The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 377 — What would Elliott do? 🤔
Or, I guess the right question is, what *will* he do?
Good morning, folks! Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thanks so much for rocking with me today. Appreciate the time! Hope you had a swell weekend.
I hit up a vintage market over the weekend and pulled some stuff to help me get ready (regrettably) for the fall. A time was had!
POLL RESPONSES: We had two polls in the last newsletter on Friday.
First, I asked you how long it’d take for Nike to dominate again. Your answers kind of surprised me! 66 of you responded to the poll. Of that sample, 27 percent of you said less than two years. Another 24 percent said three years. Only 18 percent of you said 5 years or more, which is where I stand with it.
Second, we had a vibe check on Kyrie Irving’s SB sneakers. There were 48 of you who responded, and 48 percent of the vote said they were trash. Sheesh.
We’ve got a lot to talk about today. Let’s get into it.
What’s Elliott Hill’s first move?
We’re just a few weeks away from officially being in the Elliott Hill era of Nike. It’s natural to wonder what his first move as CEO will be and what direction he’ll steer the company in from a bigger-picture perspective.
So let’s have a bit of fun and speculate.
First things first: What any leader has to do when first entering into a position is set their team’s priorities.
If I were Elliott Hill (which I’m very clearly not), I’d focus on simply stopping the free fall. Nike has been on a downturn since the summer. Even with the announcement of the upcoming C-Suite transition, things don’t look fantastic.
The question is, how do you stop this? For me, the solution lies in embracing a bit of short-term thinking. The brand needs to make some immediate decisions to get back into the good graces of consumers and investors.
I have two things immediately in mind that might do the trick.
Down with direct-to-consumer: There has to be a renewed focus on the relationship with Nike’s wholesale partners.
That’s already in motion with Nike veteran Tom Peddie’s return to the brand as vice president of marketplace partners. The main purpose of his role seems to be rebuilding the brand’s wholesale relationships.
That’s important. Nike ceding that shelf space to its competitors has been a major driver for its downswing. For example, you wouldn’t see a brand like On at Foot Locker if Nike kept that relationship tight.
Center the athletes again: When you think back to Nike at its best, the brand centered its greatest athletes in its world-class marketing campaigns. Today? Those athletes have been replaced with folks like Travis Scott. That’s cool. But it doesn’t move the needle anymore.
Collaborators are still necessary, but when they seem to be the only thing that works, it’s a problem. Ask Adidas how that’s worked out for them. Nike needs to rebuild around some of its athletes. Make them cool again. Make them accessible and visible.
Nike’s latest campaign with A’ja Wilson on her upcoming signature shoe (more on her later) is a solid example of what that can look like in 2024. It’s not perfect, but it’s a start. And, hopefully, we see more of that in 2025.
There also may need to be an evaluation of their roster moving forward. Up-and-coming names like Wilson, Caitlin Clark, and Victor Wembanyama work well. Legacy acts like LeBron James and Kevin Durant work are great to have, too. Everyone else feels…expendable to me. I wonder if a reframe is necessary.
In the long term: Nike still needs a hit. It has to find its next Roshe Run model or Air Max 270. Something has to hit the people in the chest, and frankly, the brand hasn’t had that in years. Finding that should still remain a focus for Hill, just as it was for Donahoe.
But right now, the most essential thing for the brand is to stem the bleeding. Get the people back on your side. Create favor within the workforce.
Once that’s done, figuring everything else out becomes easy.
I want to hear from you: What do you think Elliott Hill should focus on with Nike moving forward? Let me know in this Google Doc I’ve set up here.
I’ll share some of the answers with you all on Friday.
The Donaholdovers
I’ve read a ton over the weekend about the transition at Nike and a lot of people have a lot to say about the mistakes that John Donahoe made on the job.
I did have an interesting thought, though. I wondered what some of the most salvageable parts of the Donahoe era would be. Would there be some things the brand will keep going? I landed on three big things that I think might play fairly well.
First: I thought Donahoe’s brick-and-mortar strategy might be something the brand looks to build upon. This was one of the under-the-radar parts of the brand’s DTC strategy.
Nike committed to opening more than 200 new physical retail spots in 2022 as part of its push to cut out wholesale providers.
