Nike CEO Mark Parker to step down, John Donahoe to take over

Nike Inc's longtime chief executive officer, Mark Parker, will step down next year and be replaced by John Donahoe, the CEO of cloud computing firm ServiceNow Inc, the footwear and apparel maker said on Tuesday.

Parker had said last year he would remain CEO and chairman of the footwear maker beyond 2020, with his remarks coming at a time the company was hit by a series of executive departures and probes on workplace complaints.

Separately, ServiceNow said it appointed Bill McDermott as its CEO. McDermott helmed software maker SAP from 2014 until recently.

ServiceNow shares fell about 16 percent on the development.

Donahoe, who has been on Nike's board since 2014, will take over Jan. 13, while Parker will become executive chairman and continue to lead Nike's board.

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China consumer show skewers Nike shoes, Muji foods

SHANGHAI - China's annual consumer rights day TV show turned its spotlight on US sports brand Nike Inc for misleading advertising and Japanese brand Muji for selling food products allegedly sourced from part of Japan affected by radiation.

The state-run China Central Television (CCTV) show - which can have brands and their corporate PR teams scurrying to take evasive action - said Nike had misled consumers over high-tech air cushions in some of its "Hyperdunk" basketball shoes.

Similar to CBS network's "60 Minutes" in the United States, the CCTV show - known as "315" in reference to global consumer rights day on March 15 - has previously named and shamed firms from Apple Inc to Volkswagen AG.

The two-hour show - a mix of undercover reports and song-and-dance - also highlighted Japanese brands including Muji, owned by Ryohin Keikaku Co, which it said sold food products in China from an area of Tokyo where high levels of radiation were detected in 2015.

Nike said in a statement it had sold 300 pairs of Hyperdunk shoes in China last year with "an inaccurate product description stating that the shoe contained airbags". The firm added it had apologized to consumers and offered compensation.

"We will fully cooperate with the government regulators regarding their inquiries," the company said. The Greater China region accounts for over 10 percent of Nike's global sales.

Muji declined to give immediate comment.

The show also took aim at fake eye doctors for scamming patients, animal breeders for over-using medicines to make animals grow faster, and China's Wikipedia-like Baike.com.

The 315 show can hit a firm's reputation if singled out for bad corporate behavior. Apple was forced into a rare apology in 2013 after criticism on the show of its China after-sales service.

"Pretty much all the big corporations have their PR machines ready to jump into action because they've seen what happens when companies are not prepared," said James Feldkamp, Shanghai-based CEO of independent China consumer watchdog Mingjian.

While the annual program has lost some of its bite in recent years, Wednesday's version was harder hitting than last year's, which criticized local food delivery apps, fake online sales and dodgy false teeth, but didn't take aim at any major international firms.

However, many in China steered clear of the show altogether, while online chatter was more muted than in previous years. Viewers who tuned in said they were underwhelmed by the show's corporate exposés and any impact would likely be short-lived.

"This year's show was a laughing stock, there weren't any really big cases in there," posted one user on Sina Weibo using the name Master Tan Xi. "Why do they bother still holding it?"

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Nike to launch high-tech hijab for female Muslim athletes

Nike Inc will launch a hijab for female Muslim athletes early next year, becoming the first major sports apparel maker to offer a traditional Islamic head scarf designed specifically for competition, the company said on Wednesday.

The head covering, marketed under the "Pro Hijab" brand, is designed to allow athletes to observe the traditional Islamic practice of covering the head without compromising performance.

Made from a lightweight, flexible material, the hijab is expected to hit stores shelves in early 2018, Nike said in a statement.

In recent years, the hijab has become the most visible symbol of Islamic culture in the United States and Europe. Many Muslim women cover their heads in public with the hijab as a sign of modesty, but some critics see it as a sign of female oppression.

With sensitivities over immigration and the perceived threat of Muslim extremism running high, the head scarf has led to attacks against Muslim women. At the same time, the hijab has evolved in a symbol of diversity that Nike has embraced.

The Women's March on Washington, held the day after President Donald Trump's inauguration, used the face of a woman wearing a hijab in an American flag pattern as its promotional image.

Muslim athletes visiting Nike's headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, just outside of Portland, have complained about the difficulties of wearing a hijab while competing, according to the company.

The company consulted with Muslim women athletes from around the world, including Middle Eastern runners and cyclists, in the designing the hijab.

Other companies have also set their sights on hijab sales to Muslim athletes.

Last year, Danish sportswear company Hummel unveiled a soccer jersey with an attached hijab for the Afghanistan national women's soccer team.

Non-professional women Muslim athletes have used athletic hijabs made by smaller companies.

