BAD NEWS FOR GLAZER

Last updated : 25 January 2006 By Editor

After they spent the back end of last year schmoozing Nike execs, Glazer won’t be too pleased to hear one of the top men has quit. From the Guardian:

William Perez, the chief executive of Nike, has resigned after little more than a year in the job following clashes with Phil Knight, the company's founder and chairman.

A statement issued by the sports shoe firm said Mr Perez and the board had "mutually agreed" that he should leave. He had been the first person to hold the job after Mr Knight, who had run the company for 32 years before stepping aside in December 2004.

"Succession at any company is challenging, and unfortunately the expectations that Bill and I and others had when he joined the company a year ago didn't play out as we hoped," Mr Knight said.

The management changes are taking place as Nike finds itself under pressure from the impending merger of its two main rivals, Adidas and Reebok. Nike shares have fallen 3% over the past year while Adidas stock has added 43%.