Gregory WADE’s Post

Here's a great article on the importance of sustained investments in innovation and partnerships, in order to drive profitable and differentiated growth. Looking forward to seeing how this plays out with Nike!

Outgoing CEO John Donahoe formulated his #strategy for Nike, but he did a mistake of missing the central point of any #marketing success or failure – the #product itself. The goal was to grow the digital side of the business from 26% in 2023 to 40% by 2025. But, his marketing experts lost the plot. Having set his giant Nike tanker on a bad strategic path, Nike’s product was losing its appeal. This 👇🏻provides #marketers with four salutary lessons in what not to do. #branding #Sales

I love Nike's spirit—always aggressive and pursuing excellence. I love sports and as a sports lover, most of the time, I just want to find the most comfortable and technological gadget to help my performance. Sometimes, if it's a beautiful artifact, that would be greater. And Strongly echoing back to the "A change in Focus" part in this passage. Product innovation and channel partnership are long-term investments that could continuously bring in revenue and figure growth. It might be different for consumers in different countries but why would a consumer change their behavior to use a brand store or website which is not a normal way to buy sneakers? With the new usher, hope there would be more professional and innovative product come on air. Let's wait and see!! Just do it!! #Nike #Marketing

Building a consumer business. The simplest way to look at building a consumer brand is the 2 step framework. Do you have a right to play? The right to play within any category comes from having differentiated products. Not superior products, differentiated. Example, if everyone is selling 25g of protein per serve, 26g or even 27g is not really differentiated. Unless you discover an earth shattering consumer need for the additional. People can just have a little more than a scoop! But clear protein that looks like water, now we're talking. Do you have a right to win? The right to win comes from building a brand. And what building a brand means is possibly the most convoluted of subjects. People will start wanting to be the Nike's and Apple's of the world. Fact, Nike for the longest was making superior shoes for track and field athletes, so that they could run faster. None of the "just do it" etc. Just shoes for track and field athletes. First start by telling people who you are and what you do. Find a single message and keep repeating it, also, it better be a message that people care about. Then later, once you have a real business, try being the Nike of your category. That's it. Just these 2 things, well, not really. But its a good start. #d2cbrands #brandbuilding #consumerbrands #scaleup

Once again, a great article by Mark Ritson with a sharp analysis of how Nike's former CEO, John Donahoe, made strategic missteps that nearly pushed the brand into trouble: 👟 Product Stagnation: A lack of innovation led to less exciting products. 🔎 Short-Term Focus: Prioritized immediate gains over long-term brand value. 💻 DTC Obsession: Over-reliance on direct-to-consumer sales, weakening wholesale partnerships. 😷 Covid Misjudgment: Misread the lasting impact of pandemic-driven behaviors. Worth the read! 💡 #Marketing #Nike #Strategy #Branding

CMOs eager for a bigger seat at the boardroom table might finally get their wish. Companies are relearning that while brands take years to build, they can unravel in an instant — just ask Nike. Once the gold standard, Nike’s status is looking shaky thanks to its overzealous push into direct-to-consumer (courtesy of eBay alum and CEO John Donahoe). The move alienated key #retail partners, while constant discounting on its own site cheapened the brand. Throw in lackluster innovation, cost-cutting layoffs and the loss of its “cool” to upstarts like On and HOKA, and it’s clear: the business is stumbling to keep pace in the very markets it once dominated. #Nike In this piece by Sam Bradley and Seb Joseph, we speak to Sam Tomlinson of MediaSense.

Do we need another post about Nike and their failures? Yes, one more. I think you have read all about it by now, but let me summarize just in case. Nike got a new CEO in 2019 who made some drastic changes. Nike were to be a direct-to-consumer company, burning old retail relations that stretched back decades. Data driven - because the DTC sales were the most profitable so why not focus on those? And they stopped feeding the cash-cow, their world famous brand, thus milking it without feeding it: data driven and short-term sales oriented. If you get more sales per $ invested, why not? And they tore down their product organization, where specific product knowhow was put through the brand lens to create great experiences, and turned it into grey goo. Data driven, because there was overlap in work being done between the product teams. Efficiency rules! Data driven all the way - but then everything went south. My favourite comparison is that this is like driving a car by looking solely at the dashes, not at the road. You see, the problem is that a company does not consist of linear KPIs, it is a complex ecosystem. By maximizing isolated KPIs, they destroyed the system that made Nike Nike. Now a new CEO will try to rebuild it. Not an easy task, as Walesa said, you can turn an aquarium into fish soup, but you cant make a fish soup an aquarium... But what puzzles me is that people talk about Nike as if this is sensational. Because the same value destruction is taking place in many companies - I would say *most* companies - because they do not understand how value adding organizations work. They don't understand that you must look above myopic KPIs and see how things interact if you want to create something with a competitive edge. And in marketing, that the purpose of it all is to make things people want, rather than some linear online casino that reaps some ripe sales while destroying the brand experience for everyone else. What puzzles me is not that we talk about Nike, but that so few seem to see how the mistakes of Nike are repeated every day in so many companies. I have yet to hear of *one single person* tell me that their company looked at Nike´s mistakes, learned from it, and took action. But next time you are in the room and someone says things like "Let us focus on the most profitable customers and grow from loyalty" or "We just do marketing with direct attribution to sales" or "Products are generic anyway" or "This is what the data says" Remember Nike. And reply: "Just don´t."

