At Nike's annual meeting yesterday in Memphis, company
execs introduced "a new line of Michael Jordan footwear and
apparel and updated plans to address the international wage,
environmental and social issues plaguing the company,"
according to Dewanna Lofton of the Memphis COMMERCIAL
APPEAL. Nike plans to announce a "second wage increase for
Asian workers in a few weeks, and beginning in 2002, it will
no longer do business with factories that don't have
educational programs for workers." While a group of about
20 protestors demonstrated outside yesterday's meetings,
Nike Chair Phil Knight "was praised" inside for Nike's
"involvement in community developments" across the U.S.
Knight "assured attendees that the downturn the company is
experiencing is part of a normal business cycle and that it
eventually will rebound." He added that the downturn is
"expected to reverse itself by the fourth quarter of fiscal"
'99. Looking ahead, Knight said that the Jordan Brand and
"an expanded women's line offer promising growth
opportunities" for the company. The company will offer a
$90 Jordan shoe, "the first priced at less than $100, and a
new women's Jordan athletic shoe" (COMMERCIAL APPEAL, 9/24).
IN OTHER BUSINESS: Also at yesterday's meeting, Nike
shareholders re-elected the company's 13-member board of
directors and approved PricewaterhouseCoopers as its
independent accountants. Shareholders rejected two
proposals, one prohibiting directors from serving on
personnel and compensation committees if they receive income
from sources with ties to Nike, and the other calling for a
salary review to narrow the gap between top execs and
workers' wages (Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL, 9/24).