But Nike's annual net sales in the billions, and its reach in popular culture, can do more to bring Muslim athletes into the fold, said Amna Al Haddad, a Nike sponsored weightlifter from the United Arab Emirates who consulted on "Pro Hijab."

"(It will) encourage a whole new generation to pursue sports without feeling there is a limitation because of modesty or dress-code," Haddad said.

(Reporting by Laila Kearney; Editing by Richard Chang)

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Wall Street closes down as Nike's gains stand out

NEW YORK -- Wall Street stocks ended the day in negative territory on Friday, putting the major indices down for the week as oil stocks joined Wal-Mart Stores in retreating from recent gains.

But sports footwear and apparel giant Nike Inc saw shares up 3 percent, making it one of the Dow's biggest gainers.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.2 percent at 18,552.57.

The broader S&P 500 was down 0.1 percent at 2,183.87 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq was essentially flat at 5,238.38.

"The market continues to exhibit sideways price action but it is still an upside bias. The market just can't just sell off with any bad news," Michael James of Wedbush Securities told AFP.

"None of the economic data was really market moving, nor were the Fed comments from the last meeting. They had no impact," he added.

Oil stocks were in negative territory on the Dow, with supermajor Exxon Mobil Corp down 1.3 percent and Chevron 1.2 percent.

Wal-Mart shares gave up all of Thursday's gain which came after the retailer posted better-than-expected earnings, despite absorbing costs from its recent acquisition of the online retailer Jet.com.

On Friday the company closed down 2 percent at $72.81.

Nike surged after announcing it had formed a supply-chain partnership with private equity firm Apollo Global Management LLC. The deal could help the retailer surmount logistics problems.

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Sharapova faces suspension after failing drug test

LOS ANGELES - Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova, the highest-paid woman in sports, said on Monday that she failed a drug test at the Australian Open due to a substance she has been taking for 10 years for health issues.

The 28-year-old Sharapova, a five-time grand slam champion, will be provisionally suspended starting March 12, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) said.

One of her biggest sponsors, Nike Inc., said it was suspending ties while the case is being investigated.



She is the seventh athlete in a month to test positive for meldonium, which is used to treat diabetes and low magnesium, and was only banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) as of Jan. 1.

"I made a huge mistake. I let my fans down and I let the sport down," said Sharapova, a teenage tennis prodigy who became the third-youngest Wimbledon champion. "I take full responsibility for it."

"I know that with this I face consequences and I don't want to end my career this way. I really hope that I will be given another chance to play this game," former world number one Sharapova told a news conference in a downtown Los Angeles hotel.

In its statement to put ties on hold that came just hours after the tennis star's announcement, Nike, the world's largest sportswear maker, said, "We are saddened and surprised by the news about Maria Sharapova."

The ITF's anti-doping program calls for a four-year suspension for a positive test, but that ban can be reduced in various circumstances, such as for first-time offences or if the player shows no significant fault or negligence.

If a player bears no fault or negligence, there is no suspension.

TAKEN MELDONIUM FOR 10 YEARS

According to Forbes, she earned $29.5 million in 2015, mostly from endorsements.

Sharapova said her family doctor had been giving her mildronate, which is also called meldonium, for 10 years after she frequently became sick, had irregular EKG results, a magnesium deficiency and a family history of diabetes.

"It is very important for you to understand that for 10 years this medicine was not on WADA's banned list and I had been legally taking the medicine. But on January the first, the rules have changed and meldonium became a prohibited substance."

WADA declined to comment until ITF issues a final decision.

Meldonium is used to treat chest pain and heart attacks among other conditions, but some researchers have linked it to increased athletic performance and endurance. It is listed by WADA among its prohibited metabolic modulators, along with insulin, and some researchers say it can also help recovery.

It is not approved in the United States but is available in Russia, Latvia and other countries in that region.

Over the past month, Russian cyclist Eduard Vorganov, Russian figure skater Ekaterina Bobrova, Ethiopia-born athletes Endeshaw Negesse and Abeba Aregawi, and Ukraine biathletes Olga Abramova and Artem Tyshchenko have all tested positive for meldonium.

Sharapova is the most prominent tennis player to test positive for a banned substance in recent years.

Croatia's Marin Cilic was banned for nine months in 2013 after testing positive for a prohibited stimulant, though the suspension was cut to four months on appeal.

Former world number one Martina Hingis retired after receiving a two-year suspension for a positive cocaine test in 2007, though the Swiss denied taking the drug.

WTA SADDENED BY NEWS

Last year, the sport banned U.S. player Wayne Odesnik for 15 years after his second doping violation, testing positive for steroids and other banned substances.

