Company Overview

Whatever “it” is, Nike just does it—and does it well. Nike, named after the Greek goddess of victory, has seen the gods smile down on it, as it’s become the world’s largest shoemaker, athletic and otherwise. People in more than 200 countries worldwide buy Nike products. Nike had its origins, appropriately enough, at Hayward Field of the University of Oregon. It was there that runner Phil Knight met legendary track coach Bill Bowerman. The two went on to found the company now known as Nike. They haven't looked back since: Nike has made Phil Knight a very wealthy runner; he still owns more than 80 percent of the firm.

Nike’s share of the U.S. athletic shoe market hovers around 20 percent. The company has since expanded from sports into clothing, equipment, and consumer products like sports watches, digital music players, and sunglasses. With its Niketown stores, it is also a retailer. Beyond the Nike brand, the company owns Bauer hockey equipment; former athletic shoe rival Converse; Hurley International, a teenage apparel company; and staid shoe manufacturer Cole Haan. Nike’s retail empire includes more than 80 Nike Factory Stores, 17 Niketown stores, and two Nike Women boutiques. In 2006, Nike veteran Mark Parker took over as CEO, succeeding Bill Perez.

Nike’s victory has, to an extent, come through offshore manufacturing. Approximately 14 percent of its manufacturing is done within the United States, with the remaining 86 percent scattered throughout 33 countries around the world. Human rights groups slammed Nike in the 1990s for “exploitative labor practices.” The firm responded by starting up micro-enterprise programs to grow sustainable locally owned businesses in 1997. It also set up a code of conduct for its offshore suppliers and a compliance monitoring program to ensure that its policies would be enforced. Nike’s domestic distribution primarily happens in Memphis, where it has two facilities with more than two million square feet of warehouse space. Its other distribution facility is in Oregon, adding an additional 540,000 square feet of distribution space to the company’s larder.