Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. Welcome to our Bloomberg
Speaker 1: audiences worldwide. Romaine Bostik here in Milan, Italy with Elliott Hill,
Speaker 1: the CEO of Nike. Great to have you here, Elliott,
Speaker 1: it's great to be here.
Speaker 2: Thanks so much for having me and this great city.
Speaker 1: Well, thanks for inviting me. You didn't just invite me
Speaker 1: here to Italy. You invited me to actually oversee what
Speaker 1: has become a big relaunch here of your ACG brand
Speaker 1: here at the Milano Cortina Wonder Games.
Speaker 3: Yes, yeah, it's been it's part of Clearly, we led
Speaker 3: with some innovation in the apparel and air Milano jacket,
Speaker 3: but we also use this as an opportunity to reintroduce,
Speaker 3: if you will, the ACG brand to the trail running consumer.
Speaker 3: And we thought there was no better place to do
Speaker 3: it than here in Milan, when the eyes of the
Speaker 3: world were watching, but also with the backdrop of the
Speaker 3: Alps and the Dolomites. And I don't know if you
Speaker 3: saw the train that we brought in the ACG Express
Speaker 3: where we we brought consumers and we took them to
Speaker 3: the wild we call it, and went took them out
Speaker 3: on a trail Run and it's been been a really
Speaker 3: really fun launch for us, and I think it has
Speaker 3: done a great job of positioning the brand moving forward.
Speaker 1: Well, you've guys Nike, I should say, there's been masters
Speaker 1: at branding. You've been in the CEO chair now for
Speaker 1: sixteen months or so, you've been a Nike for much
Speaker 1: longer than that. I want to talk a little bit though,
Speaker 1: about how these types of launches, the innovation that you see,
Speaker 1: the buzz that it creates, how that actually translates into sales.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 2: So I think a couple of things.
Speaker 3: Number One, these moments, these sport moments are critically important
Speaker 3: to our brand and frankly to the industry.
Speaker 2: Their tentpole moments.
Speaker 3: Again, whether it's an Olympics and a Winter Olympics, a
Speaker 3: World Cup, a Super Bowl, NBAL Star Game, and frankly,
Speaker 3: they're really I think galvanizing moments for our teams internally
Speaker 3: to make certain.
Speaker 2: We show up at our best and we.
Speaker 3: Use those moments to take the relationships that we have
Speaker 3: with the world's greatest athletes and translate that into coveted, beautiful,
Speaker 3: innovative product.
Speaker 2: There's only Nike.
Speaker 3: Can do and so these are critical moments for our
Speaker 3: company and for our brands, and no question, they are
Speaker 3: the moments that can help create a halo over over
Speaker 3: the business.
Speaker 2: Side of the of the of the sport as well.
Speaker 1: When we talk about the evolution of nigietri Core. You
Speaker 1: are a road running company. Back the most recent quarter
Speaker 1: with the relaunch of the Romeo and the pegasust line
Speaker 1: twenty percent growth in your running business. There's another aspect
Speaker 1: of this though, that's been picking up a report that
Speaker 1: went viral a couple of years ago about the explosion
Speaker 1: of off road running trail running if you will, and
Speaker 1: ACG I would assume fits into that in some capacity.
Speaker 1: Have you actually sat down and kind of gone over
Speaker 1: what the market is for trail.
Speaker 4: Running, No question.
Speaker 3: So when we and by the way, it's not just
Speaker 3: trail running, it's the overall outdoor industry, if you will,
Speaker 3: And there's no there's no question that consumers are there
Speaker 3: is a movement to getting outdoors, and whether it's in
Speaker 3: China or in Europe or the United States. And so
Speaker 3: we looked at the overall outdoor market and the opportunity
Speaker 3: that exists there and it is there is some crossover,
Speaker 3: but it is incremental opportunity from a branding and positioning
Speaker 3: and a revenue perspective. So we decided to go after
Speaker 3: that through the lens of Trail Running, which is a
Speaker 3: point of strength from us where we can bring innovation
Speaker 3: to the market and newness and freshness, and decided to
Speaker 3: do it with the ACG brand because there is some
Speaker 3: awareness already around that brand, and it has an attitude
Speaker 3: and that we think is new and fresh and it
Speaker 3: brings something different to the outdoor market. So we're really
Speaker 3: excited about what ACG is going to do for us
Speaker 3: long term.
