Nike Inc. (NKE), the world’s leading designer, marketer and distributor of athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories, has recently increased its quarterly dividend by 8% to 27 cents per share from 25 cents.
 
Amid a challenging macroeconomic environment, when most companies are either reducing or temporarily withdrawing dividend payments, Nike has decided to increase its dividend for the eighth year in a row. The company has paid over $1.8 billion as dividends to shareholders in the last five years, and expects to continue to pay a steady dividend in the future as well.
 
Nike leverages a massive and well-established network of more than 23,000 retail accounts in the U.S and over 28,000 internationally to reach a wide array of customers. The company’s retail accounts consist of a mix of footwear stores, sporting goods stores, athletic specialty stores, department stores, skate as well as tennis and golf shops.
 
Nike remains upbeat about its performance in the coming quarters. The company stressed that it was gradually gaining market share and was in a strong position to benefit when the global economy improves. In an effort to achieve its long-term sales target of $23 billion by fiscal 2011, Nike recently executed a restructuring plan, which reorganized its geographic segments, slashed management layers, and enhanced customer focus. Moreover, in order to reduce its operating costs, the company has retrenched about 5% of its 35,000-strong global workforce.
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