Finance$

With a big company like Nike, it is bound to hit some high and low points with its revenues.

In 1997, Nike hit a "financial wall" according to Chief Financial Officer Dan Blair.

From 97 to 2000, Nike had an inventory overhang, needed a reformatting of their management, and a better appeal to their customer base.

"We decided to engineer the company to create more consistency, because one of the things that held us back from out validation standpoint was our ability to generate bottom line growth, returns on capital, and being inconsistent," Nike co-founder Phil Knight

As part of the new marketing plan for Nike, 1997 was also the year that the Air Jordan became a sub-brand of Nike. The Nike Air Jordans became a famous shoe that was part created by the Chicago Bulls basketball star Michael Jordan

The Air Jordans have been the best selling basketball shoe since it's creation in 1985. The Air Jordan had been branded a "Nike" shoe from then until 1997, and is now considered a "Jordan Brand" product. The shoes are only affiliated with Nike for address and insurance purposes. 

Yahoo Finance shows Nike's earnings and numbers as of May 2010:
Total Revenue: $19,014,000
Gross Profit: $8,800,400
Operating Income or Loss: $2,474,000
Net Income Applicable to Common Shares: $1,906,7000