Sharapova is the biggest name in sport to test positive since New York Yankees baseball slugger Alex Rodriguez was banned for a year in 2013 after using performance-enhancing drugs and American cyclist Lance Armstrong was banned for life from racing in 2012 after a U.S. Anti-Doping investigation.

Sharapova, one of the most popular figures in global sports, has long been a favourite with her sponsors. Cosmetics maker Avon Products Inc declined to comment on its endorsements.

Steve Simon, CEO of the Women's Tennis Association, said in a statement he was saddened to hear the news.

"Maria (Sharapova) is a leader and I have always known her to be a woman of great integrity," he said.

"Nevertheless, as Maria acknowledged, it is every player's responsibility to know what they put in their body and to know if it is permissible. The WTA will support the decisions reached through this process."

The news came a day after Sharapova's management team said she was going to make a "major announcement," which had many speculating that she was going to announce her retirement from professional tennis.

Sharapova, who has struggled with a series of injuries in recent years, has not competed since she lost to Serena Williams in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open in January.

Renowned for her never-say-die approach, a gritty baseline game and high-decibel shrieking, Sharapova at 17 became the first Russian woman to win Wimbledon when she beat Serena Williams 6-1 6-4 in the 2004 final.

That victory also made her the third-youngest Wimbledon champion, behind only Lottie Dod and Hingis, and the fourth-youngest grand slam winner in the open era after Hingis, Monica Seles and Tracy Austin.

(Additional reporting by Joseph Ax and Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Lisa Shumaker/Peter Rutherford/John O'Brien)

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Pacquiao respects Nike's decision, looks for new sponsor

 

Team Pacquiao now looking for new apparel sponsor

GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Philippines – Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao on Thursday addressed the controversy regarding his statements on same-sex marriage for the final time, reiterating that he has never condemned members of the LGBT community.

"Inuulit ko, hinid ko kino-condemn 'yung mga LGBT," Pacquiao said on Thursday morning in General Santos City during his training session. "Ang kino-condemn ko, I just want to clarify this, 'yung paggawa ng masama ang kino-condemn ko."

The boxer insisted that he is not worried about the impact of his controversy on his campaign for a Senate seat, even as prominent members of LGBT community have declared that they will not support him in the 2016 elections.

"Hindi man ako nababahala sa kung ano 'yong katotohanan," he said. "As I establish my leadership, you need to be firm on your own decision kung ano ang tama."

Pacquiao also said he respects the decision of sports apparel giant Nike to terminate its contract with him in the wake of his controversial statements.

Team Pacquiao is now looking for a new sponsor apparel for the boxer.

"Kung ano man 'yong decision nila, desisyon nila 'yon, nirerespeto ko at saka ang pag-sponsor nila sa akin, 'yong mga damit lang man para sa fight," he said.

In the meantime, Pacquiao said he will now focus his attention on his training for his April 9 fight against Timothy Bradley Jr. The "Pacman" has been joined by chief trainer Freddie Roach for his training camp for what will be the last fight of his career.

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Nike urged to drop Pacquiao for anti-gay comments

MANILA - Gay and lesbian groups have called on voters in the Philippines to boycott boxing icon Manny Pacquiao as he bids for a Senate seat, after he described gays as "worse than animals".

An online petition is also underway asking global sportswear company Nike Inc to drop Pacquiao as an endorser. The petition on change.org has garnered more than 2,000 signatures so far.

Pacquiao, revered in the Philippines for winning world boxing titles in eight different weight classes during his 20-year career, suddenly fell from grace after a 30-second interview on local television about same-sex marriage, which he opposes.

"It's just common sense. Do you see any animals of the same sex mating? Animals are better off, they can distinguish between male and female," Pacquiao told TV5 on Monday.

"Now if men are mating with men and women with women, then they are worse than animals," he said.

This is not the first time Pacquiao, a sitting two-term congressman, had earned the ire of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community for his comments on same-sex marriage. He also apologized for his remarks in 2012.

Same-sex marriage is not allowed in the Philippines where more than 80 percent of the 100 million population is Roman Catholic.

The 37-year old congressman, among those favored to win a Senate seat at the May elections based on independent pollsters' surveys, apologised on Tuesday. Latest surveys showed him in 8th place for the race to win 12 vacant seats in the Senate.

"I'm sorry for hurting people by comparing homosexuals to animals. Please forgive me for those I've hurt," Pacquiao said in a video message on his Twitter account. He said he remained against same-sex marriage.

That didn't stop a torrent of comments on social media lambasting Pacquiao and using the hashtags #NoToManny2016 #zerovoteformanny and #WorseThanAnimals.

"LGBT groups and individuals are saying he should not be voted into office... we are one of them," Danton Remoto, head of Philippine lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender group Ladlad, or Out, told Reuters by phone.

