NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) May 30, 2002--Standard&Poor's said today that it assigned its single-'A' rating to athletic footwear maker Nike Inc.'s $500 million senior unsecured medium-term note program. Standard&Poor's also affirmed Nike's single-'A' long-term corporate credit and senior unsecured debt ratings, and its 'A-1' short-term corporate credit and commercial paper ratings. Beaverton, Ore.–based Nike had about $1.1 billion of total debt outstanding as of Feb. 28, 2002. The outlook is stable. The ratings reflect the company's No. 1 market share in U.S. athletic footwear and its strong positions internationally, as well as its solid financial profile. Somewhat offsetting these strengths is the company's exposure to changing consumer preferences in this very competitive, marketing-intensive industry. "Standard
