Hands down, when you look at Nike from a total perspective they have a related corporate diversification strategy. Over the years, Nike has invested or divested in company's that share the marketplace and/or are complimentary to their product lines.
Hurley Intl and Converse are two great examples of a great fit from a related diversification strategy standpoint. Hurley accesses the same athletic culture of consumers as Nike core categories, but with a focus on surf and water sports. This similar, but different consumer allows Nike to utilize similar factory and distribution channels as other categories of business. Also, on the Converse side of business, Nike is able to realize like-type consumers via a different product from their competitive basketball and fashion lines.
Some of the more recent divestitures include Cole Haan and Umbro, which began as a diversification strategy and possibly a complimentary business opportunity. Unfortunately, my guess is the manufacturing and distribution of Cole Haan line of business is just too different from Nike's core business. I'm inclined to believe the consumer differences and additional costs associated with a line of business costs the company more than it was able to bring in. In the press release,
“The decision to divest of Cole Haan allows us to sharpen our focus on opportunities with the highest potential for strong returns, and to make sure the brands within the Nike portfolio are the most complementary to the Nike Brand,” Mark Parker, the chief executive of Nike, said in a statement.
Nike's ability to seek strategies that diversify and expand their reach, as well as recognize relatively quickly when there is a miss in strategy, is a core strength in their leadership abilities. I look forward to watching where, or rather how, they leap up to their $50B in Sales by 2020 plan.
References
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/11/16/nike-to-sell-cole-haan-to-apax-partners-for-570-million/?_r=0
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