Case Studes in Entrepreneurship, Family Businesses, Social Entrepreneurship

Code : ENT0018B

Year :2005

Industry :Sports and Sports Related

Region : USA

Teaching Note:Not Available

Structured Assignment :Not Available

<< Previous

Introduction: Nike, Inc., head quartered in Oregon U.S., was engaged in the design, development and worldwide marketing of athletic footwear, apparel and accessory products. Founded by Philip Knight (Knight) and Bill Bowerman (Bowerman), Nike recorded sales of 200 shoes and revenues of $8000 in its first year of operations. By 2004, Nike had reached $12.3 billion in revenue and employed 24,000 people worldwide. It was under Knight’s leadership that the company grew into a leading sports goods manufacturer.

During Knight‘s remarkable tenure, Nike achieved several milestones to become one of the world’s largest sports goods manufacturers. In 2004, Knight decided to step down from his CEO position and William Perez (Perez) was appointed as president and CEO of Nike. Knight continued as chairman of the board of directors. Perez had been working in S.C. Johnson1 for a period of 34 years and based on his performance he had held senior positions in various departments. Perez realized he would need to draw on his marketing skills as well as his business acumen to take Nike to the next finish line. Industry experts viewed Perez as an outsider and felt that it was a key challenge for him to adapt to a culture that was steeped in the personality and vision of Knight.

Case Studies on Best Practices - Vol. I

Case Studies on Aviation Industry