While Nike is the industry leader in athletic foot ware on both a national and a global basis, the companyÆs performance has been less than spectacular over the past two years (HooverÆs, Inc. 1). Three areas of particular concern to the company in relation to the refinement of its marketing strategy to improve the companyÆs performance are (a) the dispute between Nike and Foot Locker (a leading athletic shoe retailer), (b) NikeÆs strategies for dealing with outlets (the companyÆs own Nike Town stores and retail Web outlet, as well as discount outlet retailers), and (c) the companyÆs overall retail strategy (product and target market issues concerning an athletic emphasis versus a fashion emphasis, as well as similar issues affecting the retail marketing of its products).
The three areas of concerns described above require the development of strategic responses by the company. Thus, each of the three areas defines an objective for NikeÆs marketing strategy plan. This current research developed two suggested marketing strategy options in relation to each of the three objectives for the company to consider for inclusion in its marketing strategy plan.
In the Nike, Inc. (4) Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission reporting on NikeÆs Fiscal 2002 (closed 31 May 2002) results, the company revealed that it anticipated substantially lower order levels from its largest customer during the remainder of calendar year 2002 and in calendar year 2003. Foot Locker, Inc., which accounted for 10.9 percent of NikeÆs total sales in fiscal 2002, informed Nike in April 2002 that it was dropping all Nike foot ware products with a retail sales price of $120 or more per pair (Nike, Inc. 4-5). Foot Locker projected that it would reduce its total order volume with Nike in the range of $150-to-$250 million in calendar year 2003 (Herzog B1).
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