Nike's new ad celebrates A'ja
WIlson fever. Nike has replaced long-time brand leader Heidi O’Neill and made other high-level executive changes as new CEO Elliott Hill tries to guide the company back to growth
mode.
O’Neill’s role as president of consumer, product and brand will now be three separate areas, each reporting to Hill. Amy Montagne is now president of Nike, moving from vice
president, general manager of global women’s. Nicole Graham, currently CMO, adds executive vice president to her title and reports directly to Hill.
Phil McCartney moves from vice
president of footwear to executive vice president and chief innovation, design and product officer.
And Dr. Thomas Clarke, a 45-year veteran, moves to chief growth initiatives officer. He
had served as a strategic advisor to the CEO since 2023 but has held many roles at the company, and started his career as director of biomechanics research in 1980.
O’Neill, who is
retiring, will continue as an advisor through September.
The restructuring — particularly Graham’s elevation — signals that Nike thinks insiders are essential, focusing on
brand clarity and creative leadership as central to its rebound.
“I’m confident that with this new structure and leadership team in place, we will be able to better line up and
leverage all the advantages that make Nike great,” says Hill in the announcement. “These exceptional leaders bring extensive Nike experience and have been instrumental in resetting our
priorities to lead with sport and put the athlete at the center of everything we do.”
The moves come after painful performances at Nike. In March, the company announced a 9% drop in
quarterly sales and warned investors that sales will plunge as much as 16% in the current quarter. The company is trimming inventory, reassessing categories and promising a storytelling comeback for
its once-fabled marketing efforts.
The Beaverton, Oregon-based apparel giant is calling the comeback strategy the “Win Now” plan, centered on five fields of play (running,
basketball, football, training and sportswear), three countries (the U.S., China and the U.K.) and five cities (New York, Los Angeles, London, Beijing and Shanghai.)
“We’ll
invest in making sure each has innovative and coveted product, a loud and proud locally relevant brand voice, a consumer-led and balanced integrated marketplace and passionate Nike teammates on the
ground,” Hill said in the company’s third-quarter earnings call. “Each country has unique dynamics and is in different states of development. China, specifically, is where
we’re being the most proactive and cleaning up the marketplace, and we’ll get back to inspiring the Chinese consumer in a more meaningful way.”
Looming tariff clouds may very
well rain on Hill’s comeback plans. David Swartz, an analyst who follows the sector for Morningstar, notes that 98% of clothing and 99% of footwear sold in the U.S. is imported, predominantly
from Asia. China, Vietnam and Bangladesh account for the production of 60% of apparel sold here. Nike, along with Adidas, Lululemon, and Deckers, “have very high exposure to the new
tariffs.”
Concern about those tariffs — subject to unpredictable changes and backtracking from the Trump administration — has thrown the footwear industry into
tailspins.
While Nike doubles down on marketing and restructuring, Skechers is opting for silence and scale. Skechers, which pulled its forecasts citing tariff uncertainty, just announced it
will be taken private in a $9.4 billion deal aimed at long-term global growth. The transaction, expected to be finalized in the third quarter, will allow the fast-growing brand to avoid public notice
during the turmoil.