Brand loyalty is almost synonymous with Nike. And for President, CEO, and Director Mark G. Parker, everything starts at the same place.
“At NIKE, everything we do starts with the consumer,” Parker said during the company’s third-quarter earnings conference call on March 19, according to Seeking Alpha. “It’s our obsession with serving the consumer that sharpens our focus and drives our growth. The expectations of our consumers are evolving rapidly, and we’re able to meet and often exceed those expectations because we know the athlete. By working with athletes at all levels, from the elite to the everyday, we have a level of knowledge and insight that is unmatched in our industry. And we are able to use the insights that we gain to create new products and services that drive new levels of performance innovation across all of our categories.”
The pace of innovation at NIKE has never been faster, Parker stated.
“And our pipeline has never been more robust,” he explained. “We’re leveraging new tools and processes to unlock significant advancements every day. However, the starting point for innovation remains the same, and that’s the athlete. Many of our greatest innovations have come from going deep into an individual sport to solve a unique athletic need.”
Third-quarter sales rose 7%, to $7.5 billion.
“Over the last three months, the macro environment has become increasingly volatile,” Parker said. “Foreign currency headwinds have intensified. Product input 
costs continue to fluctuate, and the political landscape is evolving in many countries around the world. This is the environment in which all multinational companies now operate, and NIKE is not immune to it.”
The difference for NIKE?
“We see this as an opportunity to create further separation in the marketplace,” Parker explained. “Our globally diverse portfolio of geographies, categories, brands, product types, and distribution channels gives us a distinct competitive advantage. By going deep into the business, we’re able to see opportunities to serve the consumer and drive growth, despite the choppier landscape. This surgical approach to finding new dimensions of growth ensures we capture the full potential of our brands around the world. And that includes driving strong growth in areas of our business that are already well established such as Western Europe, China, North America in footwear, as well as businesses such as women’s, young athletes, apparel, and ecommerce, where we are accelerating development.”