Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of 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 $18.6 billion USD in its fiscal year 2008 (ending May 31, 2008). As of 2008, it employed more than 30,000 people worldwide. Nike and Precision Castparts are the only Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the state of Oregon, according to The Oregonian.
The company was founded on January 25, 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Bill Bowerman and Philip Knight, and officially became Nike, Inc. in 1978. The company takes its name from Nike (Greek Νίκη pronounced [níːkɛː]), the Greek goddess of victory. Nike markets its products under its own brand as well as Nike Golf, Nike Pro, Nike+, Air Jordan, Nike Skateboarding and subsidiaries including Cole Haan, Hurley International, Umbro and Converse. Nike also owned Bauer Hockey (later renamed Nike Bauer) between 1995 and 2008. In addition to manufacturing sportswear and equipment, the company operates retail stores under the Niketown name. Nike sponsors many high profile athletes and sports teams around the world, with the highly recognized trademarks of “Just do it” and the Swoosh logo.
Founded 1972
Founder(s) William J. “Bill” Bowerman
Philip H. Knight
Headquarters Beaverton, Oregon, United States
Area served Worldwide
Key people Philip H. Knight
(Chairman)
Mark Parker
(CEO) & (President)
Industry Designing and Manufacturing: Sportswear
Sports equipment
Products Athletic shoes
Apparel
Sports equipment
Accessories
Revenue ▲ US$ 18.627 billion (2008)
Operating income ▲ US$ 2.199 billion (2007)
Net income ▲ US$ 1.883 billion (2008)
Total assets ▲ US$ 12.443 billion (2008)
Total equity ▲ US$ 7.825 billion (2008)
Employees 30,200 (2008)
Website Nike.com
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 & field, baseball, ice hockey, tennis, Association football, 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’.[14] 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 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 as they supply urban fashion clothing. Nike recently teamed up with Apple Inc. to produce the Nike+ product which monitors a runner’s performance via a radio device in the shoe which 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, they launched the SPARQ Training Program/Division. It is currently the premier training program in the U.S.
Some of Nike’s newest shoes contain Flywire and Lunarlite Foam. These are materials used to reduce the weight of many types of shoes.
In the video game Gran Turismo 4 there is a car by Nike called the NikeOne 2022, designed by Phil Frank.

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