One of the difficulties with this type of motivational strategy is that

workers want to be compensated adequately for the work they do. When
employees are expected to perform more complicated job skills, they expect
increased compensation. When this does not happen, the work may no longer
offer an internal incentive.

4. Rewards

This type of planning is based on the behavior modification approach that

workers will increase or repeat the desired work performance if they are
given rewards. It is also hoped that poor performance will be eradicated
once the subordinate comprehends the relationship between commendable
performance and rewards.

Generally, the reward approach is successful but it is not without its

complications. Individuals are unique and maintain different value systems.
What may be considered rewarding to one worker may be no incentive
whatsoever to the next employee. Some people prefer pay increases. Others
seek promotions. Still others may desire new rugs on their office floors.

31 NIKE PROJECT
Establishing meaningful incentives for performance with individuals can be a
difficult task for a manager.

5. Mutual Exchange

Sometimes, managers promise special privileges for the exchange of desired

work performance. A supervisor may allow a worker to leave work early if he
completes his task for the day, or he may be allowed a day away from the
job if he finishes a required project within a specified time.

Mutual exchange is a frequently used strategy, but not necessarily the most
effective. Problems arise when the employee feels the exchange is out of
balance, or when he cannot come to an agreement with his supervisor as to
what would be a fair exchange.

6. competitive measures

In this design, workers compete against others for certain bonuses or

prizes. Banners, plaques, vacations, and free dinners are examples of some
rewards offered. This strategy is often used for sales incentives.

Difficulties emerge when managers design contests that do not offer a fair
opportunity to achieve the specified goals. If the same individuals and
groups consistently win the prizes due to the contest design, interest in
competing is likely to grow lukewarm for many of the workers. Also,
competition does not promote a cooperative strategy and work performance
can actually be sabotaged due to the hostility that competition can trigger.

7. Punishment And Fear

Although frequently used, the least effective method of motivating a worker

is with a negative consequence, such as a verbal dressing-down, suspension,
or the loss of the job. Punishment may achieve immediate results, but it does
not accomplish internal motivation for several reasons. First, adults are not
inclined to remain in employment where they are threatened and intimidated.
Second, workers who are backed by a strong union may dissolve the threat
with a higher level of authority. Third, scares and intimidation can create
animosity toward a superior and employees may respond with hostility and

32 NIKE PROJECT
subversion. Another problem with the fear strategy is that it creates a
punitive climate in which individuals are afraid of being different from or of
offending others. This particular situation has a tendency to diminish
creativity and lead to intellectual stagnation.

Human rights concerns

Nike has been criticized for contracting with factories in countries such as
China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Mexico. Vietnam Labour Watch, an activist
group, has documented that factories contracted by Nike have violated
minimum wage and overtime laws in Vietnam as late as 1996, although Nike
claims that this practice has been halted.The company has been subject to
much critical coverage of the often poor working conditions and exploitation
of cheap overseas labor employed in the free trade zones where their goods
are typically manufactured. Sources of this criticism include Naomi Klein's
book No Logo and Michael Moore's documentaries.

Nike has been criticized about ads which referred to empowering women in
the U.S. while engaging in practices in East Asian factories which some felt
disempowered women. During the 1990s, Nike faced criticism for use of
child labor in Cambodia and Pakistan in factories it contracted to
manufacture soccer balls. Although Nike took action to curb or at least
reduce the practice of child labor, they continue to contract their
production to companies that operate in areas where inadequate regulation
and monitoring make it hard to ensure that child labor is not being used.

These campaigns have been taken up by many colleges and universities,

especially anti-globalization groups as well as several anti-sweatshop groups
such as the United Students Against Sweatshops Despite these campaigns,
however, Nike's annual revenues have increased from $6.4 billion in 1996 to
nearly $17 billion in 2007, according to the company's annual reports.

A July 2008 investigation by Australian Channel 7 News found a large

number of cases involving forced labour in one of the biggest Nike apparel

33 NIKE PROJECT
factories. The factory located in Malaysia was filmed by an undercover crew
who found instances of squalid living conditions and forced labour. Nike have
since stated that they will take corrective action to ensure the continued
abuse does not occur.

