Interface News Reporter | Shi Yiying
On October 2, 2024, American sportswear group Nike released its first quarter report for the fiscal year 2025: for the three-month period from June 1 to August 31, 2024, the company's revenue was $11.6 billion (approximately RMB 82 billion), of which the Greater China region had revenue of $1.7 billion (approximately RMB 12.016 billion) in the first quarter of the new fiscal year, a year-on-year decrease of 3% on a constant exchange rate basis.
Nike's quarterly report for the new fiscal year has become a conclusive indication of the overall cautious trend in the global sports consumer market. Starting from the end of July, a series of domestic and foreign sports brands have successively released their semi annual reports. By early September, Lululemon's semi annual report shows that sports brands that have grown rapidly in the past two to three years and are approaching annual revenue of billions of dollars have begun to experience a decline in growth rate.
However, Nike's old rival Adidas has returned to growth after a three-year slump. In the first half of this year, German brands generated a revenue of 11.28 billion euros (approximately 873.65 yuan), a year-on-year increase of 6.2%. Among them, the Greater China region generated a revenue of 1.719 billion euros (approximately 11.314 billion yuan) in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 8.5%.
In terms of volume, Nike's single season revenue is approaching $12 billion, and it still has no competitors at the global level. Compared with Adidas, Nike's quarterly revenue is basically equal to Adidas' half year volume. In Greater China, Nike's revenue in the first quarter even exceeded Adidas' half year revenue figure.
But the problem is that Nike urgently needs to return to the growth channel, especially in the Chinese market, which has always been a growth driver for international sports brands.
After the release of this financial report, Matthew Friend, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Nike Group, said, "The performance in the first quarter basically met our expectations. From the strong momentum in key sports areas to the accelerated pace of new products and innovation, we have seen the dawn of victory
As sports fashion recedes, almost all sports brands have shifted their focus to professional sports to maintain growth. After the release of its financial report, Nike also emphasized its emphasis on the running industry. As a company that started with running, Nike will continue to optimize its layout in the running market, meet the needs of different types of runners with innovative products and diversified product combinations, and convey the spirit of runners with distinctive brand stories to promote the development of the running business
On the evening of September 19th, local time in North America, Nike announced the replacement of its CEO. John Donahoe, from Bain&Company and eBay, ended his tenure leading the global sportswear giant since January 2020. Elliott Hill, a former employee of Nike for over 30 years, returned to lead the company's restart.
After the official announcement of Hill's return, Nike's stock price continued to rise, and public opinion also had confidence in the return of this Nike veteran with a very "Nike" resume.
Unlike Tang Ruoxiu, who was parachuted in, Hill has worked at Nike for 32 years and has held multiple important management positions, mainly with rich experience in market and consumer observation. During his tenure as President of Consumer Markets, he helped drive growth for Nike and North America, with Nike's annual revenue exceeding $39 billion.
Rich Nike work experience means that Hill has a clear understanding of the importance of professional sports, the importance of the North American domestic market, and the importance of the Chinese market for Nike's return to growth.
Nike and Shanghai Marathon have collaborated for 12 years.
In fact, as a major competition year in 2024, Nike has gained a lot in the Chinese market - the two most shining Chinese sports stars at the Paris Olympics are Pan Zhanle and Zheng Qinwen. The former has not yet officially announced a personal endorsement for the sports brand, while Zheng Qinwen brought huge exposure to Nike during the Paris Olympics. With the start of the tennis Chinese season in September, Zheng Qinwen has played in both the China Open and the Wuhan Open, and his reputation remains high.
In November, Nike will participate in the China International Import Expo for the fifth time. At the same time, the Shanghai Marathon, which the brand has been cooperating with for 12 years, will also be held. On October 9th, Shangma officially announced as a candidate for the Abbott World Marathon Grand Slam.
In the Chinese market, the most fiercely competitive sub markets in the professional sports field are still basketball and running. What Nike needs to do is to maintain the advantages of these two sub markets and explore consumer potential in other sub markets and sports life as much as possible.
After the release of the first quarter financial report, Nike is very confident in the future performance of the Chinese market. Fran said, "This quarter, our story in innovation and sports performance has received good feedback from the market. We will continue to focus on sports performance products and innovation. The demand for innovation in the Chinese market is significantly higher than in other markets." He said that Nike will provide more support for the Chinese market, especially in the areas of products, digital platforms, and supply chain, to continue to meet the needs of local consumers.