Lessons we learn why even a Big Company like Nike can fail as well. While I write this post Nike is down by over 60% from its all-time high. Nike's recent struggles can be attributed to several factors. Despite holding 38% of the shoe market, Nike's sales have been falling, leading to its worst performance since the late 1990s. The company's shift towards a direct-to-consumer (DTC) strategy, initiated under CEO John Donohoe, involved severing many wholesale relationships and investing heavily in digital channels. While initially successful, this strategy faltered as consumers returned to brick-and-mortar stores post-pandemic, leading to an inventory surplus and significant financial losses. Additionally, management changes and increased competition from innovative, smaller brands have further eroded Nike's market position. Nike's efforts to regain ground include rekindling wholesale partnerships, emphasizing product innovation, and leveraging high-profile endorsements. Despite these challenges, Nike's dominant market position and ongoing strategic adjustments may help it recover in the long term. But what was the reason to such a drastic effect on its business. - Change of the Management and their style ? - Too much optimism on a single business model ? - Not understanding the Network Effect ? #networkeffect #businesscasestudy

Is Nike Losing Its Swoosh? A Look at the Challenges and Opportunities Is Nike Losing Its Swagger? A Data-Driven Look at the Challenges and Opportunities Let's dive deeper with data and insights: ---Financial Snapshot: Revenue growth is slowing, profitability is declining, and operating expenses are rising faster than income. While North American sales are increasing, margins there are lower. China, once a powerhouse market, is slowing down. --Shifting Strategies: Nike's "Consumer Direct Offense" has shifted distribution channels, but has it improved product innovation, brand positioning, or customer experience? The jury's still out. --Leadership Change: The departure of design and marketing veterans, coupled with the arrival of a tech-focused CEO, raises questions about Nike's future direction. --Competition Heats Up: While Nike remains a leader, brands like Lululemon and On are innovating and gaining market share. Beyond the numbers, here are some key takeaways: --Balancing Product & Operations: Nike needs to invest in both cutting-edge product development and efficient operations to stay ahead. --Redefining Brand Image: Can Nike evolve beyond its "sneaker brand" image and capture the growing athleisure and lifestyle market? Learning from Others: Inditex's focus on operations and brand image offers valuable lessons for Nike Nike, the iconic sportswear brand, is facing some challenges. While sales are growing, profitability is declining, and innovation seems stagnant. This analysis dives into the reasons behind these trends, considering factors like leadership changes, marketing strategy, and competition. Key points: --Leadership: The shift from a design-focused CEO to a tech-focused one might have impacted product innovation and brand identity. --Marketing: Nike's marketing might not be resonating with younger audiences as effectively as before. --Competition: Emerging brands are offering innovative products and strong customer experiences, challenging Nike's dominance. Question ??? What do you think Nike needs to do to regain its momentum? Share your thoughts in the comments . : #Nike #Sportswear #Retail #Innovation #Marketing #Competition #leadership #Fashion #cmoinsights #innovation #competition #linkedinnews #Brand #strategy

"Nike has been guilty of a cardinal sin: investing too much in performance marketing and not enough in brand" Lauren Trangmar shared some interesting industry news to the team this week. After a bit of a tough time, with stock price & revenue both decreasing, Nike has a new CEO. What I'm interested in is how they've got to that point. Previous CEO John Donohoe seemed like a digital-first type person which I normally quite like. But it seems Nike leant far too much into performance-marketing and becoming a 'direct to consumer' online brand. Therefore, not doing enough brand awareness. This is a conversation we are having with our clients more and more. What's interesting though, is despite all the negative press about revenue performance and stock price, Nike's search volume has been quite steady for the past 5 years. Maybe we should have seen it going up? Realistically how much more could this increase for a brand like this? Nice article from Tracksuit on this in the comments with supporting materials.