Following Liu Xiang's withdrawal from the 2008 Olympics, Nike admitted
seeking help from "relevant government departments" in the Chinese
government to track down and identify an anonymous Internet poster.

Environmental record
The consistently growing textile industry often negatively impacts the
environment. Because Nike is a large participant in this manufacturing,
many of their processes negatively contribute to the environment. One
way the expanding textile industry affects the environment is by
increasing its water deficit, climate change, pollution, and fossil fuel
and raw material consumption. In addition to this, today's electronic
textile plants spend significant amounts of energy, while also producing
a throw-away mindset due to trends founded upon fast fashion and
cheap clothing. Although these combined effects can negatively alter
the environment, Nike tries to counteract their influence with
different projects. According to a New England-based environmental
organisation Clean Air-Cool Planet, Nike ranks among the top 3
companies (out of 56) on a survey conducted about climate-friendly
companies.Nike has also been praised for its Nike Grind programme
(which closes the product lifecycle) by groups like Climate Counts.In
addition to this, one campaign that Nike began for Earth Day 2008 was
a commercial that featured Steve Nash wearing Nike's Trash Talk
Shoe, a shoe that had been constructed in February 2008 from pieces
of leather and synthetic leather waste that derived from the factory
floor. The Trash Talk Shoe also featured a sole composed of ground-up
rubber from a shoe recycling program. Nike claims this is the first
performance basketball shoe that has been created from
manufacturing waste, but it only produced 5,000 pairs for sale .Another
project Nike has begun is called Nike's Reuse-A-Shoe program. This
program, started in 1993, is Nike's longest-running program that

34 NIKE PROJECT
 benefits both the environment and the community by collecting old
athletic shoes of any type in order to process and recycle them. The
material that is created from the recycled shoes is then used to help
create sports surfaces, such as basketball courts, running tracks, and
playgrounds

Marketing strategy
Nike's marketing strategy is an important component of the company's
success. Nike is positioned as a premium-brand, selling well-designed and
expensive products. Nike lures customers with a marketing strategy
centering around a brand image which is attained by distinctive logo and the
advertising slogan: "Just do it".Nike promotes its products by sponsorship
agreements with celebrity athletes, professional teams and college athletic
teams. However, Nike's marketing mix contains many elements besides
promotion. These are summarised below.

Gantt chart

A Gantt chart is a type of bar chart that illustrates a project schedule.

Gantt charts illustrate the start and finish dates of the terminal
elements and summary elements of a project. Terminal elements and
summary elements comprise the work breakdown structure of the
project. Some Gantt charts also show the dependency (i.e, precedence
network) relationships between activities. Gantt charts can be used to

35 NIKE PROJECT
 show current schedule status using percent-complete shadings and a
vertical "TODAY" line as shown here.

In the 1980s, personal computers eased the creation and editing of

elaborate Gantt charts. These desktop applications were intended
mainly for project managers and project schedulers. In the late 1990s
and early 2000s, Gantt charts became a common feature of web-based
applications, including collaborative groupware. Although now regarded
as a common charting technique, Gantt charts were considered
revolutionary when they were introduced. In recognition of Henry
Gantt's contributions, the Henry Laurence Gantt Medal is awarded for
distinguished achievement in management and in community service.
This chart is used also in Information Technology to represent data
that has been collected.

36 NIKE PROJECT
37 NIKE PROJECT
SWOT ANALYSIS

Strengths.
• Nike is a very competitive organization. Phil Knight (Founder and CEO)
is often quoted as saying that 'Business is war without bullets.' Nike
has a healthy dislike of is competitors. At the Atlanta Olympics,
Reebok went to the expense of sponsoring the games. Nike did not.
However Nike sponsored the top athletes and gained valuable
coverage.
• Nike has no factories. It does not tie up cash in buildings and
manufacturing workers. This makes a very lean organization. Nike is
strong at research and development, as is evidenced by its evolving
and innovative product range. They then manufacture wherever they
can produce high quality product at the lowest possible price. If
prices rise, and products can be made more cheaply elsewhere (to the
same or better specification), Nike will move production.
• Nike is a global brand. It is the number one sports brand in the World.
Its famous 'Swoosh' is instantly recognisable, and Phil Knight even has
it tattooed on his ankle.