Speaker 4: So we're going to see more products.
Speaker 3: You will see, no question, you will see us continue
Speaker 3: to invest in the AGG brand. It's going to be
Speaker 3: around design, protection, attitude, innovation, and you'll see a six
Speaker 3: stand beyond Trail Running moving forward.
Speaker 1: I'm curious though ACG has been around for a long time.
Speaker 1: It started out as a performance.
Speaker 2: Brand stop of the Top of the Mountain.
Speaker 4: Top of the Mountain, a bunch of K two climbers.
Speaker 1: You've got some reason decided to do out a pair
Speaker 1: of Nike sneakers and they sent them back to Nike said, look,
Speaker 1: here's some feedback, here's how we can make this better.
Speaker 1: But ACG has been through some fits and starts, and
Speaker 1: I am curious as to why there hasn't been that
Speaker 1: continuity in the brand.
Speaker 2: Was it the.
Speaker 1: Marketing of it, Was it the innovation or lack thereof what?
Speaker 2: No? I think.
Speaker 3: I think with anything, it comes down to positioning. And
Speaker 3: I'm really excited about where the team's going to take
Speaker 3: this brand. We're calling it We're going for the wild Ones.
Speaker 3: So you think about the outdoor world with a little
Speaker 3: bit of an attitude and a swagger, with an element
Speaker 3: and an approach around design and innovation, and so again
Speaker 3: I'm excited for what the team has come up with
Speaker 3: and the positioning and the opportunity that lies in.
Speaker 1: You signed a lot of athletes under the ACE the
Speaker 1: Nike ACD brand. Now you're sponsoring events in that space
Speaker 1: as well. There has been I guess some concern about
Speaker 1: this idea that a lot of what you see in
Speaker 1: the outdoor space, particularly when it comes to ultra marathons
Speaker 1: and a lot of the off road type of racing,
Speaker 1: that there's a certain counterculture to that. And how does Nike,
Speaker 1: which is probably one of the biggest sportswear companies in
Speaker 1: the world, a mainstream brand.
Speaker 4: Are you at risk of maybe.
Speaker 1: Alienating some of those folks who just kind of want
Speaker 1: to be on the fringe.
Speaker 3: I think that's that is a risk if we just
Speaker 3: showed up as the big bag Nike. But I think
Speaker 3: this team, and if you were able to meet the
Speaker 3: team that we've put on this they live and breathe
Speaker 3: this space, so they understand it deeply. And we're trying
Speaker 3: to show up and without question in the most authentic
Speaker 3: way from an athlete perspective. And we've signed some as
Speaker 3: you've already pointed out, some of the greatest athletes, and
Speaker 3: how do we bring something new.
Speaker 2: And different to the sport?
Speaker 3: And I don't know if you saw what happened at
Speaker 3: Western States with Caleb shows up at the starting line.
Speaker 3: It's over one hundred degrees out and he's wearing, you know,
Speaker 3: the radical air long sleeve top. People are looking in like,
Speaker 3: are you crazy running in long sleeve?
Speaker 2: But it's that.
Speaker 3: But it's about performance and innovation that helped him obviously
Speaker 3: win the race and set the second fastest time. So
Speaker 3: we're going to come at it through the lens of innovation,
Speaker 3: design and an attitude that I think is new, fresh
Speaker 3: and Frankly, I believe and we believe the outdoor consumer
Speaker 3: is ready for So.
Speaker 1: The Airflow shirt that Caleb was wearing got a lot
Speaker 1: of attention when you.
Speaker 4: Look at the outdoor space.
Speaker 1: So, I mean, there are a lot of names that
Speaker 1: already dominates your Ultra solemnon smart Wool, Patagonia. Is this
Speaker 1: strategy of going for that outdoor consumer. Is that actually
Speaker 1: playing offense or are you catching up to the rest
Speaker 1: of the folks.
