Nike Advertising Essays - Financial Ratios, Business, Economy

Nike Advertising Nike Financial Analysis Investing in a company has certainly changed over the years. Financial information is literally at one?s fingertips via the internet. In today?s fast paced corporate environment companies are under tremendous scrutiny to maintain their edge. The company I am evaluating is NIKE. This Financial analysis will consist of the following: Ratios from the Income Statement, Statement of Owner?s Equity, and Balance Sheet. This information is designed to assist a potential investor. Nike?s mission is complex. Listed below is a copy of Nike?s company philosophy. Company Philosophy: WE ARE ABOUT DREAMS. Nike was, is, and will always be a company driven by certain key philosophies. What are they? First and foremost, we are a company dedicated to innovation and the passion to create great product. From Bowerman's Waffle Trainer to the Tour Accuracy golf ball, we make every effort to take consumers where they want to go before they realize they want to go there. WE ARE ABOUT THE CONSUMER. The consumer rules the roost. They make the important decisions. I answer to them, as we all do. The opinions of Wall Street analysts and media pundits are really just derivatives of our relationship with our consumers. When the young at heart seek out our products, when they respond to our messages and believe in what we stand for, when our relationship with consumers is healthy, that's when we grow. Even so, gaining true understanding of our consumers, and thereby being able to deliver meaningful innovation to them, is a huge challenge. It's not the demographics that change; it's the deliverables. Ours is a constantly moving target. Technology continues to increase the pace and volume of options in all of our lives. WE ARE ABOUT IRREVERENCE. We are about irreverence. The great thing about Nike is that we have the ability to laugh at ourselves, to ind the humor in what we are doing, to compete aggressively but also to have fun. It shows in our best advertising, from M ars Blackmon to Andre Agassi. Irreverence has always been a core part of our culture. It is, for us, the balance between our attempt at greatness and the risk of arrogance. We mix confidence and strength with the humility to look at ourselves in the mirror and say, we can do better. WE ARE ABOUT WINNING AND COMPETING HARD. We invent markets and new ways to compete. We have withstood every challenge that has come our way. Winning starts with taking care of business at home and then looking for new challenges. We are doing both. WE ARE ABOUT CHANGE. Over the past twenty-five years we have had to reinvent ourselves many times. The first surge was with the Waffle Trainer and the running craze. When that slowed, we thought we ran out of market. We had another surge with basketball behind Michael Jordan, and cross-training with Bo Jackson. Then again, we Thought our growth was dead. Another surge came in 1995, when Nike became fashionable and athletic urban wear became king. But,that too ended in early 1998, as did the health of the Asian economy. There we were, with an over-extended brand. Each time we reinvented our company. In 1995, when we reached $3 billion in sales, we said $5 billion was the absolute limit. Three years later we were closing in on $10 billion. Each time we did succeed it was due, in part, to our fear of failure, which drove us harder and faster. Each time, however, it has gotten harder. We have covered more of the market, and now the targets seem smaller and more numerous. We have stretched our Nike brand quite far. Some say too far. Others say it still has more reach to go. What is clear to me now is that the market has changed. We have new competitors and, as before, we need to adjust. We need to expand our connection to new categories and toward new consumers. WE ARE ABOUT SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. You have all read the press and seen the media regarding Nike's labor practices. The reality is, we have set the highest standards of conduct and p ractices in the industry. We have the responsibility to let the