Nike Offers Athletes High-Tech Gear - AP Online

TARA BURGHART, Associated Press Writer
AP Online
05-10-2000
Nike Offers Athletes High-Tech Gear

BEAVERTON, Ore. (AP) -- Nike Inc. wants to connect with the wired athlete.

The athletic shoe and apparel company said Wednesday it is diversifying into high-tech sports gear to offer devices like digital audio players, speed and distance monitors and walkie-talkies.

``Today's athletes are looking for something extra to enhance the connection between themselves and the athletic experience. They want more information,'' said Clare Hamill, vice president of Nike Equipment. ``These are performance products for athletes in the emerging digital age.''

The first and most expensive of five new products is a digital audio player that will be in retail stores in July and was produced in collaboration with S3's Diamond Multimedia division -- the makers of Rio Audio digital players. It has 64 megabytes of memory and will retail for $299.

Nike said four other products from the Nike Techlab division would be in stores in the fall for the holiday season, including real-time speed-distance and heart rate monitoring devices, a digital compass and handheld walkie-talkies aimed for use by snowboarders, hikers and campers.

Equipment has always been a small part of Nike's business, so the move in this direction is not new. Still, of its $9.5 billion in sales last year, more than $9 billion came from shoes and apparel, said Carol Pope Murray, who follows Nike for Salomon Smith Barney in New York.

Analysts said Nike has been trying to expand its equipment business for some time -- with basketballs and baseball bats and more successfully with the Triax ergonomic running watch, of which 2.5 million have been sold since late 1997.

``This is a fabulous brand and it makes sense to extend it into some other categories. You have to do it carefully and prudently, which is typically how Nike executes new businesses,'' Murray said. ``The hard thing to gauge is that electronics are an incredibly competitive market on price.''

Nike has been in a slump for the last two years as it endured weak sales and a shakeout among retail outlets, though its earnings are improving. Third-quarter earnings for the period ending Feb. 29 rose 17 percent as the company earned $145.3 million, or 52 cents a share, compared to $124.2 million, or 44 cents per share, in the period a year earlier.

Michael Shea, an analyst with D.A. Davidson in Portland, said he thought some of the devices were an odd fit for a company founded to cater to runners.

``When I think of a compass, I think of camping. With a heart monitor, I think of medical technology company,'' he said.

But Nike executives said the products make perfect sense for their active customers.

The audio player will have a remote in case the user wants to put it in a pocket or backpack, the walkie talkie will transmit weather alerts and the heart monitor will eventually be designed into women's sports bras, said Ray Riley, creative director of Nike Techlab.

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On the Net: http://www.nike.com

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Copyright 2000 The Associated Press All Rights Reserved

Investigators Have Profile in Church Arson - AP Online

JAY REEVES, Associated Press Writer
AP Online
02-13-2006
Dateline: BIRMINGHAM, Ala.

Investigators believe a pair of men in their 20s or 30s, likely 'bosom buddies,' are responsible for a string of church fires in rural Alabama, as authorities confirmed the latest blaze at a Baptist church was the 10th case of arson.

The latest fire severely damaged Beaverton Freewill Baptist Church in northwest Alabama, near the Mississippi line. The white, wood-frame church sat about 150 yards off a two-lane county road and had an alarm system that alerted officials to the blaze.

'It's definitely arson,' state fire marshal spokesman Ragan Ingram said Sunday.

Fire marshals are investigating whether the Saturday afternoon blaze was linked to the other nine this month, which all were set in the pre-dawn hours. Last week, Gov. Bob Riley said the nine earlier church fires appear linked.

A federal investigator said witness reports and behavioral profilers led authorities to believe that two white men were responsible for the fires. Witnesses said they saw two men in a sport utility vehicle near a number of the fires.

'They're not youths or teens. It's probably someone in their 20s or 30s. We believe they're pretty much inseparable. They're something like bosom buddies,' said Eric Kehn, a spokesman for the federal Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agency.

Evidence from one of the earlier fires indicates the perpetrators may have been briefly trapped inside the building and may have been hurt, said Jim Cavanaugh, ATF regional director.