Speaker 3: I think we're always on the offense. We actually have
Speaker 3: a maxim that says on the offense always, and so
Speaker 3: the team's definitely approaching it from an offensive perspective and
Speaker 3: trying to make certain that you know that we're coming
Speaker 3: with something new, fresh perspective. And so far, the consumers
Speaker 3: responding extremely well to the product, and it's not just
Speaker 3: their parel conversation the same thing and.
Speaker 2: The I don't know if you saw the Alpha Fly.
Speaker 3: Shoe that we also launched with the full length carbon
Speaker 3: plate and something new and different to the sport.
Speaker 1: I've seen a lot of these products, Alpha Fly, the
Speaker 1: hyper Ice, I'm forgetting a couple others.
Speaker 4: The Nike mind.
Speaker 1: All these things come out and I am curious these
Speaker 1: are new products, and they seem like risky products. And
Speaker 1: forgive me for saying this, but it seemed like for
Speaker 1: a while Nike wasn't taking as much risk. It was
Speaker 1: relying on you know, your classics, your dunks, you know,
Speaker 1: retro styles and such.
Speaker 4: Are you giving your team a.
Speaker 1: Little bit more of a leash to be able to
Speaker 1: sort of come up with these crazy ideas and try
Speaker 1: to make them into something.
Speaker 3: I think innovation with the athlete in mind has been
Speaker 3: at the harder Nike from day one, and so as
Speaker 3: I've come in, I am nurturing the design and innovation teams,
Speaker 3: and we have one of the world's largest sports of
Speaker 3: research lab, if not the largest sports research lab in
Speaker 3: the world, in the Nike Sports Research.
Speaker 2: That you were able to see that and how we.
Speaker 3: Nurture those teams to dream and think and solve problems
Speaker 3: and then translate that into beautiful, coveted, innovative product that
Speaker 3: the consumer wants, needs and maybe sometimes it doesn't even
Speaker 3: know they need. That's what I'm trying to bring to
Speaker 3: this role, and too the team is to make sure
Speaker 3: they understand the importance of it and we nurture it.
Speaker 1: But your return, you were a Nike for three decades.
Speaker 1: You left for about four years or so. At some
Speaker 1: point you got a call to come back and to
Speaker 1: actually be the CEO of this company.
Speaker 4: Sixteen months roughly.
Speaker 1: Now that you've been in that chair, you talk about
Speaker 1: that Nike Innovation Lab.
Speaker 4: I remember somebody says something to me.
Speaker 1: You could tell me if this is true and forgive
Speaker 1: my French, But there was some matra going around, some
Speaker 1: momo saying create epic.
Speaker 4: Was that from you or was that from film McCartney?
Speaker 2: Where did that come from? I don't know if I
Speaker 2: can take credit for it.
Speaker 3: I know so where that came from is Phil and
Speaker 3: his leadership team Martin. Here today, we're sitting around thinking
Speaker 3: about the future and more importantly what we need to
Speaker 3: do at this moment in time and always here at Nike.
Speaker 3: And so yeah, I guess I can confirm that is true.
Speaker 3: That's one of the mantras coming out of that building.
Speaker 3: And uh and frankly, I love it. I love the
Speaker 3: irreverence of it. I like the attitude of it. I
Speaker 3: like the commitment around it. And I keep telling this
Speaker 3: team run, I don't ask for forget or for permission,
Speaker 3: ask for forgiveness and They're bringing some really interesting things
Speaker 3: to the marketplace.
Speaker 4: Right, and that translates to the consumer.
Speaker 3: The consumer Libe, Well, you touched on a Nike Mind
Speaker 3: that came out of the Nike Sports Research Lab. This
Speaker 3: idea of how do you use neuroscience and reflexology underfoot
Speaker 3: reflexology to get the athlete ready for their performance, that
Speaker 3: came out of the Sports Research Lab and it has
Speaker 3: now launched into the consumer and there's been a tremendous
Speaker 3: demand for it. It was selling I just only wish
Speaker 3: we would have made more, but it's selling out. There's
Speaker 3: a consumers responding to it, not only from what it
Speaker 3: does for them from an innovation perspective, but esthetically how
Speaker 3: the product looks.
