1. Nike, Inc.
Type Public
Traded as NYSE: NKE
S&P 500 Component
Industry Apparels, accessories
Founded 1964 (as Blue Ribbon Sports)
1978 (as Nike, Inc.)
Founder(s) Bill Bowerman
Phil Knight
Headquarters Washington County, Oregon, United States
(Near Beaverton, Oregon)
Area served Worldwide
Key people Phil Knight
(Chairman)
Mark Parker
(President and CEO)
Products Athletic footwear and apparel,sport equipments and other
athletic and recreational products
Revenue US$ 20.862 billion (FY 2011)
Operating US$ 2.844 billion (FY 2011)
income
Net income US$ 2.133 billion (FY 2011)

2. Total assets US$ 14.998 billion (FY 2011)
Total equity US$ 9.843 billion (FY 2011)
Employees 38,000 (May 2011)
Website Nike.com
Nike, Inc is a major publicly traded clothing, footwear, sportswear, and
equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is
headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, in the Portland metropolitan
area. It is the world's leading supplier of athletic shoes and apparel and a
major manufacturer of sports equipment, with revenue in excess of
US$18.6 billion in its fiscal year 2008 (ending May 31, 2008). As of 2008,
it employed more than 30,000 people worldwide. The brand alone is valued
at $10.7 Billion making it the most valuable brand among sports
businesses. Nike and Precision Castparts are the only Fortune
500companies 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 Phil Knight, and officially became Nike,
Inc. on May 30, 1978. The company takes its name from Nike, 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

3. athletes and sports teams around the world, with the highly recognized
trademarks of "Just do it" and the Swoosh logo.
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 and field,
baseball, ice hockey, tennis, association football (soccer), lacrosse,
basketball, and cricket. Nike Air Max is a line of shoes first released by
Nike, Inc. in 1987. The most recent additions to their line are the Nike 6.0,
Nike NYX, and Nike SB 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

4. 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
for their supplying of urban fashion clothing. Nike recently teamed up
with Apple Inc. to produce the Nike+ product that monitors a runner's
performance via a radio device in the shoe that 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, Nike launched the SPARQ Training Program/Division.
Some of Nike's newest shoes contain Flywire and Lunarlite Foam to
reduce weight.
On July 15, 2009, the Nike+ Sports Band was released in stores. The
product records distance run and calories expended, keeps time, and also
gives runners new programs online they could try running.
The 2010 Nike Pro Combat jersey collection were worn by teams from the
following universities: Miami, Alabama, Boise State University,
Florida, Ohio State, Oregon State University, Texas Christian
University, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, and Pittsburgh. Teams will
wear these jerseys in key matchups as well as any time the athletic
department deems it necessary.

5. Headquarters
Nike's world headquarters are surrounded by the city of Beaverton, but
are within unincorporated Washington County. The city attempted to
forcibly annex Nike's headquarters, which led to a lawsuit by Nike, and
lobbying by the company that ultimately ended in Oregon Senate Bill
887 of 2005. Under that bill's terms, Beaverton is specifically barred from
forcibly annexing the land that Nike and Columbia Sportswear occupy
in Washington County for 35 years, while Electro Scientific Industries
and Tektronix receive the same protection for 30 years.