In his first interview since revealing his retirement plans in June, Nike's founder Phil Knight talked to USA Today about the past but also about competitive threats from Under Armour and Adidas.

“The industry has changed enormously,’’ Knight said. “I’ll just say it’s grown and the companies that are in the industry are in more different areas than ever before. So Under Armour is a very serious competitor, but Adidas is the next biggest and they’ve got a lot of money to spend and they have a lot of capability. We worry about them all. And it isn’t just shoes.

“In golf, we compete against Titleist. In women’s athletic gear, we compete against Lululemon, so we worry about them all.’’

As reported, Knight, 77, has recommended that Mark Parker, the company's chief executive, should succeed him as chairman sometime next year in Nike’s long-awaited start of its succession planning process. Knight will continue to be actively involved with the company.

Knight started the company with former Oregon track and field coach Bob Bowerman in 1964.

The reclusive executive spent much of the brief interview talking about the past, describing the signing of Michael Jordan as his best business decision. He discussed his early days selling running shoes out of the back of the “lime green Plymouth Valiant” in the mid-sixties as well as his challenges after Reebok overtook it in size in the eighties.

He apologized for comments he made in 1988 when he said in the 20/20 interview that he was looking forward to forcing rival Reebok to fire 280 workers.

“That's kind of the nature of the business, is that there are winners and losers,'' Knight said, referring to his comments. “When Reebok went by us (in sales), we had to let go of 280 people and it was a painful experience. And our job was to go back by them and the result of that was they would have to let some people go. It made perfect sense to me and still does.”

Some business advice was also offered. Knight said, “”I say get into something that you really, really love. Particularly when you're an entrepreneur because there are going to be dark moments…If you're trying to get into the sports business, you really have to find a niche.''

Knight also reiterated he plans to have a role with Nike, stating, “I didn’t say I’m walking away. I said I was stepping down as chairman. I won’t walk away. I’ll be carried away.”