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Nike is expanding its unlikely role as an economic developer in Southeast Asia. Last month the shoemaker renewed a partnership with a Thai NGO to curb migration to overwhelmed cities like Bangkok by creating economic opportunities in rural areas. The project, branded Nike Village, has paired a cluster of rural stitching centers in the Chakkarat district with a microloan program. "We've got something to show now," says Bob Speltz, Nike's director of global community affairs. He cites success stories about villagers who use $50 loans to start or expand businesses--from food sellers, left, and fried-cricket vendors to a guy peddling ice cream on his motorcycle. Nike's latest $150,000 infusion will fund community services, including a mobile AIDS unit and a school-lunch program. The company is also expanding its microcredit efforts into China. Through partnerships with local microfinance institutions, it has loaned more than $2 million in Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.
AN INDUSTRY WAKE-UP CALL
In the battle for mid-priced-hotel market share, Hampton Inn is tapping into one of travelers' biggest pet peeves: the mysterious and often utterly frustrating task of figuring out how to set the hotel-room alarm clock. As part of a brand overhaul that includes installing high-speed Internet access in all its rooms, the Hilton Hotels subsidiary tested 150 clock radios before dumping them all and designing its own, which is being manufactured by Timex. The clock radio not only comes with easy-to-follow instructions marked on top but also features five clearly labeled buttons to help guests find radio stations, set to formats such as jazz and hip-hop. So many customers are asking to buy these low-tech gadgets that the chain, based in Memphis, Tenn., is considering branching out into electronics. Could a Hampton Inn laptop be far behind?
Lucent's a Live Wire
After three years in the red, Lucent Technologies last month reported its second consecutive quarterly profit. Archrival Nortel Networks two weeks earlier scored a $1 billion--plus contract from Verizon Communications to gear up for voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP). Both telecom-equipment makers have managed to claw their way back to profitability--Nortel was in danger of being delisted 1 1/2 years ago--in part by axing two-thirds of their work forces. With no more fat to trim (at one point Lucent tried to save money by turning off the lights in the hallways of its research labs), these tech survivors are starting to benefit as cable and telecom firms battle one another for bundled customers. "We are clearly seeing evidence that the market is stabilizing," says Lucent CEO Patricia Russo, right. But the biggest boost for Lucent and its rivals could be telecom's transition from traditional circuit-based phone networks to VoIP, which routes calls over the Net as data packets. Verizon's mega-investment in VoIP will probably spur fellow telecoms to follow suit, as long as demand for the service keeps growing.