ur best advertising, from Mars Blackmon to Andre Agassi. Irreverence has always been a core part of our culture. It is, for us, the balance between our attempt at greatness and the risk of arrogance. We mix confidence and strength with the humility to look at ourselves in the mirror and say, we can do better. WE ARE ABOUT WINNING AND COMPETING HARD. We invent markets and new ways to compete. We have withstood every challenge that has come our way. Winning starts with taking care of business at home and then looking for new challenges. We are doing both. WE ARE ABOUT CHANGE. Over the past twenty-five years we have had to reinvent ourselves many times. The first surge was with the Waffle Trainer and the running craze. When that slowed, we thought we ran out of market. We had another surge with basketball behind Michael Jordan, and cross-training with Bo Jackson. Then again, we Thought our growth was dead. Another surge came in 1995, when Nike became fashionable and athletic urban wear became king. But,that too ended in early 1998, as did the health of the Asian economy. There we were, with an over-extended brand. Each time we reinvented our company. In 1995, when we reached $3 billion in sales, we said $5 billion was the absolute limit. Three years later we were closing in on $10 billion. Each time we did succeed it was due, in part, to our fear of failure, which drove us harder and faster. Each time, however, it has gotten harder. We have covered more of the market, and now the targets seem smaller and more numerous. We have stretched our Nike brand quite far. Some say too far. Others say it still has more reach to go. What is clear to me now is that the market has changed. We have new competitors and, as before, we need to adjust. We need to expand our connection to new categories and toward new consumers. WE ARE ABOUT SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. You have all read the press and seen the media regarding Nike's labor practices. The reality is,...