That was probably a bit ambitious. Nike overestimated consumer’s loyalty to the brand. But the idea of establishing different Nike community hubs in key cities across the brand’s biggest markets is good.
Second: Jordan Brand’s expansion under Donahoe was successful. We saw more Jordan Brand athletes rising up and the brand expanding in different directions, which led to solid growth for it.
When Donahoe took over, Jordan Brand was trying to regain its footing in the market after Adidas overtook it in marketshare. The brand successfully did that.
There were two huge factors here: Kanye West’s implosion at Adidas and the explosion of Travis Scott and the late Virgil Abloh at Nike and Jordan Brand. That halo effect has lifted the brand quite a bit over the years.
Beyond that, the Jordan brand has expanded deeper into different sports, such as golf and soccer. It did the same for its women’s category, too, and invested into more interesting athletes. This is something we should see more of in the Hill era.
Third: Donahoe’s legal legacy with Nike will also probably be beneficial to the brand moving forward.
John Donahoe’s Nike did a lot of work in protecting its trademarks and designs moving forward. The brand officially registered its Jordan 1 trademark in 2021 and sued everyone who infringed upon it.
It set precedents with cases against designers like Warren Lotas, John Geiger, Kool Kiy and more. It also did work in pushing back against the burgeoning counterfeiting market.
This isn’t the best news for up-and-coming designers and customizers. Cases like the Lil Nas X and MSCHF one are quite worrisome. But, from a brand perspective, Nike will certainly be able to use this to its advantage moving forward.
Losing $1.2 million
A Ma Maniére and Social Status founder James Whitner has reportedly conceded $1.2 million in seized cash to the government, local Charlotte NBC news station WSOCTV reported on Friday.
Remember: That cash was seized in a sting operation by the feds investigating an international money laundering scheme Whitner was involved in.
The cash was seized from the apartment of Whitner’s close friend and business associate, Antwain Freeman, in August 2021. Freeman was the one who allegedly received cash payments from Chinese money couriers in the scheme.
That cash is believed to have been acquired through a broker in China by illicit means, which is why it was seized.
According to WSOCTV, the government reached out to Whitner and his multiple investment companies to claim the money from Nov. 18, 2023, to Dec. 17, 2023. Whitner filed for multiple extensions, but the final deadline passed on Sept. 13, 2024, and the money remained unclaimed.
The why: I cannot imagine ever being put in a position where I’d have to pass on claiming $1.2 million, but in Whitner’s case, it’s probably a smart decision.
He has not been held criminally liable for anything in this case to this point. But claiming this money might put him in a precarious position.
Any sort of forfeiture claim requires a claimant to state their ownership or interest in the seized property, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The claimant would also be required to state their claim under oath and would be subject to a penalty of perjury. It’s a sworn statement.
Supporting evidence must also be presented along with the claim to prove it.
Be smart: Whitner could easily prove that this cash is his. But proving that would probably make this situation a more sticky one than it already is.
For James, taking the L was likely the best option here. Well, aside from not doing this at all in the first place. But it’s too late for that.
MV’3
The last few days have been extremely weird for Nike, but the brand did get a huge win, with A’ja Wilson winning her third MVP trophy (unanimously) in the WNBA.
The big picture: Nike has firmly positioned itself as the leader in women’s sports moving forward — especially with basketball. Athlete’s like Wilson, who is the face of the WNBA, ensure that won’t be changing anytime soon.
But that’s another conversation for another time. What I really wanted to show off was this awesome tee the brand released in celebration of Wilson’s latest accomplishment.
The MV’3 shirt is 🔥
That right there? Folks, this is Nike at its best. What does its best look like? Keeping its athletes at the center of everything.
What’s droppin’, bruh?
Nike Clogposite “Triple Black” — Tuesday, September 24
Parra x Vans Half Cab — Tuesday, September 24
A$AP Rocky x Puma Inhale — Thursday, September 26
New Balance 993 “Olive” — Thursday, September 26
New Balance x Stone Island 991v2 “Sand” — Thursday, September 26
That’s a wrap, folks! Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a fantastic week.
If you’ve got any questions, comments or concerns, hit me via email at mikedsykes@gmail.com or send me a message here via Substack.
Let’s do this again on Friday. Until then, peace and love. Be safe, be easy, be kind. We out.
-Sykes 💯