Weaknesses.
• The organization does have a diversified range of sports products.
However, the income of the business is still heavily dependent upon its
share of the footwear market. This may leave it vulnerable if for any
reason its market share erodes.
• The retail sector is very price sensitive. Nike does have its own
retailer in Nike Town. However, most of its income is derived from
selling into retailers. Retailers tend to offer a very similar experience
to the consumer. Can you tell one sports retailer from another? So

38 NIKE PROJECT
 margins tend to get squeezed as retailers try to pass some of the low
price competition pressure onto Nike.

Opportunities.
• Product development offers Nike many opportunities. The brand is
fiercely defended by its owners whom truly believe that Nike is not a
fashion brand. However, like it or not, consumers that wear Nike
product do not always buy it to participate in sport. Some would argue
that in youth culture especially, Nike is a fashion brand. This creates
its own opportunities, since product could become unfashionable
before it wears out i.e. consumers need to replace shoes.
• There is also the opportunity to develop products such as sport wear,
sunglasses and jewellery. Such high value items do tend to have
associated with them, high profits.
• The business could also be developed internationally, building upon its
strong global brand recognition. There are many markets that have
the disposable income to spend on high value sports goods. For
example, emerging markets such as China and India have a new richer
generation of consumers. There are also global marketing events that
can be utilised to support the brand such as the World Cup (soccer)
and The Olympics.

Threats.
• Nike is exposed to the international nature of trade. It buys and sells
in different currencies and so costs and margins are not stable over
long periods of time. Such an exposure could mean that Nike may be
manufacturing and/or selling at a loss. This is an issue that faces all
global brands.
• The market for sports shoes and garments is very competitive. The
model developed by Phil Knight in his Stamford Business School days
(high value branded product manufactured at a low cost) is now
commonly used and to an extent is no longer a basis for sustainable
competitive advantage. Competitors are developing alternative brands
to take away Nike's market share.
• As discussed above in weaknesses, the retail sector is becoming price
competitive. This ultimately means that consumers are shopping

39 NIKE PROJECT
 around for a better deal. So if one store charges a price for a pair of
sports shoes, the consumer could go to the store along the street to
compare prices for the exactly the same item, and buy the cheaper of
the two. Such consumer price sensitivity is a potential external threat
to Nike.

NIKE RESPONSIBILITY: SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS

Sustainable Materials
What We Use
As part of the production of our products, we face a number of challenges,
ranging from use of materials to handling waste. For each, we have developed
and applied an appropriate approach and continue to seek ways to limit use of
materials and handle them safely and, where possible, eliminate their use
throughout production.

Sustainable materials
Expanding our use of environmentally preferred materials as new
technologies become commercially viable will allow us to integrate these
materials into our products. These materials have added environmental
benefits that do not compromise the aesthetic, quality and performance
that our consumers expect from Nike products. This allows us to leverage
our purchase volumes with our suppliers, making environmentally preferred
material options more cost effective. It also encourages our suppliers to
develop more sustainable materials since they know there will be a market.

Recycled polyester
Recycled polyester is a fiber derived from reprocessed, post-industrial
and/or post-consumer polyester waste materials such as plastic bottles,
consumer textile products, uniforms and textile scraps. We have begun using
recycled polyester in many of products in our All Conditions Gear outdoor
line as well as various active apparel items.

Leather
Nike is the one of the world’s largest users of white leather. Waste from
cutting leather constitutes one of our largest footwear solid waste streams.

40 NIKE PROJECT
Recognizing our impact in the athletic footwear industry, we collaborated
with tanners and other footwear brands and retailers to found the Leather
Working Group (LWG) in 2006. The LWG developed a protocol to assess the
environmental compliance and stewardship practices of leather tanneries,
and to promote best practices in the industry. By assessing tanners against
this protocol, we will be able to identify those that meet our threshold for
environmentally preferred leather suppliers. The protocol was peer reviewed
in 2006 and will be launched in FY07. The LWG is facilitated by BLC Leather
Tech.