Sponsors start withdrawing as Penn State embroglio gets ugly; Cars.com backs out of last weekend's game, Sherwin-Williams pulls logo off press backdrop.(Jerry Sandusky) - Advertising Age

Byline: RICH THOMASELLI

AS MORE AND more horrendous details emerge from the child sexual-abuse case brought against former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, sponsors are quickly backing away from what was until last week one of the premiere brands in college football.

Online automobile shopping company Cars.com withdrew its presenting sponsorship of Saturday's Penn State-Nebraska football game on ESPN due to the allegations, while paint manufacturer Sherwin-Williams has taken its logo off the banner that serves as a backdrop to all Penn State football press conferences.

Sports marketing expert Bob Dorfman, executive creative director for San Francisco's Baker Street Advertising, said the situation will only get worse before it gets better.

'We still haven't heard the full story, and it's not going to go away for quite a while. Every college football Saturday will bring it to the forefront,' he said. 'New allegations may emerge, new victims may come forward. Expect more sponsors to cut the cord. They're morally obligated to separate themselves from the program. As I've said before, there are two scandals that are too reprehensible to overcome, marketing-wise: murder and child molestation.'

The scandal has rocked not only the college-football world but the entire country with its graphic grand-jury testimony. Former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was arrested and charged Nov. 5 with 40 counts of sexual abuse of eight young boys over a 15-year period.

The allegations have already cost the legendary Mr. Paterno and university President Graham Spanier their jobs.

College football is a $2.6 billion business, and Penn State a huge player in it. The school has been under heavy national criticism for having failed a moral obligation to at least report the incident to state and/or federal authorities.

The apparent ethical ambivalence to the shocking allegations, and the allegations themselves, led to Cars.com backing out of its sponsorship of Saturday's nationally televised Penn State-Nebraska game on ESPN. In a statement to Ad Age, Cars.com said: 'It's important to us that we're building our brand in a way that celebrates the sport, its fans and the dedication of its student athletes.'

The Sherwin-Williams logo was noticeably absent from last Thursday's press conference for new interim Penn State football coach Tom Bradley. Calls to Sherwin-Williams' Cleveland offices were not returned.

On Penn State's official athletic website, gopsusports.com, a page that listed more than two dozen national and local corporate partners--including such blue-chip brands as Pepsi and Nike--is now blank. Penn State has long been a Pepsi campus, beginning with the signing of a $14 million, 10-year contract in 1992. 'We are very concerned about the current allegations surrounding Penn State University but will continue to honor our longstanding contract relationship,' said a PepsiCo spokesman.

Meanwhile, Seattle Weekly reported that Nike has no current plans to rename one of the buildings on its Beaverton, Ore., campus--the Joe Paterno Child Development Center.

'Bosom buddies' suspected as 10th church set on fire: Young pair believed behind arsons in Alabama - Chicago Sun-Times

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- A weekend fire at a Baptist church was ruledarson Sunday, the 10th in a recent string of blazes set at churchesin rural Alabama, authorities said.

The Saturday afternoon blaze severely damaged the BeavertonFreewill Baptist Church in northwest Alabama, near the Mississippiline.

'It's definitely arson,' said Ragan Ingram, a spokesman for thestate fire marshal's office, which was investigating whether the firewas connected to the other blazes that have destroyed or damaged ninechurches since Feb. 2.

Saturday's fire was the only one that wasn't set in the pre-dawnhours.

Investigators have said they don't know a motive, but there is noracial pattern. Five of the churches had white congregations and fiveblack. All were Baptist, the dominant faith in the region.

Last week, Gov. Bob Riley said the nine earlier church firesappear linked, as investigators checked out witness reports of twomen in a sport utility vehicle near a number of the fires.

On Sunday, a federal investigator said authorities believe --based on witness reports and behavioral profilers -- two men wereresponsible for the fires.

'They're not youths or teens. It's probably someone in their 20sor 30s. We believe they're pretty much inseparable. They're somethinglike bosom buddies,' said Eric Kehn of the federal Alcohol, Tobacco,Firearms and Explosives agency.

Women's soccer is the ticket as U.S. team opens World Cup - Chicago Sun-Times

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. This was what everybody wanted.