Speaker 1: You spend a lot of time meeting with your athletes,
Speaker 1: meeting with your designers as well. You also have to spend,
Speaker 1: as a CEO of a public company, a lot of
Speaker 1: time meeting with investors.
Speaker 4: Have they bought into it yet?
Speaker 3: I think there's no question. If you see where the
Speaker 3: stock we've held up over the sixteen months, the focus
Speaker 3: on sport, the focus on growth. They understand then the
Speaker 3: portfolio that we have three strong brands, Nike, Converse in Jordan.
Speaker 3: The focus on sport and how we're segmenting each of
Speaker 3: the brands by sport and then ultimately paying it off
Speaker 3: in one hundred and ninety countries around the world is
Speaker 3: only Nike can do with the size and scale.
Speaker 2: That we are.
Speaker 1: But when I talk to analysts on Wall Street, they're
Speaker 1: relatively complementary of what you've done, but they are still
Speaker 1: concerned about sales growth, which is still relatively flat. The
Speaker 1: concern about profitability, which to a certain extent is not
Speaker 1: quite there, or at least not to their liking.
Speaker 4: When do you get there?
Speaker 1: When do you get there to a sustainable growth rate
Speaker 1: on revenue and more importantly, generating more profits and wider
Speaker 1: marg Yes.
Speaker 3: One of the things that we've talked a lot about
Speaker 3: is what is the top line growth rate with our
Speaker 3: investors and the bottom line expectations that we're confident that
Speaker 3: we'll be able to get there. We're confident that the
Speaker 3: sport offense is the path forward. Those three brands, a
Speaker 3: portfolio of brands, portfolio of sports, footwork, parel, accessories, and
Speaker 3: then again paying it off in the marketplace. And so
Speaker 3: the newness and freshness is working. We had some proof
Speaker 3: points in the last quarter, North America being back to growth.
Speaker 2: Which it was a strong result for US.
Speaker 3: It's our largest reporting segment, are running back to double
Speaker 3: digit growth. And then of course our wholesale business, which
Speaker 3: is critically important to the future of our business to
Speaker 3: serve consumers wherever they choose to shop, also back to growth.
Speaker 1: So running North America was up more than twenty percent.
Speaker 1: Overall in North America was up nine percent across the board.
Speaker 1: I want to talk about the wholesale Dell Yeah, in
Speaker 1: North America that did great. I think was roughly about
Speaker 1: twenty percent as well. But there's been some criticism that
Speaker 1: maybe the sell in that you've done is maybe too
Speaker 1: heavy into North America and not necessarily broad based across
Speaker 1: the globe.
Speaker 3: The focus was across the entire globe in terms of
Speaker 3: the wholesale side of the business.
Speaker 2: I think the team in.
Speaker 3: North America, led by Tom Petty, who's seasoned veteran, He
Speaker 3: has the relationships.
Speaker 4: He had to say.
Speaker 2: No, that's pe d d ie for.
Speaker 3: Correction, but he is tremendous understanding of the marketplace, the consumer,
Speaker 3: and he and his team have done a really nice
Speaker 3: job getting back and with the wholesale partners and driving
Speaker 3: that level of growth, and you'll start to see that
Speaker 3: across the rest of the world as well. Confident in
Speaker 3: the leaders that we have in place and the desire
Speaker 3: for our retail partners to serve their consumers. We have
Speaker 3: a joint consumer and they want access to our brands.
Speaker 4: That relationship better with them.
Speaker 1: I mean Nike gravitated away from those retail partners to
Speaker 1: a certain extent back in the early twenty twenties. I
Speaker 1: know they kind of tried to reset under Donaho before
Speaker 1: you then came in. When you talk about being able
Speaker 1: to sell to Amazon or Macis or whoever else here, they're.
Speaker 4: Comfortable with what you're giving them selection wise prices.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think there's there's no question we're having to
Speaker 3: pull a lot of our products forward and to really
Speaker 3: drive that innovation and that newness and freshness. I think
Speaker 3: we have an opportunity around depth that we're still working
Speaker 3: through to make sure that we have the depth to
Speaker 3: drive the revenue and profits that they expect from us.