Organic cotton
Nike’s long-term goal for organic cotton is for every cotton-containing
apparel product to contain at least 5 percent organic cotton by 2011. We are
currently on track to achieve this ambitious goal. Fifty-two percent of our
cotton-containing products produced in FY06 contained a minimum of 5
percent organic cotton.

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)

Known as vinyl, PVC has become ubiquitous in the past 50 years, used in
everything from packaging to flooring, toys, pipes, medical supplies, cars and
sports equipment. Durable and inexpensive to make, PVC was the plastic of
choice until recently. Over the last several years, PVC has received
considerable attention because of a range of environmental issues related to
its manufacturing and disposal.

In the late 1990s, we – controversially at the time – announced our policy to

remove PVC from our product lines. Removing PVC has required great
cooperation in our supply chain and discipline from our design and production
teams. Nike has made real progress in this aim. Virtually all of Nike-branded
product is now PVC free. At the end of FY06, a few remaining product types
still use PVC with performance, difficulty of use and price being the primary
obstacles in the implementation of suitable alternatives. We continue to
work our supply chain and with ink suppliers and printers to find and
implement attractive and durable alternatives to PVC

41 NIKE PROJECT
NIKE: Nike Shoes and Child Labor in Pakistan
Nike has been accused of using child labor in the production of its soccer
balls in Pakistan. This case study will examine the claims and describe the
industry and its impact on laborers and their working conditions. While
Pakistan has laws against child labor and slavery, the government has taken
very little action to combat it. Only a boycott by the United States and
other nations will have any impact on slavery and child-based industries.
Furthermore the U.S constitution states that child labor is an illegal and
inhumane practice and any U.S. company found guilty practicing and
encouraging it will be prosecuted.GATT and
WTO prohibits member nations, like the
United States, from discriminating against
the importation of goods made by children.
Are dolphins becoming more important than
children? A question making WTO to
reconsider the children's appeal of the
third world.
Description
Pakistan has a per-capita income of $1,900
per year -meaning that a typical person
survives barely on $5 per day. And that's nonot all, Pakistan has a traditional
culture where earning of one person goes on feeding 10 mouths; and with the
high rate of inflation it becomes difficult for a low income population to
survive. Child labor is spread all over Pakistan but has the greatest impact in
the north-west of punjab province, that is Sialkot. Pakistan has a population
of approximately 1 million and is an important centre for the production of
goods for export to international markets, particularly sporting goods. In
1994,

42 NIKE PROJECT
exports from Sialkot brought income of almost US$ 385 million into the
Pakistan economy. Sialkot is thus one of the world’s most important centres
for production of
sporting goods.
Child labor
exists in Sialkot
both in the
export sector and
the domestic
sector. This fact
has been well
documented and
reported by the
international
media for several
years but nothing
has been done about it. In Pakistan it is clearly documented that child labor
is against the law, but the government carries lack of willingness to do
anything about it. Provision for education is very limited, due to the fact
that very low priority is given to education in the national budgets. Education
receives around 3% of the total gross domestic product when compared to
over ten times of this amount spent on military. Gender and other forms of
discrmination plus adding to the lack of political will, gives the clear picture
of the existence of child labor in Pakistan.

Nike as a helper or exploiter to IIIrd World

Recently if you go to a shop to buy your child a new soccer ball. There is a
good possibility that the ball has been made by someone your child's age or
even younger. About half of the world's soccer ball are made in Pakistan, and
each one of them passes through a process of production where child labor
is involved. This problem not only pertains to Pakistan but is worldwide. More
than 200 children, some as young as 4 and 5 years of age, are involved in the
production line. Majority of these children work in Asia, e.g in the nations of
India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia.

Nike is characterized of making its equipments in countries which are in

the developing phase, having very cheap labor, authoritarian government and

43 NIKE PROJECT
lack of human rights appeal and union movement. In doing this it has made
greater margins on the cost of mere cents to its workers. So Nike success
story is not based on good name and advertising alone but also attached to it
is the tears of tortured workers and child labor.