The U.S. women have done it.

Along with their stooge team, Denmark, whom they beat 3-0, and acouple of mop-up acts, Brazil and Mexico, the U.S. women's soccerteam drew the largest crowd to see a female sporting event in thiscountry.The 78,972 was probably the largest crowd to attend a women'steam sporting event anywhere in the world.'I have no doubt,' said Aaron Heifetz, press officer to the U.S.women's team. 'There aren't real good records for these kinds ofthings. But in two years of researching, I haven't found anythingbigger in the history of the planet.'The crowd for the opening round of the 1999 World Cup was even thebiggest for a sporting event in the history of Giants Stadium, aplanet of its own, some Giants and Jets fans think.In fact, the only Giants Stadium crowd larger was the 82,948 thatcame to see the pope in October 1995. And that was a non-sportingouting because no miracles were performed and Jimmy Hoffa was notunearthed.'Plus, they put people on the field,' Women's World Cup presidentMarla Messing said.But it's OK to be beaten by the pontiff, especially when yourorganization has beaten all ticket expectations, then your team putson a fine display on a perfect, sunny afternoon.Mia Hamm scored the first goal of the day, and that, too, wasappropriate.The slight, 27-year-old forward with the Tinker Bell feet is freshoff her monster 'Anything you can do, I can do better' Nikecommercial with Michael Jordan.She's got her own wing at the Nike Beaverton, Ore., headquarters,and she is unquestionably the main face for all of women's soccer andperhaps women's sport.Some critics have grumbled that not enough of Hamm's record 110goals in international play have come in the big events. Well, thiswas big.On the right wing, Hamm took a pass from midfielder BrandiChastain, faked her defender toward the goal, then sprinted aroundher and blasted a left-footed rocket above Danish goaltender DortheLarsen and into the net.There were 17 minutes gone, and Hamm's goal seemed to loosen upthe team after a shaky start.'When she made the goal, I think we were all like, `Yeah, yeah!We're going to be OK,' ' said U.S. midfielder Julie Foudy, who had agoal of her own in the second half.Hamm herself was giddy with joy.She ran toward her team's bench with her arms raised, screaming.'The whole time I was running, I was just saying, `Are you kiddingme? Are you kidding me?' 'The reason she thought somebody might be joking is that she claimsshe seldom scores goals with her left foot. That would be the onewith the red toenails. As opposed to the right foot with its bluetoenails.Indeed, the entire team got together before the game, played CDsand painted all members' fingernails and toenails in variousarrangements of good ol' red, white and blue.'We're such a team,' explained defender Christie Pierce, whosefingernails were in an alternating series of colors. 'It couldspoil everything if anybody were too cocky. But we don't have that.That's why we click.'Hamm, who is so quick with her feints and deft with her shot, isthe first to back away from lavish praise.'Mia was awesome,' U.S. coach Tony DiCicco said.'Well,' Hamm said, 'I'm happy with the way I played today.'Then somebody asked her if she thought of herself as the femalePele.'Oh, no,' she said quickly. 'No way. I would love to have alittle bit of his game.'But she does have a little bit of it.And that is one of the major reasons fans swarmed to see thisteam.It seems as if we have been having this soccer pill rammed downour throats for at least the last 20 years. And the thing is, thegame has only started to take off here as kids (and their parents)have come to understand and play the game, not because authoritieshave told us we have to like it because the rest of the world does.And it hasn't hurt that the U.S. women's team is good. (That 1996Olympic gold was sweet.)Or that the team is photogenic and public-relations-ready. Afterthe win, the squad paraded around the field, waving to every soccerkid in the house.'Why did people come?' U.S. goalie Briana Scurry said. 'Theylike us.'So eager was the crowd to bond with its heroes that every souvenirwas snapped up fast, leaving T-shirt and program stands with nothingto sell for most of the day.'There are rules of thumb for novelties and souvenirs based oncrowd size,' Messing said. 'We told people here we thought itwould be much higher than usual. This was an event.'It was.'Watching us play in a high school stadium is nothing likewatching us play here,' said Hamm, still bubbling with excitement.'Girls walk away, saying, `I want to play! I want to play!' 'Just like the boys.Which brings us back to big kid Michael Jordan and that ad inwhich Hamm beats him at every sport known to man.Was Mike any good and could he play soccer?'He could have done anything he wanted,' Hamm said. 'He couldkick the ball. He knew what he was doing.'But you threw him in that judo match - was that for real?Hamm rolls her eyes.'Yeah,' she says.Well, her goal was for real. And the crowd was for real. And sois women's soccer.