Speaker 3: And we are committed to doing that because ultimately, when
Speaker 3: we're driving gross and profitability for our retailers, that's how
Speaker 3: we take market share, and that's that's certainly a I
Speaker 3: think something that I am really challenging our team around
Speaker 3: is that growth, profitability and then ultimately taken back market share.
Speaker 1: What's the balance now between what you're doing with the
Speaker 1: wholesale partners and what you're doing with your own Nike Digital,
Speaker 1: which you're seeing a lot of softness contraction, if you will.
Speaker 1: Is that just the natural transition as you try to
Speaker 1: sort of right size things or is there something else
Speaker 1: going on too?
Speaker 2: No?
Speaker 3: No, no, So I think I talked a lot about
Speaker 3: in the five Actions, I talk about an elevated and
Speaker 3: integrated marketplace, and really what the team now has lined
Speaker 3: up on it's making certain that wherever a consumer chooses
Speaker 3: to shop for our brand, we show up in a thoughtful,
Speaker 3: meaningful way.
Speaker 2: And what does that mean.
Speaker 3: It's the consumer that shops that, whether it's digital, physical,
Speaker 3: owned a partner, making certain that we have the right
Speaker 3: assortment for that consumer and the right presentation, the right depth,
Speaker 3: and the right level of service around it to create
Speaker 3: the overall experience. And that's what we're driving right now,
Speaker 3: and that's where our focus is.
Speaker 1: How closely do you work with those retailers? I mean,
Speaker 1: I saw you had last over the holiday in the
Speaker 1: US something with urban outfitters kind of a pop up there.
Speaker 1: Are you trying to be more integrated into what your
Speaker 1: displays look like in those YEA.
Speaker 3: The elevation piece that I talk about is being proud
Speaker 3: of where our brand shows up wherever. That is again
Speaker 3: digital physical owner partner, And it's not just the assortment,
Speaker 3: it is the presentation of that assortment because at the
Speaker 3: point of sale, when the consumers interacting with our brand,
Speaker 3: it does it can't just be about the product. It
Speaker 3: has to be about the stories that we tell and
Speaker 3: the beauty of it. So there's no question that we're
Speaker 3: putting an emphasis on really elevating the premium nature.
Speaker 1: Of our brands in terms of being able to preserve
Speaker 1: or that premium nature. I know you've pulled some inventory, yeah,
Speaker 1: but you're trying to right size that. How much further
Speaker 1: do you have to go to get inventory levels back
Speaker 1: to a situation that are going to not cost you
Speaker 1: any money or any additional money, but at the same
Speaker 1: time puts you on a better path with the r
Speaker 1: ZERU supply.
Speaker 2: But you know, we touched on it last quarter.
Speaker 3: We're feeling good about you know, we talk about the
Speaker 3: big three, the Air Force one, the AJA one and
Speaker 3: the Dunk Air Force one. Frankly is back to growth.
Speaker 3: So we feel good about the work that the teams
Speaker 3: are done. And more importantly than clean up, because I'm
Speaker 3: like you, I'm tired of talking about the I'm more
Speaker 3: about the innovation. What I'm most proud of is the
Speaker 3: growth that we're seeing and running trainings coming behind that.
Speaker 2: You'll see it in football, global football or soccer. As
Speaker 2: we roll into on.
Speaker 1: The conference call, that that soccer global football, if you will,
Speaker 1: was more probably further along than some of the other
Speaker 1: sports that you're involved.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and again we talked about it earlier, those tempole moments.
Speaker 3: The World Cup is a tempole pole moment and so
Speaker 3: our cross functional team on that that comes to there,
Speaker 3: comes to work every single day and focuses on the
Speaker 3: game of football. That team hustled to make certain when
Speaker 3: we launch.
Speaker 2: For the World Cup. From Football our Boots.
Speaker 3: We have three really silos, three different types of play
Speaker 3: with innovation each of those silos.
Speaker 4: And it gets to this idea too of also curation.