A columnist 'Stephen Chapman' from Libertarian newspaper argues that

"But why is it unconscionable for a poor country to allow child labor? Pakistan
has a per-capita income of $1,900 per year - meaning that the typical person
subsists on barely $5 per day. Is it a a revelation - or a crime - that some
parents willingly send their children off to work in a factory to survive? Is it
cruel for Nike to give them the chance?"
(source: http://www.raincity.com/~williamf/words96.html)
Stephen argues that the best way to end child-labor is to buy more of the
products that children produce. This would increase their demand, and as
they will produce more, they will earn more, hence giving themselves chane
to rise above poverty level and thus also benefiting the families of the
children and as well as the nation.

However, the issue is not that simple. Increasing the demand of the
products produced by child labor means encouraging more child labor,
encouraging more birth rates, more slavery, increasing sweatshops and
discouraging education - as parents of the children working in factories
would want them to work more and earn more. If this happened to be the
case, then more and more children will be bought and sold on the black
market, leading no end to this problem. By encouraging more child labor, you
are not only taking away those innocent years from them but also the right
to be educated and the right to be free.

Nike - a good chess player

As a good chess player Nike always thinks ahead of its movement. It does
not launch its production directly in to the developing country, such as
Pakistan, but instead it subcontracts it to them by selecting a local firm.
When doing this, the local firm, in this case SAGA sports, has to abide by
the Nike's international rules and regulations when producing its goods. And
it is the duty of the international firm (NIKE) to monitor its subcontracted
production units and hold it to tight scrutuny. But this is not what really
happens. Both Nike and the local production company aims to minimize cost
and earn the highest amounts of profit thus involving themselves in illegal

44 NIKE PROJECT
practices, such as child labor, a practice which is not so highlighted by the
government of the host developing country. So what happens when you
question Nike about its labor practices? An answer comes that it is not they
who are involved in this illegal labor practices but it is the local
subcontracter who is doing so. This is wrong to say as Nike and SAGA sports
both benefits with access to cheap child labor in Pakistan. And if Nike
cannot control its subcontracted plants, it means they have not implemented
their rules and regulations effectively and is not abiding by the international
standards which they have set for themselves.

Nike's entrance in to the Pakistani markets was the part of its long term
strategic planning. It is false to explain that Nike didn't knew that child
labor is an ages-old practice in Pakistan. Nike went into Pakistan, having full
knowledge of the favorable conditions prevailing in terms of child labor and
has taken no precautions whatsoever to prevent the use of child labor in the
production of its soccer balls. Instead Nike has made a profit from its
Pakistani contractors who inturn has used bonded child labor in the
production process. Critically analyzing the situation, "Why Nike always land
up in places having cheap or bonded labors or in places where it can easily
get away with illegal labor practices?" Examples incude: Vietnam, China,
Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and India. Nike simply bases its operations
on finding the lowest-cost labor to make its products.Twelve-year-old girls
work in Indonesian sweatshops 70 hours a week making Nike shoes in
unhealthy plants.

According to a Foulball campaign report, Nike has refused twice to have a

check in their Saga-managed center in Pakistan while on the other hand
Nike's rival Reebok readily granted access to its Moltex-managed center in
Pakistan.
Nike has the habit of hiding behind its good public image and its effective
means of promotions and advertising. Nike attempts to create a good public
image by offering charity, donating equipments and never passing an
opportunity to remind the public that it has set up stitching centers in
places such as Sialkot, Pakistan.

How it all started - Consumer awareness 1996

When the June, 1996 issue of Life magazine carried an article about child
labor in Pakistan, Nike knew that it was

45 NIKE PROJECT
in trouble. The article's lead photograph showed 12-year-old Tariq
surrounded by the pieces of a Nike soccer ball
which he would spend most of a day stitching together for the grand sum of
60 cents. In a matter of weeks, activists all across
Canada and the United States were standing in front of Nike outlets, holding
up Tariq's photo.

