Weaknesses Nike

Vision is a phrase or sentence that tells where the company wants to be in the future. In the case of Nike, its vision is to become a truly global company with international sales and a diverse and united workforce as well as to have dedicated retailers around the globe who work for the betterment of the organization. Mission is the reason for existence of any company. Nike’s mission is to bring inspiration and innovation in whatever we create, be it be footwear, apparel or equipment. SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths
The company’s strength lie in its powerful research and development team which spend approximately $73. 2 million on design innovation and development. Nike has two research labs which work round the clock to see the present as well as the future of the footwear market and these researchers make sure that they design so that Nike stays ahead of the competition. Moreover, the company’s marketing is very strong. Whether it is print media or TV, sponsoring Olympics or regular college games, Nike has always been the first to market and advertise its brand name.
Nike has been successful in its attempts to build loyalty by licensing Nike gear to college sports teams. Due to intense marketing strategies, there is strong recognition of the Nike brand even overseas. Nike is already the number one in the overall footwear market in Spain, France, Belgium, Holland, Finland and the United Kingdom. Furthermore, the company’s finance department has become one of its biggest strengths over all these years. Every New Year indicates an increase in sales, income, assets and shareholders’ equity from the previous year.

To add to the list, the distribution of Nike products is quick and efficient, allowing the smooth flow of inventory. (Drucker, 1999) Weaknesses Nike has received some criticism in the past few years over the exploitative practices of management in some Asian countries. They are concerned over the maltreatment that employees receive. They often have to work in factories where there is 100o c of temperature and empowering paint and glue smells. This was one of the initial weaknesses of the company, which were later looked after and turned into a strength.
Moreover, initially, the management had also faltered in doing its job honestly. It had grown complacent and were switching from job to job, which meant poor coordination among various departments. This was ultimately also turned into strength by giving the company a viable corporate culture, under the leadership of Philip Knight and then Tom Clark. Opportunities The biggest opportunity for Nike lies in the international competition that it faces. This competition will open up new markets and proivde Nike with a completely new and vast target audience to cater to.
This will widen the capacity in which sales can increase. Moreover, China was given the MFN (Most Favoured Nation) status by President Bill Clinton in 1997. Because China is a major source of footwear production, it is important for athletic shoe companies that MFN status for China continues. Furthermore, NAFTA and GATT will allow better access to world trade for Nike. And the opportunity of the vast market, ready to be exploited for the best prices in manufacturing contract, can be well exploited by Nike if it wants to keep its manufacturing cost low.