Speaker 1: I mean, it's one thing to offer a wide variety
Speaker 1: of things, but in terms of in your retail channels,
Speaker 1: how much more curation are we going to see so
Speaker 1: that you know, people kind of can be able to
Speaker 1: zero in on exactly.
Speaker 2: What they are.
Speaker 3: Yeah, when you think about that marketplace that we talked
Speaker 3: about earlier, Yeah, I think there's no question that we
Speaker 3: have to be thoughtful about the specific consumers that shop
Speaker 3: in each of the stores or retail partners, and being
Speaker 3: thoughtful about the assortments, and we have to be much
Speaker 3: more curated so that we create the differentiation in the
Speaker 3: marketplace which allows each of our retail partners and ourselves
Speaker 3: to drive the revenue profits that we need.
Speaker 2: And so there's no question.
Speaker 3: We're going to be much more thoughtful and curated in
Speaker 3: the way we think about the marketplace.
Speaker 1: And speaking of curation, I know North America is doing great.
Speaker 1: There's still a lot of concerns about the contraction we're
Speaker 1: seeing in China. Some of the criticism has been just
Speaker 1: the model. The business model in China overall, with their
Speaker 1: guards to apparel, is a little bit different. There was
Speaker 1: also this idea that Nike stores weren't as cur rated
Speaker 1: as what customers there wanted. When do we start to
Speaker 1: see a bit more improvement there? I know, you've got
Speaker 1: a new.
Speaker 2: Head of Asia right now. Yeah, we do have a
Speaker 2: new head of Asia.
Speaker 3: I'm excited about Kathy Sparks and what she brings to
Speaker 3: the market. So over twenty five years of experienced deep
Speaker 3: retail consumer, she understands our brands and our culture. So
Speaker 3: excited about what she and the team because it's going
Speaker 3: to take the entire team to do. As you think
Speaker 3: about China, we have to lead with sport and innovation
Speaker 3: and that is the focus as we move forward, whether
Speaker 3: it's through running, basketball is obviously big there, football, tennis
Speaker 3: is on the rise, and so you'll see us reposition
Speaker 3: the brand through the lens of sport. And it's not
Speaker 3: just through product, but it's through to athletes and the
Speaker 3: stories we tell much more local. Another opportunity that we
Speaker 3: have is around the digital marketplace and making certain that
Speaker 3: we clean up the digital marketplace and then ultimately pay
Speaker 3: it off in the market in physical retail. And again
Speaker 3: I'm excited about what the team's putting in place and
Speaker 3: how we can move forward.
Speaker 1: You know, you have put a big focus on the
Speaker 1: athlete and refocus on sports, and it wasn't one of
Speaker 1: the first things you did when you got back. You
Speaker 1: kind of worked with them to kind of make sure
Speaker 1: that that licensing agreement got extended. I am curious. I mean,
Speaker 1: obviously American Football, if you will, I mean, how important
Speaker 1: is it to have those types of agreements with the
Speaker 1: major sporting agencies.
Speaker 3: So yeah, My first just really quickly story, My first
Speaker 3: slide that I put up when I walked out on
Speaker 3: stage October fourteenth was We're a sport company and we're
Speaker 3: a growth company. And unbelievable applause in the room and
Speaker 3: so there was no question We're focused on sport and yes,
Speaker 3: the story is true. One of the first phone calls
Speaker 3: I made was to Roger Goodell, and we have a
Speaker 3: long standing relationship and we're excited about the extension that
Speaker 3: we have in place. Our brand showing up on the athletes,
Speaker 3: the teams, and the leagues around the world, no question,
Speaker 3: helps position us. And we use those moments as our
Speaker 3: runways and how do we elevate and drive innovation and
Speaker 3: design and look and feel that we can then leverage
Speaker 3: across the entire portfolio that we have of brands in
Speaker 3: different sports and then footwork, pairl accessories so critically important
Speaker 3: to the success of our company moving forward.
Speaker 4: You have a big focus on sports and the athlete.
Speaker 1: You are still to a certain extent a lifestyle brand,
Speaker 1: fashion brand, if you will.
Speaker 4: Whether you want it to be or not. What's the
Speaker 4: strategy with that.
