EH is a charismatic leader who is adored by the Nike Staff. After all he had pretty bad boots to fill. Post this re org we need to see Nike rebound otherwise it’s just a constant annual thing which will make people just exhausted from their battle scars and leave on their own accord. Best of luck Nike
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Same old, same old.
New leader, excitement, strategy revisit, talent shed, short term gain in market due to potential operation savings, no innovation, slump.
We blamed JD for doing this. We now see our new CEO doing same.
@bt+1k4bbzvmk is correct. While there are a few important things Nike can and should do to right the ship, it’s also facing larger economic and market challenges outside its own control.
The official unemployment rate is now up to 4.7%. Many will tell you that number paints an overly rosy picture since it doesn’t account for the increasing number of people who have been unemployed 6+ months, or who have simply stopped looking. It also doesn’t account for underemployment…people who have lost higher paying jobs and are working lower-level jobs just to pay the bills.
When you account for everything the government number doesn’t, some estimate that the real unemployment rate may be 15%+. Now add in a job market that has almost come to a standstill, consumers carrying various forms of debt that is measured in trillions of dollars, inflation combined with a dollar that’s now worth 7% less than it was on January 1, and a S&P500 that’s being propped-up by “The Magnificent Seven”… a concentrated handful of seven tech stocks that now account for a full 34% of the market’s total value. Those other 493 stocks? They’re mostly stagnant with a rate of return barely above inflation.
Oh, and don’t forget that in Nike’s market space there is currently more competition than ever, along with consumers who have less brand loyalty or affinity than when Nike was the undisputed king of this industry. I was reminded of this when I recently went into a Di-k’s Sporting Goods and saw that the biggest & most prominent footwear display was for Hoka. They had a lot of Nike footwear too but its prominence amongst all the other brands was noticeably less than in previous years.
So yeah, EH has his work cut out for him. The important takeaway is, even if Nike manages to do everything right there’s no guarantee the next few years won’t be extremely challenging all the same. I do think if any company can survive the current environment, Nike is a top contender. But again, some of the larger obstacles are outside Nike’s control and have the potential to make the next few years difficult. To say the least.
First reply nailed it. The middle management VPs and SDs are the problem. Way too many in those roles have no business running entire functions. Many don’t care about the mission or consumer, all they focus on is protecting themselves or making themselves look good. Many are incompetent, toxic, or all of the above. We may very well be past the tipping point as I’m not sure any number of reorgs could fix this.
OK this thread has some of the most insightful, fact based and interesting comments I've read in awhile.
Nothing to add beyond that but a head nod.
For people laid off since he joined, the sign is already worn off.
It's going to be hard to get a clear turnaround when consumer goods are not doing hot. The economy is experience stagflation with the market being held up by AI stocks. We're one bad NVIDIA quarterly report from a bubble burst. All this to say is people aren't buying shoes/clothes as much or as often. I'd be happy if we get clear cut innovation in our sport verticals to create differentiation for when the economy improves.
Its already exhausting, is this your first reorg, been through many. What is very disappointing is how EH had that Quarterly call with the stock exchange and pumped them up, only to put his entire staff down 19 minutes later in the all company meeting. EH we are beat up by CEOs, we are exhausted, we have been busting our buns since covid. We need EH to experience what the workers are going through and be more respectful of the hard work we put in. It wasnt the workers fault, Its your mid management VPs, SD's that can't write and follow business plans and make decisions. And please get some Design talent stop chasing in the market trends. Next few months will be hard for the workers, until LT gets more business smart. EH thanks for making your first months unbareable for the workers.