About this video

• Video Title: Nike CEO on Turnaround Plan, ACG Relaunch, Converse
• Channel: Bloomberg Television
• Speakers: Roma Bastik, Elliot Hill
• Duration: 27:26

Overview

This video features an interview with Nike CEO Elliot Hill, discussing the company's turnaround plan, the relaunch of the ACG (All Conditions Gear) brand, and strategies for Converse. Hill highlights key initiatives including innovation in apparel and footwear, expanding into the outdoor and trail running market, and leveraging major sporting events for brand visibility. He also addresses concerns about sales growth and profitability, while emphasizing Nike's core focus on sport and athlete-centric innovation.

Key takeaways

• ACG Relaunch: Nike is reintroducing the ACG brand, focusing on apparel and innovation for the trail running consumer, leveraging events like the Winter Olympics for global visibility and positioning.
• Brand Strategy: Nike utilizes major sporting events as "tempo moments" to showcase innovation and partnerships with athletes, translating this into coveted product lines.
• Outdoor Market Expansion: Nike sees significant opportunity in the growing outdoor and trail running market and is pursuing this through the ACG brand, emphasizing design, protection, and attitude.
• Innovation Focus: The company continues to invest in its Sports Research Lab to drive innovation, citing examples like the "Nike Mind" product and new footwear designs.
• Financial Performance & Investor Confidence: While acknowledging concerns about sales growth and profitability, Nike expresses confidence in its strategy, pointing to recent positive indicators like growth in North America and the running business.
• Brand Portfolio Management: Nike aims to strengthen its three core brands (Nike, Converse, Jordan) by segmenting them by sport and offering differentiated products.
• Converse Relaunch: Converse is being repositioned around the concept of "creators" in both culture and sports, with a focus on dimensionalizing the brand beyond its classic Chuck Taylor shoe.
• Global Market Approach: Nike is adapting its strategy for different markets, including China, by emphasizing sport, innovation, and localization, and is also refining its approach to wholesale partnerships and digital marketplaces.
• Partnerships and Collaborations: Nike is open to future partnerships, exemplified by the successful collaboration with SKIMS, to leverage the intersection of sport and culture.

Nike leverages major sporting events as "tempo moments" and "runways" to showcase innovation, partnerships with athletes, and new product lines. These events are seen as critical for galvanizing internal teams and translating relationships with top athletes into covetable, innovative products. The company also uses these moments to create a halo effect for the business side of sports.

The key product innovations mentioned include:

• Air Milano Jacket: Highlighted as an innovation in apparel.
• Alphalide Shoe: A new shoe with a full-length carbon plate.
• Nike Mind: A product that emerged from the Nike Sports Research Lab, utilizing neuroscience and reflexology for athlete performance.
• Radical Air Long Sleeve Top: Mentioned in the context of its performance and innovation, used by an athlete in extreme heat.

Nike is addressing investor concerns about sales growth and profitability by focusing on what they call "sport offense," which involves strengthening their portfolio of three brands (Nike, Converse, and Jordan) and segmenting them by sport. They are confident in their ability to achieve topline growth and improve the bottom line. Recent proof points include North America returning to growth, the running business seeing double-digit growth, and the wholesale business also returning to growth. They are emphasizing newness and freshness in their product offerings and are committed to driving growth and profitability for their retail partners, which they believe will lead to market share gains.

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