Speaker 1: I mean, you have the partnership with Nike Skims, obviously,
Speaker 1: you have your own internal design that is very fashion forward. Here,
Speaker 1: what's the balance between going after that customer who maybe
Speaker 1: just wants it for lifestyle and fashion and those who
Speaker 1: are looking for actual performance.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I think the key is.
Speaker 3: What separates us from any other fashion brand is sport
Speaker 3: is innovator, is design, is the athlete. And I think
Speaker 3: it's critically important that whatever we do and whenever and
Speaker 3: we do and we will go after the sportswear business,
Speaker 3: we do it through the lens of sport and the
Speaker 3: athlete and what the athlete wants needs not only on
Speaker 3: the pitch, field, coret track, but also how they want
Speaker 3: to show up from a lifestyle perspective off those you know,
Speaker 3: off the field pitches, et cetera. So, yeah, it is
Speaker 3: a big business, It'll continue to be a big business,
Speaker 3: but we are positioned in it through the lens of sport.
Speaker 3: We even call it Nike Sportswear versus lifestyle or fashion.
Speaker 4: Are you happy so far with the partnership with Skins.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's gone really well the launches.
Speaker 3: I think the combination of our two brands and the
Speaker 3: understanding that we have around performance and innovation in terms
Speaker 3: of some of the materials, what they bring from a
Speaker 3: body shaping perspective, and then from a footwear perspective, what
Speaker 3: we bring to the table, and the consumers responded. We
Speaker 3: just launched last week here in Europe, so we've now
Speaker 3: moved into Europe with it and had a great launch
Speaker 3: both in Paris and London.
Speaker 2: So really excited.
Speaker 1: Do you anticipate doing additional partnerships or is this kind
Speaker 1: of a one off?
Speaker 2: Oh?
Speaker 3: I think in our world you always have to keep
Speaker 3: our eyes and ears open and our minds open to
Speaker 3: potential partnerships because I think the world in this collision
Speaker 3: of sport and culture is only going to accelerate, and
Speaker 3: it's our responsibility to make certain that we keep the
Speaker 3: aperture wide.
Speaker 1: But you've been at the Nike has been at the
Speaker 1: nexus of that for years, for decades really, and I
Speaker 1: am curious, like what's more stable. I mean, is it
Speaker 1: the revenue that's generated from the lifestyle fashion folks, the
Speaker 1: cool kids, if you will, or on the performance side.
Speaker 3: There's no question that we will always run our brands and.
Speaker 2: Our businesses through the world of sport.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: That is who we are, that's what authentic, that's what
Speaker 3: separates us, that's what differentiates us. So sport, without question,
Speaker 3: will be the driver of our business moving forward with the.
Speaker 1: Jordan brand, I mean, do you view that as a
Speaker 1: performance brand or a lifestyle brand.
Speaker 3: The Jordan brand was founded in the game of basketball,
Speaker 3: and I think that the opportunity for the Jordan brand
Speaker 3: is to continue to dimensionalize through sport.
Speaker 2: We're lining up those.
Speaker 3: Teams that I've talked about, those cross functional teams against
Speaker 3: Jordan basketball, golf, which is true to who he is
Speaker 3: as a person. It's one of his passions. And so
Speaker 3: we have Jordan Goff that also, by the way, had
Speaker 3: a really nice launch football and baseball, played baseball, and
Speaker 3: then of course streetwear. So we are pushing to dimensionalize
Speaker 3: the brand beyond just streetwear, but also position it in
Speaker 3: sport and not just about footwear, but also about peril.
Speaker 4: I want to say on basketball for a second.
Speaker 1: Obviously, Jordan is just a singular figure that not only
Speaker 1: helped the NBA, but certainly helped Nike. You look at
Speaker 1: the last NBA Championships with Shay gilligas Alexander with the
Speaker 1: Oklahoma Thunder winning wearing Converse, a brand that has.
Speaker 4: Struggled a little bit.
Speaker 1: Here, do you see any potential of using somebody like
Speaker 1: Shay to maybe help to build up a little bit
Speaker 1: more buzz for that brand.
