Nike's North American sales for its Q1 that ended Aug. 31 increased 9% to $3.1B, one of the "few recent quarters where sales in the geography were not up by double digits," according to Allan Brettman of the Portland OREGONIAN. Nike's North American region "had nine consecutive quarters of double-digit growth" prior to the last quarter. Meanwhile, the brand's quarter-over-quarter revenue for Central and Eastern Europe was up 10%, while Western Europe was up 8%. The "only place in the world where sales didn't surge was the Greater China region," where $574M in sales was down 3% over the same quarter last year. Nike reported a 33% "increase in net income" to $780M. Sales increased 8% to $7B, while inventories were $3.5B, up 6% from the same quarter last year. Worldwide futures orders for Nike athletic footwear and apparel scheduled for delivery from September through January were 8% higher "than orders reported for the same period last year" (Portland OREGONIAN, 9/27). The AP noted all categories "except golf grew in North America" during Q1. Nike's net income "was helped by easing costs for raw materials and selling fewer items at a discount, partly offset by higher labor costs and the stronger dollar" (AP, 9/26). At presstime, shares of Nike were trading at $73.76 per share, up 4.9% from the close of business yesterday (THE DAILY).
