Arbitrator Rules Nike Must Pay $52.5M To Converse Licensee

An arbitrator ruled that Nike must pay $52.5M in damages plus legal fees “over a contract dispute between” Nike’s Converse subsidiary and former South American licensing partner Alon Int’l, according to Helen Jung of the Portland OREGONIAN. Nike General Counsel Jim Carter in a statement said Nike “will exercise our legal right to challenge both the award and the amount of damages.” Nike said that the “final amount probably will result in a charge to earnings in the company’s fourth quarter, which ends May 31” (Portland OREGONIAN, 5/17).