Nike 2004 Annual Report Download - page 5

THINK FAST.Three years ago, you were asked to simplify Nike, Inc.; to manage
the brand and put us on the road to operational excellence
and align product, marketing, sales and retail. We’re making
great progress — but how do you simplify a business like Nike?
Charlie Denson: We had to reenergize the corporate culture of
competitiveness and focus. We had to clarify our growth agenda.
Put simply, we need to focus on knowing who our consumer is,
who we’re competing against, and who we are. When we know
those answers, we think we can win. The financial successes are
the results of having a better consumer connection, having a clearer
idea of who we are, having a clearer sense of how we’re going to
be more competitive in each of the different pieces of the business
around the world.
Mark Parker: You focus on the fundamentals: Organizational strength
and common goals. Both Charlie and I fixated on making sure we
were more competitive in each distinct piece of the business. It’s a basic
approach, but we both saw a huge opportunity to be more competitive
by better executing the fundamentals while better connecting with those
we’re here to serve.
Football. Soccer. March to March, our football footwear was
#1 in Europe. What does our success in this global sport mean
to the brand?
MP: The fact that we set a 10-year goal and we’ve made consistent
progress against it year to year has been among the most satisfying
things we’ve done in this company. But the “There is no finish line” mantra
is very much alive around here. It shows us that when we set goals,
get the right team of people focused, create great product and connect
with the best athletes and teams and then rally around those goals,
we can achieve almost anything.
CD: It’s become a source of energy and inspiration for other categories
and that’s one of the big benefits of where we are right now in football.
It’s been a great benchmark to use as a success story.
China has been booming for most businesses. What can you
say about how we’ve been conducting business there for the last
few years? And what about other emerging economies: Russia,
Brazil, India?
CD: We’ve brought all four of those businesses in as Nike-owned and
all four will represent important pieces of our growth agenda over the next
five years. We have a significant head start in China where we’ve seen
exciting growth. China grew 66% in revenue in the past year. The velocity
of the business in China could be overwhelming, but the team has done
an unbelievable job. They’re opening up one retail space a day. In South
America, we’re starting to work on a different model by doing more local
sourcing that we’ll test in Brazil. It will mitigate some of the geopolitical
and financial risks of doing business in an emerging economy, which we
may be able to use in India or Russia in the future.
MP: We’ll always be aggressive in new markets, but with a sensitivity to
the culture and the consumer, as opposed to simply importing the brand
and product to developing countries and newer markets. We need to
make sure that what the brand stands for is clear and consistent but also
relates to and respects the insights that we gain from that culture and
those consumers. In the end, that makes Nike a stronger, more relevant
and interesting brand…both locally and globally.
How have we approached and evolved the women’s business?
CD: It’s a complex challenge, but we’re getting better at it, and I’m
optimistic. The women’s business is much more varied region to region
than the men’s business — the women’s consumer in the US is much
different from the women’s consumer in Europe or Asia. But we’ve finally
reached a point in this company’s maturity and the evolution of the
consumer and the changes in the marketplaces themselves that are
enabling us to optimize this opportunity.
MP: The women’s business has always been a big opportunity for Nike,
but what’s put us in a better position is putting a strong team together,
listening to and better connecting to consumers, and being clear and
Nike, Inc. Annual Report 2004
Nike, Inc., presidents Charlie Denson and Mark Parker take
a few minutes to talk about where we’ve been, where we’re
going, and the athletes that remind them why they work at
a sports and fitness company.
“We’ve got to remind ourselves of the power of sports
when it comes to kids and their development.”
— Mark Parker