Sagging sales may force Nike "to make the largest job
cuts in its history," according to Jeff Manning of the
Portland OREGONIAN. The "scope" and "exact timing" of the
cuts are unknown but "rumors are flying in the industry that
hundreds, if not thousands, of Nike staffers could be laid
off. Industry estimates ranged from 500 to 3,000.
Knowledgeable sources estimated the number will be about
1,500." Nike Dir of Communications Lee Weinstein: "We are
evaluating our costs. No decisions have been made."
Employment at Nike increased from 17,200 in May '96 to
21,800 in May '97. The last layoffs affected "about" 400
employees in '93. Manning also reported that Nike VP Global
Apparel Operation Stephen Gomez will leave the company in
April -- the third senior officer to leave Nike since
September. Former CFO Robert Falcone and VP Liz Dolan also
recently left the operation (Portland OREGONIAN, 2/21).
TIME TO BUY? In Washington, James Glassman's "Inside
Scoop" reported that Nike "is worth a close look as a great
business that investors currently dislike intensely." Nike
shares have dropped $30 in a year and now trades at a
"price-to-earnings ration of 20. Not bad for a company whose
profits are growing" at 40% (WASHINGTON POST, 2/22).
THE PROSE AND CONS: Nike agency Goodby, Silverstein &
Partners offered poet Martin Espada $250 to submit a trial
poem for Nike's recent TV commercial and $2,500 if it was
accepted. Espada: "[I]t's obvious that those people had not
read one syllable of poetry I have written, not one. The
kind of poetry I write is explicitly political, left and
critical of the kind of corporate culture practiced by
companies like Nike." Nike Senior Manager U.S. Corporate
Communications Kathryn Reith said that other poets who
turned down the offer "did so for nonpolitical reasons, like
time limitations" (S.F. EXAMINER, 2/22).
COMMENTARY: In TN, Tim Chavez asked, "Could someone get
a message to Michael Jordan to quit selling the shoes, or at
least get Nike to lower the destructive price to $40 or $50
a pair?" Chavez wrote that Air Jordans "are not worth the
continuing grief and disruption brought to impoverished
families and urban schools" (S.J. MERCURY NEWS/TENNESSEAN,
2/22)....In Oakland, Dave Newhouse called Nike the "evil
empire of sports merchandising," adding that no other
company is more absorbed by an "asinine win-or-nothing
philosophy than Nike. ... Nike has no class. It is charged
with sweatshop practices overseas. And it has become
increasingly intrusive in the sports world in a creepy-
crawly way" (OAKLAND TRIBUNE, 2/22).
TITLE FIGHT: Nike and adidas' search for the "next
Michael Jordan" was examined by ESPN's Shelly Smith, who
noted that star high school player Korleone Young "is the
latest object in a battle that is at the heart of the
sneaker industry ... it's adidas versus Nike." Sonny
Vaccarro and George Raveling, representatives for adidas and
Nike, respectively, and their efforts to align Young with a
high school wearing their brand were highlighted by Smith.
Young, who this year transferred from his hometown high
school in Kansas to Hargrave (VA), a Nike-sponsored school:
"I just felt that Nike has stuck with me, they've been with
me since the eighth grade and so I feel that it's my
obligation to them" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 2/22).