Speaker 2: No question.
Speaker 3: I love what the team's doing and repositioning the Converse
Speaker 3: brand around the idea of creators.
Speaker 2: And there are creators, of course in the world of culture,
Speaker 2: but they're also.
Speaker 3: Creators in the games that we play, and in the
Speaker 3: case of basketball, there's probably no more special creator than
Speaker 3: Sae gilgis not only in the way that he plays
Speaker 3: on the court, but that he shows up from a
Speaker 3: from a style perspective and from a Converse I think
Speaker 3: we became very focused on the Chuck and you'll start
Speaker 3: to see his dimensionalized through basketball, through skate and then
Speaker 3: of course the Jack Purcell, which is sitting out there
Speaker 3: as well, so you'll start.
Speaker 2: To see it more.
Speaker 4: So you're still the messing in that.
Speaker 3: No question, and so you'll start to see more of
Speaker 3: a a broad approach to the Converse brand moving.
Speaker 1: Forward, there's no plans to sell off Converse. I mean,
Speaker 1: I'm sure you've heard the chatter.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I've heard the chatter, and I've received even some
Speaker 3: of the phone calls. But no, we're committed to the
Speaker 3: Converse brand. We see it as an opportunity to address
Speaker 3: a different consumer than is the core consumer at Nike
Speaker 3: or the core consumer at Jordan. It's a separate and
Speaker 3: distinct consumer and it offers us a separate and distinct
Speaker 3: opportunity from a revenue and profitability perspective.
Speaker 1: There was a memo that was floating around the Bloomberg
Speaker 1: News obtained earlier this week saying that there were layoffs
Speaker 1: coming at the Converse brand.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Well, I think anytime that.
Speaker 3: We come through with a new strategy and a new
Speaker 3: approach and a new leadership and dimensionalizing the brand, we're
Speaker 3: having to look to where we reposition resources. And again,
Speaker 3: I'm excited about the strategy that we have in place
Speaker 3: and the structure that we're putting in place. It's unfortunate,
Speaker 3: uh and and I'm empathetic to some of those teammates,
Speaker 3: but yeah, we're having a reposition somewhere we put our
Speaker 3: resources as we move forward.
Speaker 1: But as you sort of move in this process sixteen
Speaker 1: months on the job right now, I don't want to
Speaker 1: ask you how long you're going to be here.
Speaker 4: I mean, you know, you're sixty two, you're so young.
Speaker 2: But what is the called me out on my age?
Speaker 4: I mean, you know it up, but you're I mean,
Speaker 4: what are you like? Only you're only the fifth CEO
Speaker 4: of this company.
Speaker 2: By the way, so.
Speaker 1: You're you're You're in rare air here pun intended. And
Speaker 1: I guess the question is like, what do you want
Speaker 1: this company to be? So when you finally leave, you know,
Speaker 1: maybe many years from now, and that six CEO takes over,
Speaker 1: what is the company that you leave behind?
Speaker 4: What is Nike?
Speaker 2: Uh?
Speaker 3: So here, here's what I'd say. I think Nike is
Speaker 3: like a relay race, and we have a saying that
Speaker 3: at Nike there is no finish line. And in that
Speaker 3: relay race, I think it's all of our responsibilities, it
Speaker 3: doesn't matter what job you're in, is to take that
Speaker 3: baton and to run as hard and fast as you can,
Speaker 3: and to when you hand the baton off, leave it
Speaker 3: better than you received it.
Speaker 2: And that's my responsibility. And that's exactly what I expect
Speaker 2: to do all right.
Speaker 4: Well, Elliott, really appreciate you joining us.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's my pleasure.
Speaker 3: I really appreciate you spending time with us and allowing
Speaker 3: us to tell our stories.
Speaker 2: So thank you so much.
Speaker 1: All right, And hopefully you and get a check on
Speaker 1: the podium and you can see some of your athletes there. Oh.
Speaker 3: Look, I'm definitely looking forward to going and enjoying some
Speaker 3: of the games.
Speaker 4: So thank you so much, all right, Thank you, appreciate it.
Speaker 4: Thank you