While the former boxer's comments offended liberal Filipinos, they could have struck a chord with more conservative voters in the staunchly Catholic country.

Local singer Aiza Seguerra, who married her actress-girlfriend partner in late 2014 in San Francisco, also called on voters to boycott Pacquiao.

"You might've done our country proud but with your statement, you just showed the whole country why we shouldn't vote for you," Seguerra said on her Instagram.

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Nike founder Phil Knight to step down as chairman

NEW YORK -- Phil Knight, who built Nike from a modest US shoe company into a global sports giant and marketing juggernaut, will step down as chairman next year, the company announced Tuesday.

No departure date was set for Knight, a former track standout at the University of Oregon who launched Nike in 1968 after first selling sneakers out of his car and now has a massive headquarters campus in Portland, Oregon.

"For me, Nike has always been more than just a company -- it has been my life's passion," Knight said.

Knight, 77, recommended that chief executive Mark Parker succeed him as chairman when he steps down sometime in 2016, the company said.

Nike has grown into a sports marketing behemoth, rivalling the much older German company Adidas. The company's swoosh logo and "Just Do It" motto are ubiquitous in sports.

Today, Nike sponsors many of the world's most iconic athletes, including Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Serena Williams, Rory McIlroy, Roger Federer, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar.

Last week, Nike -- which was added to the Dow Jones Industrial Average in 2013 -- reported fiscal 2015 earnings of $3.3 billion on $30.6 billion in revenues.

Forbes magazine puts Knight's net worth at $24.3 billion.

Knight said he plans to stay involved with Nike, and announced the creation of Swoosh, a limited liability company to hold the majority of his Nike stake.

The 128.5 million Nike shares transferred by Knight to Swoosh equal about 15 percent of outstanding Nike stock.

Knight will have two votes to one for each of the three other Swoosh board members, one of whom will be Parker.

In 2012, Knight was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor, in large part for what he brought to the sport on a promotion and marketing level.

Knight signed a groundbreaking deal with Jordan in 1984, the same year Jordan sparked a US college squad to Los Angeles Olympics gold and was taken third by the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Draft.

As Jordan displayed amazing talent, his Nike deal turned him into a superstar with marketing at an unprecedented level, including the creation of the Air Jordan shoe that changed the face of sports culture -- and street fashion -- forever.

Hammering Jordan's Jumpman image into a logo and brand all its own, the link of star talent and the Nike brand was tight as never before, helping make Nike a force in sports and marketing beyond shoe sales.

Jordan's talent, which brought Chicago six NBA titles in the 1990s, and Nike's marketing savvy brought riches and global stardom for both.

Nike followed the same path with Woods in golf and Williams in tennis -- and it's that format that has spawned imitators, among them Under Armour with rising US golf star Jordan Spieth.

Nike also signed pioneer clothing deals with US colleges, linking brands to major sports programs like never before and boosting the popularity of both.

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Nike CEO says could shift China production over labor strife

BOSTON - Nike Chief Executive Mark Parker said on Thursday the footwear and athletic apparel company was considering shifting its production within China following a major strike at a supplier's factory.

Thousands of shoe factory workers staged one of China's biggest strikes earlier this month over conditions at Hong Kong-listed Yue Yuen Industrial Holdings Ltd - a $5.6 billion manufacturer of footwear for Nike Inc, Adidas and other international brands. Most of those workers have since returned to work after the company agreed to some of their demands.

"We didn't move product out in this case, but we're staying close to it. We've been in a position to do that," Parker said on the sidelines of a luncheon at the Boston College Chief Executives Club of Boston.

"We're always considering it."

He said Nike was in "close contact" with Yue Yuen and its workforce to determine if the labor conditions at the factory violate Nike's own workplace standards, but added Nike had not yet "taken a position on that."

He said Nike had a diverse factory base in China that made it possible to shift production relatively easily.

"We want to invest in the partners that are really doing the right thing with the workforce," Parker said. "We have a factory base where we can move product around as we need to make sure that we don't have issues with production."

Yue Yuen workers went on strike in the southern city of Dongguan on April 14 in what activists say was one of China's biggest labor protests since market reforms began in the late 1970s.

They were protesting what they said where chronically low company contributions to social insurance and housing provident fund accounts. By late last week, some 80 percent of the workforce had returned to work, according to Yue Yuen.

In a sign the strike had rattled Chinese authorities, police placed one labor activist in criminal detention, formally accusing him of causing a disturbance after he distributed information online about the factory strike, his manager and father said on Tuesday.

Nike's workplace code of conduct includes a clause protecting worker compensation and benefits: "Contractor's employees are timely paid at least the minimum wage required by a country's law and provided legally mandated benefits."

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