Footwear Insight

16 • Footwear Insight ~ November/December 2017 footwearinsight.com Nike Talks ANALYSIS By Jennifer Ernst Beaudry N ike made waves earlier this fall when the athletic giant announced at an Investor Day meeting at its Beaverton, OR, head- quarters that it would be tightly focusing its retail strategy. Where today the firm sells through 30,000 differ- ent global retailers who represent 110,000 doors, going forward Nike will concen- trate on 40 key retail partners. (Of course, Nike isn't planning to only be stocked in 40 accounts, but it will be focusing its efforts and investment and the loss of support could be critical for a number of the remaining thousands of stores). The brand will also be continuing to push its own Nike.com site, with as much as one- third of its future offering exclusive to the site and exclusive to Nike members. While Nike's focus on growing its direct-to-consumer business and streamlining its account base is noth- ing new (just ask any of the retailers it has dropped in the past few years), the aggressive targets the brand has laid out – and the eye-popping difference between 30,000 and 40 accounts – has turned heads. It comes at a time when The Swoosh has struggled in the U.S. market with both its main line and the Jordan brand, ceding share to the competition and suffering from the same depressed sporting goods and athletic environment that all brands are facing. The new strategy, which the brand is calling Triple Double, is Nike's plan to reestablish momentum. But as Nike looks to consolidate and focus, it is unknown how its plans will affect the broader retail marketplace, already rocked by the bankruptcies and closures of the past two years and stagnant sales. Can Nike's new plan rein- vigorate the brand and the many channels in which it trades? Here, retailers, analysts and market watchers sound off on what Nike's plans mean for them, for the brand and for the market as a whole. Dick Johnson, chairman, president and CEO, Foot Locker Inc. "The world is moving more and more toward experiential retail. To be a pre- ferred partner with our vendors, your focus has to be 100 percent on the consumer and on creating great experi- ences that are both digital and physical in nature. Retail is evolving and we have to move with it. We have a constant conversation with our vendor partners about creating that next generation of retail. It's a digitally-led environment. The consumer is consumed by their dig- ital device, but our core consumer still likes to have physical experiences. It's just got be more than sneakers on the wall. The next retail spaces won't look like the last retail spaces. Retail will not get any easier in the future and the consumer expectations continue to rise. You have to have the ability to meet or exceed those expectations if you want to be allowed to stay in the game. We work hard to keep the consumer at the center of that universe and understand their expectations and where they're moving. Our effort has to be that we're important to our vendor partners and that we have a strong relationship. Then we can create stories and ideate around Retailers and Market Watchers Sound Off on the Swoosh's Plans to Do More Business Through Fewer Doors. Nike CEO Mark Parker discussing the brand's plans.

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