Albert Khandzhayan
Finance 431
Dr. Vince Cai
Term Research Paper
March 20, 2013

Eastern Washington University Student Research
NIKE INC.
___________________________________________________________________
Date: March 18, 2013 Ticker: NKE Price Target: $51.98

Price: $53.74 Investment Researcher: Albert Khandzhayan

ABOUT THE COMPANY
Nike Inc is one of the most popular and successful clothing and shoe line worldwide. Nike provides the comfort of clothes for every indoor and outdoor sport. They have been the face of thousands of teams across the world, endorsing some of the highest paid athletes and making some of the most popular sneakers. Some of these sneakers, that hold vintage, sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars across the world. Nike was founded by two pioneer men, Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight in the mid 1900s. Both men agreed to partner and sell shoes out of the Blue Ribbon Sports Tiger Shoes store. This partnership was guaranteed by a handshake, $500 and trust between each other. The same trust that built not only one of the world’s most successful shoe companies but one of the most successful companies period. Nike is headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon. This multi-billion dollar corporation is not only a popular asset in the United States but is also headquartered in Europe, Middle East and Africa. Nike was founded on giving athletes the necessary tools to reach full capacity as an individual or team athlete. Shoes are like tires on automobiles; they come in all different sizes, shapes and meet every season. Well Nike meets the needs of every athlete during all sport seasons, worldwide. They have been home to one of the greatest athletes in the world, Michael Jordan. The Jordan brand helped develop Nike into the billion dollar corporation that they are today. The Jordan shoes are amongst the most popular, stylish and top selling shoes across the nation. Nike will always see profit in their future because they are always meeting the needs of athletes, advancing their product on a daily basis and increasing in popularity every year with their sleek new designs.

INDUSTRY
Nike Incorporated is one of the top two athletic footwear industries in the market. Adidas and Reebok were Nikes biggest rivals, and since Adidas has merged with Reebok, competition for Nike has slightly increased. Still, there is no competition for the more favorable and sporty Nike. Now Nikes biggest rival is Adidas-Reebok, which is respected, successful and as popular as the Nike Corporation. An example of the competitiveness between Nike versus Adidas is parallel to the competition between Pepsi and Coke (billion dollar beverage corporations). Nike has been around for over 60 years and has advanced into one of the most profiting footwear industries in the business. Nike will foresee that in its fiscal 2015 the revenue target will range from $28-$30 billion, from the 2010 target of $27 billion. This innovative company serves athletes, reward the shareholders, and will progressively lead the shoe industry in the right direction. They serve over 18,000 retail accounts in the United States and also independent contracts, licenses and subsidiaries in close to 200 countries.

COMPETITIVE FACTORS
Nike is a very competitive corporation, leading the footwear industry financially and winning the popularity contest among their competitors. They compete with a number of well known organizations worldwide including but not limited to Adidas-Reebok, Timberland, Woodland and Puma. These are just a few of the many competitors. Nike is big on marketing their product worldwide. They contract some of the highest paid athletes to actively play in today’s professional sports and retired athletes that hold their “street credibility” as well. They also bond with professional organizations, coaches, teams and leagues. Athletes Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Serena