Nike’s Manufacturing Pivot: Vietnam Rises, China Declines with 11% Fewer Factories

If there is one company that is going to be affected by Donald Trump’s escalating tariffs, it is Nike. In fact, the U.S. giant has already anticipated a billion-dollar cost increase in fiscal 2025 as a result of the tariffs and, to try to mitigate the blow, the company plans to reorganize its sourcing mix, something it has, in fact, been doing for more than a decade. Over the last ten years, the company has concentrated its production in fewer factories and fewer countries and has reduced its dependence on China and increased its dependence on other sources such as Vietnam.

A decade ago, at the close of the 2013 financial year, Nike was working with a total of 744 factories, employing 998,880 people and spread across 43 countries around the world. A decade later, according to data corresponding to April 2025 (the latest published by the company), the company has 11% fewer supplier factories (664 in total), which employ 27% more people (1.26 million) and are distributed in 35 countries.

In 2013, China was the country in the world where Nike operated the most factories (a total of 195), with Vietnam in second place, with only 65 factories. In 2025, this order has been altered and today Vietnam is the first hub of the American group, with 166 plants, while China has 159.

In April 2025, Nike had 664 factories employing 1.26 million people

Vietnam now accounts for 25% of all the factories with which the swoosh multinational works, while China represents 24%. The other origins have a much lower weight, with Indonesia representing 8.13% of the total number of plants; Taiwan 4.82%, and the United States and Thailand another 4.37%. In Thailand, Cambodia and Sri Lanka, Nike has just over 3% of its factories in each country, while South Korea, India and Brazil account for around 2% each.

Asia is by far Nike’s largest supplier worldwide. In the Asian markets as a whole, the group currently operates 543 production sites; in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (Emea), the company produces in 44 factories, and in the Americas, with 76.

Considering only the finished goods factories, Nike operates 314 plants in Vietnam, employing 461,094 employees. Apparel accounts for 75% of the group’s plants in Vietnam, while 43 are dedicated to footwear and 16 to equipment.

In China, the company operates 120 finished goods plants, employing 108,406 people. Apparel is, once again, the main product manufactured in China by Nike, with 59 plants dedicated to it, while 33 are dedicated to footwear and 28 to equipment.

In the United States, the group operates 29 finished product factories, which employ 4,427 people. Of the total number of factories, 27 produce apparel and two are dedicated to equipment.