10th church in Alabama hit by arson - The Buffalo News (Buffalo, NY)

A weekend fire at a Baptist church was ruled arson Sunday, the10th in a recent string of blazes set at churches in rural Alabama,authorities said.

The Saturday afternoon blaze severely damaged Beaverton FreewillBaptist Church in northwest Alabama, near the Mississippi line.

'It's definitely arson,' said Ragan Ingram, a spokesman for thestate fire marshal's office, which was investigating whether thefire was connected to the blazes that destroyed or damaged nineother churches since Feb. 2.

Saturday's fire was the only one that wasn't set in the predawnhours.

Investigators have said they don't know a motive, but noted thelack of any racial pattern. Five of the churches had whitecongregations and five black. All were Baptist, the dominant faithin the region, and most were in isolated country locations.

Last week, Gov. Bob Riley said the nine earlier church firesappear linked, and investigators pursued witness reports of two menin a sport utility vehicle near a number of the fires.

Sunday, a federal investigator said authorities believe -- basedon witness reports and behavioral profilers -- two white men wereresponsible for the fires.

'They're not youths or teens. It's probably someone in their 20sor 30s. We believe they're pretty much inseparable. They'resomething like bosom buddies,' said Eric Kehn, a spokesman for thefederal Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agency.

Nike Makes High-Tech Athletic Gear - AP Online

AP Online
05-10-2000
Nike Makes High-Tech Athletic Gear

BEAVERTON, Ore. (AP) -- Sneaker and sportswear marketer Nike Inc. is diversifying into high-tech sports gear to offer devices for athletes like a digital audio player and heart rate monitoring devices.

The athletic shoe maker said today it has created a division called Nike Techlab after several years of study.

``Keeping the athlete in mind, Techlab will pioneer products that fuse sports and technology for the benefit of today's digital athlete,'' said Clare Hamill, vice president of Nike Equipment.

The first of five new products is a digital audio player that will be in retail stores in July and was produced in collaboration with S3's Diamond Multimedia division -- the makers of Rio Audio digital players.

Nike said four other products would be in stores for the Christmas holiday season, including real-time speed-distance and heart rate monitoring devices, a digital compass and handheld sport communication products.

The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Copyright 2000 The Associated Press All Rights Reserved

Nike Plans To Market Jordan As Icon - AP Online

WILLIAM McCALL, AP Business Writer
AP Online
01-14-1999
Nike Plans To Market Jordan As Icon

BEAVERTON, Ore. (AP) -- The banner at Nike headquarters read: ``Thanks Mike. Now don't be late for work.''

Retired NBA superstar Michael Jordan was officially welcomed to his other job as CEO by the company that has sold $2.6 billion in basketball shoes with his name.

Nike named Michael Jordan chief executive officer of its Brand Jordan division more than a year ago in preparation for the day when the Chicago Bulls guard would hang up his own basketball shoes for good.

When that day arrived Wednesday, Nike chairman and founder Phil Knight, who hired Jordan to endorse the swoosh as an NBA rookie nearly 15 years ago, found a lump in his throat.

``This really is it,'' Knight said. ``This great artistry you're not going to be able to see any more.''

He denied reports that he visited Jordan last weekend in an attempt to talk him out of retiring.

``First of all, I know it wouldn't do any good if I did try,'' Knight said. ``The day was coming. If it wasn't going to be this year it was going to be next year.''

The trick now is to bank on the charisma Jordan built up as perhaps the most recognizable athlete on the planet to push his line of shoes and clothing with his slam-dunking silhouette logo rather than the swoosh.

Knight is certain the Jordan name will fly.

``Absolutely,'' Knight said. ``It's just gone beyond a level than anybody could have foreseen.''

