Once Trusted, Then Ousted: Customers Have Fired Nike's CEO

What strategic lessons can we learn from John Donahoe’s dismissal?

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On June 28th, 2024, Nike had its worst day in the stock market since going public in 1980. On September 19, Nike Inc. announced that John Donahoe, the company's CEO, was ousted.

What strategic lessons can we learn from the story?

Ten mistakes the Nike’s CEO made

1. Nike began to sell the Panda Dunk model on a large scale.

2. But it didn’t release enough models for athletes who’ve driven Nike’s business for decades. 

3. Nike switched from brand building to direct sales.

4. Nike made too big a bet on the loyalty program.

5. Nike began to cut out middlemen by ending relationships with more than half of its retail partners.

6. Donahoe lost the employees’ trust.

7. Donahoe eliminated categories. In his new strategy, products were no longer organized by sport, but by gender. 

8. Nike missed the boom in running culture.

9. Nike relied too much on data.

10. In December 2023, the company cut its revenue forecast. As Bloomberg puts it, Donahoe 'shifted into Bain mode' and unveiled a plan to cut $2 billion in costs, including getting rid of 2% of the workforce.

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