• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, June 30, 2016

It hasn’t been Nike’s best week. The usually sure-footed company delivered an unexpected disappointment to investors. And it had a major fashion fail at Wimbledon, with fans and critics expressing dismay over a too-short dress for its female players, which had some athletes improvising to stay covered on the court.

First, financials. The Beaverton, Ore.-based company’s net income for its fiscal fourth quarter dipped 2% to $846 million. And while overall revenue climbed 6% to $8.2 billion (and 9% on a currency-neutral basis), North American revenues were flat. The company says the fall in profit margins were due, in part, to clearing excess inventory in the United States, combined with higher selling and administrative expense, which climbed 7% to $2.8 billion. (Although it cut advertising spending, it also increased spending 7% in demand creation to $873 million, which it says went to digital investments, sports marketing and brand events.)

Calling the quarterly results a downer, Deutsche Bank nonetheless stuck with its “buy” recommendation. “By the numbers, tonight’s report was disappointing,” writes analyst Dave Weiner, “given lagging North American revenues (flat versus a consensus expectation of up 7.2%) and a 6% gain in North American future orders, when many analysts had been expecting 8%.”

But he says management made the argument that it would stick to its plan for the year ahead, touting the brand’s strength and a solid product pipeline. 

“It’s a great time to be in sports, and the Nike brand has never been stronger,” says Mark Parker, president and CEO, in its announcement. “Fueled by our unrivaled roster of athletes, fiscal 2017’s calendar of sport moments promises to build on our business momentum and inspire consumers.”

But it might not be such a great time to be one of Nike’s female tennis players. The short, loosely fitted tennis dress its athletes wore prompted all kinds of wardrobe malfunctions, with The Big Lead reporting that Nike recalled the dress in early rounds, after watching players find torturous ways to stay dressed, including tucking it into shorts or anchoring it with round-the-waist headbands. (“When I was serving, it was coming up, and I felt like the dress was just everywhere,” Rebecca Peterson of Sweden, told the New York Times.)

But Nike’s likely to have better luck with its just-unveiled USA Rio Olympic uniforms, which includes medalist jackets. The games begin Aug. 5, and Women’s Wear Daily has pronounced many of them “sleek and elegant.” They are also inspirational, with WWD reporting that inside the U.S. jackets, a patch proclaims, “Out of many, you are the one,” taken from the U.S. dollar bill.