It's a level of popularity Nike hopes to spread across all its products as the world's largest athletic shoe company emerges from a year of declining profits, layoffs and budget cuts set off by the Asian recession.

``Everything has gone horrible for them in the past year,'' said analyst Jennifer Black of Black & Co. in Portland. ``There's been nothing but negative on the horizon for Nike for such a long time.''

Knight sees the retirement as the beginning of Jordan the legend, bigger than the game, even bigger than Babe Ruth or Muhammad Ali, who didn't have the worldwide reach provided by technology such as personal satellite dishes or 24-hour sports on cable TV.

``I don't think you're going to see anything like this for quite a while,'' Knight said. ``This is something very, very special.''

Overseas, Jordan has been compared to such American exports as Coca-Cola and Mickey Mouse, and is a huge star in places where basketball is barely even followed.

``The notion is that Jordan is obviously one of the few athletes who transcends sport,'' said Josie Esquivel, an analyst with Morgan Stanley in New York. ``He has this appeal that makes him a great ambassador for sports of any kind. The corporate executives certainly believe that mantra, but I think you have a large number of people who believe that too.''

Knight said Jordan will be personally involved in product development as CEO for a line featuring a single style of shoe that sold $130 million in the first year alone.

``It was huge when it first arrived,'' said John Horan, publisher of Sporting Goods Intelligence, an athletic shoe industry newsletter in Glen Mills, Pa.

``Nobody had seen anything like it. It was a big deal then, and it's a big deal now.''

Last year, sales reached $350 million, almost 4 percent of the $9.2 billion in revenue for Nike.

``If you took the Jordan brand out of Nike, it would still be the No. 2 basketball company in the world next to Nike,'' said Vizhier Mooney, spokeswoman for Nike's basketball operations.

But Horan said the timing actually may have been for the best, not only for Nike, Jordan and Knight, but for the NBA.

``The good part is that Air Jordan had gotten a little long in the tooth,'' he said. ``Dynasties, after a while, can be boring. It was kind of time from the NBA standpoint for some new blood there.''

The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Copyright 1999 The Associated Press All Rights Reserved

Nike steps up soccer presence with Umbro purchase.(Wire West)(HHHH The Beaverton company's $582 million deal will raise its international profile) - The Register Guard (Eugene, OR)

Byline: Sarah Skidmore The Associated Press

PORTLAND - Nike Inc. will buy Britain's Umbro PLC for $582 million as the U.S. apparel and shoe maker seeks a larger presence in the global soccer market ahead of the next World Cup.

Nike, through its subsidiary Nike Vapor Ltd., agreed to pay $3.94 in cash for each Umbro share, the companies said Tuesday.

Umbro, based in Cheadle, designs and markets soccer-related apparel, footwear and equipment sold in more than 90 countries. The company reported a net profit of $40.4 million in 2006.

Nike has long sought a greater presence in the soccer arena. The Beaverton company's soccer brand has performed well, growing revenues from about $40 million in the 1990s to approximately $1.5 billion.

But it faces stiff competition in the soccer market, largely from European companies such as adidas.

Nike has said it wants to be the sport's top brand by the next World Cup in 2010. It has gobbled up deals with key international teams and has an endorsement contract with world soccer star Ronaldinho from Brazil.

Nike recently made an aggressive bid to replace adidas as outfitter for the German Soccer Federation. German soccer authorities rejected a $680 million offer from Nike and opted to extend its significantly lower-priced contract with adidas, which is based in Germany.

But Umbro and its 45 international licensees supply uniforms to the national teams of England, Ireland, Sweden and Norway, six English Premier League teams and more than 100 other professional teams globally. The company also has a key contract as the exclusive supplier for the English Football Association, the governing body for English soccer.

The addition of Umbro, with its strong brand and overseas presence, is expected to further grow Nike's profile and performance in one of the world's largest sports.

This is of particular importance in the United Kingdom, a top soccer market where Nike has struggled in past years. It also helps the company's business in emerging markets such as Russia, Latin America and parts of Eastern Europe, where soccer is the top sport.

Nike said it intends to operate Umbro as an independent, U.K.-based subsidiary.