Analysis of Financial Statements of NikeINTRODUCTIONIn this research, I will analyze the financial statements of this company and some other parts of this company which help us to understand its working better. I will explain what its strengths and weaknesses are as well as its direct competitors. Additionally, I will describe the company and its management. I will explain to you where this company comes from and how this brand became so famous across the world in a short time. First of all, Nike is an American company specializing in sportswear such as shoes or clothing, but also in all sports equipment. Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight were the company's founders. Bill was a sports coach at a famous university called "Oregon", while Phil was an accounting student and ran in his spare time, in the 1970s. During a trip to Japan, they found a great sports shoe with a new design and really cheap. . They decided to import their item to the USA. At that time, in 1966, this brand was known as Blue Ribbon Sports. The two founders spread their brand by advertising everywhere, which was difficult because Adidas, at that time, was the market leader. In 1967, Jeff Johnson merged with Bill and Phil. Jeff Johnson was already in the sports market and knew many people in the sports world. They opened the first store in California, it was a great success and already the brand was widely distributed. In 1972, they decided to change the name of the brand to Nike which comes from the Greek goddess of victory, capable of going very fast. Additionally, Carolyn Davidson, a design student at the University of Portland, created the simple Nike logo, which is really simple...... middle of paper ......or the first six months of 2008 , approximately $194.4 million was provided by certain investment activities. This figure is lower than the previous year, 2007, which was $389.9 million at the same time of year. The main reason for this decline is due to the reduction in net maturities of short-term investments. In early 2008, Nike purchased approximately $4.8 million worth of common stock for $292.8 million. So far, they have purchased about $30 million worth of stock for $1,426.9 million. The Nike company obtained a status during the year 2006, which allows it to purchase up to $3 billion in shares per year. But this figure can vary, it depends on the debts and profits they incurred during the previous year. Finally, in 2007, Nike purchased more than 20% of UMBRO's outstanding shares in Britain, worth approximately $111.9 million..