Nike, Inc. (NYSE: NKE), headquartered in Beaverton, OR, is
the world’s leading sportswear and sporting goods company, with a market cap
approaching $100 billion. Founded in 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports, and changing
its name to NIKE in 1971, the company offers a full range of sports related
clothing, accessories, and equipment through sports and department stores and
shops worldwide, as well as directly to consumers over the Internet. Nike’s
stated mission is “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the
world”, adding that “if you have a body, you are an athlete”, the latter being
a mantra used by legendary University of Oregon track and field coach, Bill
Bowerman, who, along with Philip Knight, founded the company.
Philip H. Knight, a director of the company since 1968, is
Chairman of the Board, and also served as company President for much of that
time. Nike’s current CEO and President, Mark Parker, joined in 1979, using his
experience as a competitive runner to design footwear for the company. Nike
feels it has built its dominant position in the marketplace largely through its
close connection with both the casual and professional sports community, and
now serves the sports market on six continents. It continues to grow sales and
market share.
In addition to its large Oregon headquarters, with over
8,000 employees, Nike has corporate locations in New York, Chicago, Los
Angeles, Toronto, and Fort Worth. Its European headquarters is in the
Netherlands, with operational and administrative centers in London, Paris,
Frankfurt, Stockholm, Moscow, and several other locations. The Japan & Asia
Pacific region is supported by key operations in Japan, Korea, India,
Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Australia, and other countries, while
the Nike Greater China Campus, with nearly 2,000 employees, is located in
Shanghai. Nike also employs more than 3,000 workers in Brazil, Argentina,
Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, and Mexico, and has operations in South
Africa.
As a worldwide employer, Nike emphasizes its ongoing efforts
to demand ethical working conditions from its suppliers and business partners,
affirming detailed steps it continues to take to eliminate forced or bonded
labor, and to incentivize changes that benefit workers throughout the supply
chain. According to the company’s Standards for Compliance: “Nike uses
third-party auditors to verify contracted factories are (in) compliance with
laws. If a contracted factory is found to violate laws or Nike standards, it is
responsible for improving performance against a master action plan. If the
factory fails to make progress against that plan, they are subject to review and
sanctions, including potential termination.”
For more information, visit
http://investors.Nike.com/Home/default.aspx and http://about.Nike.com/
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