And yet, Nike has not done an especially good job of scrutinizing the
subcontractors with which it's working. Nor has it been open about its labor
practices in the way public companies should be expected to be. Cameramen
have been pushed out of factory floors. Supervisors at a plant in Vietnam
apparently beat workers being paid 20 cents an hour and refused to allow
them to leave their work posts. Indonesian labor organizers has been put
behind bars. And, most troubling, nearly all the soccer balls made in Pakistan
have been revealed to be made by young children getting paid just cents a
day.

Nike chairman Phil Knight also acknowledged that a shipment of soccer

balls Nike purchased in Pakistan in the year 1996 was made by a
subcontractor using child labor in "horrible conditions." Although 1996 was
the first year in which real public attention was focused on Nike's labor
practices abroad, it's important to recognize that manufacturing shoes in
low-wage countries was, from the start, a crucial part of Phil Knight's plan
for his company. In other words, American jobs have not been shipped
abroad. On the contrary, Nike has never made shoes in the United States.
Its first factories, built in the 1960s, were in Japan, when that country was
still a part of the Third World. And since thirty years Nike have migrating
from nation to nation, arriving as countries install the necessary mechanisms
for orderly business operations and leaving as living standards become too
high to make manufacturing profitable.

46 NIKE PROJECT
Nike "not Just do it but Do it right."

This is the first time that Nike has had to face real questions about its
labor practices abroad, the first time that it has felt a public-relations
impact. At this point, that impact does not seem at all devastating. While in
the short run Americans are generally horrified by the issue of child labor
and has expressed concern over the working conditions in foreign factories,
Nike should take immediate actions in order to provide remedy to all the
activism it faces, otherwise it can prove devastating for the company's
image in the long run. The basic truth about Nike is that its only real
strength is its good name. Nike rules because of all the good things people
associate with the company: sharp ads, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, little
Penny, and Michael Jordan again. If "beaten workers" and "child labor" get
added to that list, then Nike's greatest asset will be lost.

Now the burden is on the company both to do a better job of

implementing company-wide global standards of conduct and also to improve
its openness to the media. The more you hide, after all, the more people
think you have something to hide. Every hand that goes up, hurts Nike in the
public eye. And when you're a consumer company, that's the only eye that
matters.

Consumers -- "Just don't do it."

When a person states that he/she is working for Nike, it gives a very
good status symbol. But what if the person is a 9 - year old child? What
image will it give you as a consumer when you buy ththose products or brands
that employ child labor?

47 NIKE PROJECT
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48 NIKE PROJECT
Origins of the Fitness Culture
What does it mean to be fit? How healthy are you? In what ways does a
hard, athletic body appeal to you? How many hours a week do you spend
working out? What's your cholesterol level? Your resting pulse? Your VO2
max?
Questions like these bombard the contemporary athletic consumer. Visions
of lean, golden-tanned bodies sweating in exercise accost us from all media.
Yet, these dreams (or nightmares) of idyllic exercise have only recently held
popular sway. As late as the 1950s, American consumers rested easy in their
self-conceptions of health. But even by that time, the subtle messages that
make up popular notions of health began to undergo transformation. Howell
(1991) cites the post-WW2 years as the time during which the massive
growth of state apparatus came to define precisely the term "quality of
life." The concept of leisure came to represent, writes Gruneau (1984), the
happiness and success of postwar social democracy. In turn, leisure became a
sign of broader political and cultural advances in American life.

Ingham, Katz, and Cole all place the germ of the fitness culture within the
late 1970s and early 1980s. Writing in perhaps the seminal work of fitness
anthropology, Ingham (1985) frames the preoccupation with the body in
terms of a contradiction between the welfare state and consumer culture.
As the American state assumed more and more responsibility for its poor,
many citizens viewed welfare as morally repugnant. Conservatives saw the
admission of moral weakness in placing a demand on the state to take care of
one's body. In contrast, liberals thought the poor stigmatized for not being
able to perform the role of "body-consumer." That is, the individual who
purchases goods and services based upon their exercise efficacy. Without
delving into a discussion of the morality of the welfare state, it should be
noted that both points of view deal exclusively with the body. Ingham cites
Bauman:
The care of the body is the crucial time and money-consuming activity of the
denizens of consumer society. The body is charged with the responsibility
for success and failure in earthly endeavors, and the urge 'to do something
about my life' is most eagerly translated into a precept 'to do something
about my body.'"

