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Nike Inc.: Study of value chain functions and how they contribute to the success of Nike.
Prepared by
Helgi Frimannsson
MBA 640A
Dr. Norcio
2/19/2007
When Bill Bowerman, a former track-and-field coach at University of Oregon and co-founder of Nike Inc, once said "if you have a body, you are an athlete", his words marked the foundation for a future business venture. Built on this quote is Nike´s mission statement that states: bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. In reality it means supporting all athletic activities regardless of anything else. This simple and ambitious yet humble objective has led Nike to the top of multi-billion dollar business category that is selling athletic footwear and apparel worldwide.
Nike was founded in 1968 by two entrepreneurs who used innovation to inspire their athletic footwear design. The inspiration for Nike´s business model came from Bowerman who taught his athletes, Phil Knight among them, to seek competitive advantage everywhere, especially in their bodies, their gear and their passion. Today, Nike has the same core value installed. Knight, a co-founder of Nike and now Chairman of the Board, has witnessed an initial idea from his days as middle distance runners for Coach Bill Bowerman, evolve over the years and constantly grow into a global athletic empire. Knight and Bowerman are credited as some of the world's most celebrated businessmen. (Heritage, 2006)
In the fiscal year 2006 Nike Inc. and its five wholly-owned subsidiaries (Cole Haan, Converse, Exeter Brands Group, Hurley, Nike Bauer Hockey, and Nike Golf) brought in just short of fifteen billion in revenue, its highest figure ever. The net inc ...