Connecting with consumers is the single most important competitive advantage in business today. And nobody does this better than Nike. Deep meaningful relationships with consumers are at the center of everything we do. The days of one size fits all are long over for both products and brands.

Consumers today are smart, sophisticated and demanding. They have more choices and more access to those choices than ever before. They value authentic brands that interact with them on an intensely personal level. The conversation can’t be one way. Consumers want to be surprised and excited by their favorite brands, but they also want to play a part in defining them.

Connecting with consumers is so important at Nike that we reorganized the Nike Brand around seven categories that we believe represent the largest growth opportunities: action sports, basketball, football (soccer), men’s training, running, sportswear, and women’s training. These businesses represent the vast majority of our revenue, and we believe will generate the majority of our growth opportunity over the next five years.

Our category teams are completely focused on their target consumers. They speak their language, they see the world through their eyes, and they’re completely at home in their culture. Being inside the world of our consumers gives us the ability to create compelling product, to tell their stories in an exciting way, and deliver experiences at every level, from a one-on-one relationship to a global experience like World Cup or the Olympics. Next»