49 NIKE PROJECT
As the First Running Boom took off in the late 70s, the idea of exercise and
game-playing ceased being something Americans did for fun. Instead, "one
ran for long life, health, or for a toned body suitable to the imminent halter-
topped, and stretch-panted aesthetic" (Katz, 1994:65-66). Working on the
body became a means of taking control of and displaying one's self. It gave
the individual an iconographic representation of who they were in relation to
everyone else.

Success of Nike Brand

The Success of the Nike Brand, a History
By Clay Parker Jones | December 18, 2006
Reader beware: I’ve been a fan of Nike for my entire life. Dang you, brand
loyalty, and the fog that you put me in. Below are two photos of my most
recent loves, my Air Force Ones. I’ll get to these later. This is an enormous
post. Apologies.
Birth and Acceptance
So in 1972 Nike was born, as I understand it, out of Phil Knight and Coach
Bill Bowerman’s desire to make good athletic shoes. Bowerman was a bit of a
nut about running and running shoes, according to runners’ mythology, and his
principle innovation was the lightweight running shoe with the now-famous
waffle outsole. Yadda yadda yadda, they become the biggest sport brand in
the world, thanks in no small part to Mr. Michael Jordan, his Airness and
their ability to consistently market their innovations.
Oddly enough, their growth hasn’t ever really been about the technical
superiority of their product, besides perhaps in the basketball category. In
almost every sport, Nike isn’t the choice of the “serious” athletes. If you’re
a serious basketballer or American footballer, it’s likely that you wear
Swooshes. But serious runners typically choose something that is appropriate
for their stride (New Balance, Saucony, Mizuno and Asics lead here, perhaps
not in sales…). And most serious cyclists ride with Shimano, Sidi or Carnac.
Serious backpackers and hikers stick with Asolo or some other specialty
brand. Until recently (with the Joga effort and its ancestors) Nike played
second fiddle for adidas in soccer. I’m not that familiar with baseball but
I’ve seen a lot of logo diversity on the mound, suggesting that Nike’s hold
here isn’t that strong. Nike rose to great heights with Agassi and stole
Sampras away from Sergio Tacchini, but other specialty brands were still
considered superior by many serious Tennis players. And in Golf, Footjoy and

50 NIKE PROJECT
others lead (at least in perception of quality and appropriateness) Nike
despite their ownership of the Greatest Of All Time, Tiger.

So Nike’s success, as far as I can tell, been founded on their ability to win
over weekend warriors and to provide fashionable designs that can be worn
outside of sporting activities. As I recollect from my middle-school and early
high-school days, most every kid wore some sort of Nike (or Nike-inspired
Payless knockoff) athletic shoe, typically of either basketball or running
varietal.

Brown Shoe Movement

[Note: Not sure if I have my timing right here. Can anyone help?] But as the
1990s came to a close the so-called Brown Shoe Revolution started to
threaten Nike’s hold on our collective feet. The rise of Doc Martens and
their Bleatheren (get it? God that’s stupid) ilk introduced a new “look”…a new
fashion possibility/sensibility that stole a significant share of foot from
Nike. As trendsetters started to wear more “adult” footwear, the role for
Nike (and other athletic footwear) became diminished. Nike wasn’t “about”
the serious athlete and wasn’t fashionably relevant anymore. Big worries, I’m
sure, in Beaverton.

A New Aesthetic
I remember in about 2002/3, my cousin Adam called from Italy and told me
that everyone was wearing tight jeans tucked into wrestling boots. If you’re
not familiar with wrestling boots, they are tall boots with a very spare
midsole (the foam part) and a thin outsole. This helps wrestlers grip the mat;
in this case, supportive foam is a detriment…you want as much “mat feel” as
possible. About this time, Nike’s design really started to suffer. Their shoes
became too technically garish, too over-the-top, too self-celebratory.

