Nike boss vows to restore sport as core brand value

Nike's new CEO has pledged to curtail discounting and re-establish the sportswear giant as a premium brand centred on athletes.

Elliott Hill, 61, a long-time Nike executive who returned in October following a drop in the company’s share price, acknowledged that excessive promotions had undermined the brand’s premium positioning, The Times reports.

"Being premium also means full price," Hill stated, highlighting that Nike’s website currently offers an equal split between full-price and discounted products.

Speaking to investors on Thursday, after the company reported a steep quarterly sales decline, Hill criticised the retailer’s over-reliance on promotions and a shift away from its core focus on sports. He noted that Nike had been accused of prioritising lifestyle products at the expense of its leadership in traditional sportswear categories. He said the retailer had "lost [its] obsession with sport," he said. "We haven’t been maximising our strengths. Moving forward, we will lead with sport and put the athlete at the centre of every decision."

Hill committed to introducing innovative products each quarter and investing in bold brand campaigns to drive consumer engagement. He also outlined plans to decentralise operations, empowering local teams to strengthen connections with athletes and consumers.

The company has faced mounting pressure from agile competitors like Roger Federer-backed On and Deckers’ Hoka, as well as a slowdown in Chinese sales. Hill, who previously served as Nike’s president of consumer marketplace before departing in 2020, has returned to steer its turnaround strategy, succeeding John Donahoe.

Hill acknowledged that the company’s dependence on a limited range of sportswear styles had constrained its potential, commenting: "The reliance on a handful of sportswear silhouettes is not who we are. We will get back to leveraging deep athlete insights to accelerate innovation, design, product creation and storytelling."

Nike also announced plans to reclaim its dominance in running footwear, with a renewed focus on the Pegasus, Structure, and Vomero. Next year, the company will release multiple iterations of these lines across a variety of price points.

Nike’s second-quarter results showed a 26% drop in net income to $1.2 billion (£960 million), with sales falling 8% to $12.4 billion (£9.9 billion), an improvement on the 10.4% decline in the previous quarter. Analysts had predicted a 9.4% drop, according to LSEG estimates.

Despite a 28% year-to-date decline in Nike’s share price, the stock rose 0.7% to $77.60 (£62) in after-hours trading. Hill cautioned that the turnaround plan would weigh on near-term performance but emphasised a long-term focus to deliver shareholder value.