China is an indispensable part of Nike's future innovation strategy. We continue to invest to ensure insights into local athletes are obtained and transformed into the best products and experiences, not only to better serve the Chinese market, but also to provide reference for our innovation on a global scale
This year, the globally renowned sports brand Nike participated in the 7th China International Import Expo with the theme of "running". Matthew Nurse, Vice President of Nike Sports Research Laboratory, stated in an interview that Nike attaches great importance to investing in the Chinese market and hopes to ensure a diverse dataset from different regions around the world. We have already collaborated with Chinese athletes in the past and now have a full-time team stationed in China to ensure that Nike's products are continuously optimized and can fulfill Nike's promises to Chinese consumers.
The demand of Chinese runners keeps rising, and Nike's local innovation is upgraded again
In recent years, "national fitness" has become a trend, and the popularity of running sports such as marathons continues to rise, gradually becoming the first choice for public fitness. In this context, many sports brands have increased their investment in the running ecosystem in the past two years, strengthening the connection between brands and running professionalism to enhance the popularity of popular running shoes.
Nike has been established for over 50 years and has entered the Chinese market for more than 40 years. As a company that started with running, Nike has established a stable market foundation in the running business. For decades, from handmade spiked shoes, to the birth of midsole cushioning technology, and to the explosion of super running shoes in the market, Nike has been seen and favored by more consumers through the inheritance of brand value and continuous technological innovation.
At this year's CIIE, Nike also exhibited all the disassembled parts and sketches of its core running technology and shoe models, visually presenting Nike's exclusive innovative technology and unveiling the mysterious veil of Nike's technology. According to the staff's introduction, the innovative technologies showcased this time include the classic speed system, which combines Nike's unique Air Zoom, foam, and carbon fiber board. In addition, it also includes industry-leading innovative cushioning technology and Flyknit shoe upper technology.
One of Nike's competitive advantages in the fierce market competition is having an excellent sports science team and collaborating with a wider range of athletes. Matthew Nurse pointed out in an interview that Nike has excellent technology, design, and athlete resources, and by combining these, Nike can leverage its advantages in markets around the world.
And all of this is inseparable from the core brain of Nike's innovation - the Nike Sports Research Laboratory (NSRL). Nike once teamed up with Kipchog to complete the challenge of breaking the 2-hour mark in a marathon and launched the revolutionary super running shoe Alphafly. Behind these great moments, NSRL played a key role. Speaking of the important role of the laboratory, Matthew Nurse said on site, "Nike Sports Research Laboratory has nurtured many breakthrough ideas. Continuously strengthening insights into the sports population will help us explore more possibilities to serve them well.
Nike has a large innovation team of over 500 people at its headquarters, and in the Chinese market, as the demand for local 500 million runners gradually diversifies, Nike has also increased its investment in local innovation. In August of this year, Nike China Sports Research Laboratory was officially put into use. It is worth noting that Nike has also moved the new running consulting service Nike Sports Research Laboratory "Form" (NSRL Form) into the booth at this year's CIIE. According to the on-site introduction of the staff, "Form" helps runners with different sports abilities and preferences better understand themselves. Through a few minutes of running tests, core data of runners can be collected and analysis reports can be generated to provide personalized guidance for runners, providing suggestions on sports performance and running shoe selection.
It is reported that on November 4th, the "Form" was first stationed at the NIKE Shanghai Huaihai brand experience store. Matthew Nurse stated in an interview that introducing "Form" to China is also aimed at providing more localized services for Chinese runners. China has become Nike's first global market to bring this service to retail stores, reflecting Nike's long-term commitment to the Chinese market.
Continuously expanding the Chinese partner ecosystem to support the development of China's running industry
When innovation is truly disruptive, one of the challenges is that it may make people feel uneasy and difficult to accept, which is where the difficulty lies. "Regarding the future direction of innovation, Matthew Nurse revealed that he is already preparing for the next World Cup and has also focused on the Los Angeles Olympics, and will strive to promote cutting-edge progress in the fields of running, basketball, and sports fitness.
Technology is developing rapidly, but the process of innovation remains consistent. Nike has always put athletes at the core, starting from solving their problems, which has also created its excellent products and services.
In addition to cutting-edge running technology, Nike's full range of running products that meet the diverse needs of various runners were also showcased at the exhibition, covering athletics, marathon, road running, and cross-country running, as well as running outfits that integrate fashion expression. Among them, Nike's road running products have been simplified into three major product lines, focusing on the important function of "cushioning" and paying attention to the specific needs of runners for the rebound, comfort, and support of running shoes. The simplified road running product line is Nike's specific "matching guide" for daily road running, which can match suitable products regardless of the scene in track and field fields, city roads, park greenways, preferred speed, distance, etc.
Nike is also launching multiple new products in the Chinese market, including the all-new Kipchoge series of shoes and clothing inspired by the world's top marathon runner Kipchoge, the 2025 Nike Swift 6 Women's Road Running series and 2025 Nike Stride 5 Men's Road Running series, the Nike Kiger 10 and 2025 Spring/Summer Nike Off Road Clothing series, as well as the Cosmic Runner shoes designed specifically for children's running.
The Chinese running market has enormous potential, and based on our innovative strength and brand advantages, we are increasing our investment in the running business. Dong Wei, Chairman and CEO of Nike Greater China and Global CEO of ACG brand, also said the same at the CIIE.
According to a survey by iResearch Consulting, the average annual consumption of young running enthusiasts in China in 2022 is 3361.8 yuan, with over half of them experiencing an increase in consumption in the past five years. Among the top five consumer categories, running shoes and sportswear have the highest proportion of consumption. According to iResearch's research, China has become the world's second-largest running market.
In the face of increasingly fierce competition in the local market, Nike has not only entered the field of innovative technology, but also made targeted layouts in operational strategies to fully support the development of China's running industry. On the road to promoting the development of running in China, Nike has been closely cooperating with the Chinese Athletics Association for more than 40 years, supporting local athletes. At the same time, Nike actively builds a local running community, increases participation in local events such as horse racing, and shares sports moments with Chinese runners.
In addition, Nike is committed to partnering with elite athletes and expanding partnerships. Renowned Chinese track and field athlete Su Bingtian, known as the "Asian sprinter", also appeared at the Nike booth and announced with Nike that the two sides will further deepen their partnership. Nike announced that it will collaborate with the "Su Bingtian Speed Research and Training Center of Jinan University" in the future to jointly build and share cutting-edge technology research and development in athletics, talent cultivation, public welfare undertakings for promoting youth athletics, and athletics event organization, in order to assist local "speed" research and training, and improve China's athletics level. Nike will also establish a long-term cooperative relationship with the "Guangdong Province Speed Ability Research Key Laboratory" of Jinan University, starting from multiple fields such as track and field science popularization and sports science research, to form a linkage effect.
In addition to establishing sports research laboratories in China, Nike has also strengthened close cooperation with local universities and gradually built an ecological partner circle for sports research. At the CIIE, Nike signed a memorandum of cooperation with Shanghai Sport University to conduct groundbreaking sports science research, focusing on the needs of the Chinese sports community in improving sports performance and reducing the risk of sports injuries.
Series signing is a continuation and important layout of Nike's deep cultivation in the local market. In addition, Nike officially announced at the CIIE that Kipchog's fourth Nike China event will begin on November 22, inspiring Chinese runners to bravely pursue their dreams with its great spirit and attitude.
Nike is also continuing to fulfill Kipchog's vision of China becoming a running country, deeply cultivating the Chinese running market and helping China become a running powerhouse.