In the above graphic I’ve shown the style progression that occurred over
the past 10 years that resulted in Nike’s current position. At top left is the
Air Max 97. It arrived on the heels of the Air Max 95, which at one point (in
the gray and green colorway) was selling for several thousand dollars a pair
in Japan. This, I would say, was the height of the technically advanced,
athletic Nike design aesthetic. It’s probably the most tasteful of the highly
athletic genre. Note the thickness and prominence of the midsole (again, the
foam part), and the weight/thickness of the upper (the fabric part), as

51 NIKE PROJECT
compared to the middle shoe. In the middle is a typical wrestling boot. As
mentioned above, note the lack of midsole and thin outsole and the high-top
construction. These were very in for a while, and continue to be among
particularly daring types. This spare, almost retro aesthetic led to the rise
of the driving shoe (bottom right), which has a decent midsole for
practicality but maintains the same general design idea as the wrestling
boot. The shoe pictured here is the Puma Speed Cat. Certainly you’ve seen
these on the feet of trendy types. It was this shoe style that helped to
usher Puma and adidas to the front of the line for people looking to pair
athletic shoes with their casual outfits.
So, to re-cap, the Brown Shoe Movement gave people the idea that hyper-
athletic shoes didn’t really go with casual clothes. This, along with Nike’s
push toward shoes that outwardly celebrated their technical advancement,
with big air pockets and such, resulted in a movement to a spare, retro
footwear aesthetic. Puma and adidas raced in to satisfy this need with their
wide range of driving-oriented shoes that looked good but weren’t quite as
outlandish as the trendy wrestling boots.

Colorific
So that brings us up to the present. Recently, a trend started in the hip-hop
community a few years back has resulted in a growing desire for retro
sneaks with crazy colors. I’m not sure when this really started, but I’ll track
some key events for you.

Jordans have always been popular, somehow since day one. And Nike
produced some rare colorways of Jordans on a few occasions that grew to
extreme popularity. One particular example was the Space Jam Air Jordan
XI, pictured above. But in about 2002, factory variants started to become
available on the internet (some real, some fake, many desirable no matter
their provenance). For example, check out these Louis Vuitton Jordan XIs:

These are almost certainly fake. But it became very cool to have a unique,
rare colorway of a popular shoe. And this trend is currently exploding. Nike’s
doing a brilliant job with this trend, and it may help them achieve fashion
relevance again. As far as I can tell, it started in hip-hop, with Nelly’s Air
Force Ones:

52 NIKE PROJECT
Seriously, watch it.
It’s a tribute to Nike’s Air Force One shoe, originally made in 1982 and still
worn in the NBA by Rasheed Wallace. The song is all about having rare,
custom, or one-off Air Force Ones (like the ones pictured at the top of the
post). But at about this time, there were some limited-edition (or painted-
at-home) versions of the Ones showing up on the street, as evidenced by
this lyric from the song:

Now if you looked, and seen lime green forces and kiwi
You couldn’t get this color if you had a personal genie…

I like the limited edition to khaki and army green

Patent leather pin stripe you should see how I do the strings
Size twelve with the strap
Red and white with a cardinal cap…

And once it crossed-over into the general public, it went crazy. For example,
check out Sneakerplay, Freshness, NikeLab, Kicks Finder, and Nike SB. And
in New York, they’ve got an invite-only Nike store where you can customize
to your heart’s content.

In the end…
So Nike, through their moves with iD and by picking up on the
customizability trend, has been able to win back some ground. And they’ve
picked up some of their slack with the serious athletes. The Shox technology
has been well-received by runners (and by Runner’s World, for what that’s
worth), serious footballers are wearing Nikes, and the rise of LeBron James
has been helpful.
Over at Adliterate, they were talking about Nike’s big brand idea. I’m not so
sure what that is anymore. You used to be able to define it as Just Do It…
but I’m not so sure that’s applicable. I think it’s more a collection of small
ideas that work for specific niches. And that may be a big brand idea in
itself.

53 NIKE PROJECT
54 NIKE PROJECT