Nike Financial Analysis

NIKE INC.

Nikita Reddy

ACCT 321 7380

Prof. Porter

August 08, 2014

Every entrepreneur began his or her path of success from a simple idea. They may not envision a franchise or large multi-national corporation, but they have a vision. Although that is a good place to start, it takes much more than that to turn their vision a reality. It takes the willingness to take on risks and overcome doubt and uncertainty. From this simple idea, dreams, goals, and plans begin to sprout and form a business plan. Many successful entrepreneurs describe their story by saying they took a chance to go through with their idea. Taking a chance is the biggest step and entrepreneur can take and that is exactly where the story of Nike Inc. begins.

The company was founded in 1964 and known as Blue Ribbon Sports. In 1971 it became known as Nike Inc. In Greek, Nike translates to the goddess of victory. Owners, Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman, began their vision from their own personal experiences. Bill Bowerman was the track coach at the University of Oregon and Phil Knight was one of his athletes. Mr. Bowerman was committed to, “seeking ways to give his athletes a competitive advantage” (Nike Inc., 2014). His biggest emphasis was on the innovation of running shoes because he truly believed that this would allow his athletes to reach their full potential. Upon graduation, Mr. Knight began to share his coach’s passion. “He wrote a paper that proposed quality running shoes that could be manufactured in Japan that would compete with more establish German brands. But his letters to manufacturers in Japan and Asia went unanswered, so Knight took a chance” (Nike Inc., 2014). Knight began selling shoes out of his trunk while Bowerman ripped apart Tiger shoes to see how he could make them better for athletes. He gave these shoes to his athletes to test them out and the foundation of Nike started up.

Today Nike Inc. provides a...