Nike in a report filed with the SEC Wednesday said it will see a "negative impact" on revenues and profits due to the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, according to Allan Brettman of the Portland OREGONIAN. Nike in the report said, “Although we cannot fully assess the financial impact of these ongoing events at this time, we do anticipate there will be a negative impact on our revenues and profits for our Japan businesses throughout the remainder of fiscal 2011 and fiscal 2012. In addition, our revenues and profits may be further negatively impacted by, among other things, the rolling electrical black outs and certain industry wide shutdowns now occurring in Japan.” Brettman noted even before the natural disasters, Nike's sales in Japan "already were underperforming in comparison with the company's other geographical regions." Footwear sales were down 3%, apparel down 9% and equipment down 29% “for the quarter ending Feb. 28 compared with same quarter the previous year.” Nike grew “in every geography in the quarter except Japan.” Meanwhile, LaCrosse CEO Joe Schneider said Japan before the earthquake "had not been a huge market for us." He said, "No question it's impacted retails sales. People psychologically stopped shopping and were looking for necessities such as rice and water" (OREGONLIVE.com, 4/7).
