The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 364 — By the numbers on Nike's cuts
New reporting has unveiled just where Nike is taking its major hits
Goooood morning, folks! Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thank you so much for rocking with me today. Appreciate the time!
I hope you had a fantastic week. While KYW was out, I was quoted in a piece by the Financial Times’ Sara Germano on Nike’s recent struggles. If you haven’t already, please take some time to check that out.
On the way 🚢 : I finally copped the Air Sunder Max. I’m really excited for these to get here. I’ve never had a pair, so I can’t wait to finally share some on-foot shots with y’all.
By the way, in my excitement, I copped a women’s 11.5 (men’s 10) before copping my correct size. So if you know anyone interested in the pair, I'd love to get them to you!
On my radar 👀: That Nigel Sylvester Jordan 4. We’ll talk about that a lot today so I’ll save some space here.
A quick shoutout: I want to send some love to Crushed Skate Shop in D.C. The shop is struggling financially right now because of circumstances out of its control. The crew launched a GoFundMe and shared it on Instagram. If you feel so inclined, please donate! It’s the only skate shop in the city and plays a big part in the community here.
Let’s dig in.
Behind the curtain on Nike’s layoffs
Nike’s layoffs have been at the center of the sneaker industry for most of 2024 and will probably continue to be for the foreseeable future. They’ve totally reshaped the way the biggest company in the footwear industry looks and operates.
Background: Because of flatlining sales numbers that have remained stagnant, the company decided to layoff two percent of its workforce as part of a $2 billion savings plan.
Most of the commentary and reporting around those cuts have been anecdotal. We’ve talked a lot about the cuts in general. Today, we can get specific.
The news: Nike provided a WARN notice to Oregon about its mass layoffs, which the state then revealed to the public. Within the report are the details of which positions have been removed by the company.
The details: The document accounts for 628 employees.
That included 33 vice presidents, 110 senior directors, 174 directors, 113 leads and more
A visual: The Portland Business Journal’s Demi Lawrence did a fantastic job of breaking down the layoffs. That included a visual, which you can check out below:
You can view the list of positions cut in full here in this document uploaded by the state.
Why this all matters: We’re already starting to see the impact of these cuts after just a few months. The further out we get, the more changes we’re going to see to the way this company looks and operates.
These cuts have impacted some departments more drastically than others.
Sustainability is the big one. The Oregonian and ProPublica report that about 20 percent of the staff who worked on Nike’s sustainability initiatives were laid off. Around another 10 percent of sustainability employees either left voluntarily or were transferred to other jobs. That should sound familiar — it’s the same thing that was offered to Dylann Rasch.
We’re also seeing Nike make some cuts to offerings that were once considered cutting-edge but now seem to have little use. The brand is retiring its Adapt app, which accompanied all of its self-lacing shoes. This isn’t explicitly being named as a cost-cutting measure, but the timing sure is conspicuous here. It also has folks who paid upwards of $300 for their Adapt shoes heated.
Nike didn’t just remove rank-and-file employees or positions that seemed redundant. The brand cut positions that run some of its departments and work on special projects. These were people who oversaw some of the biggest changes made to the brand over the last few years and now they're gone.
The Nike you see before you today will be drastically different within the next two or three years. What remains to be seen is whether that's a good or a bad thing.
Iight, man. They got me
One thing about Nike, man. No matter how deep the brand cuts or how many people it lets go, that brand knows how to sell you a story.
I was already in on the Nigel Sylvester Air Jordan 4 RM, but the Grandma’s Fence storyline got me hook, line and sinker.
Take a look:
Why this is so good: Nigel Sylvester is one of the best athletes in the world and is amazing with that bike. He does things none of us could ever do.
But everybody has a grandma. And everybody remember’s playing in the grandma’s yard at one point or another. That’s where you first learn how to ride a bike or dribble a basketball or whatever. That’s Nigel Sylvester’s story, too. You can relate. That's what pulls you in on this one.
But wait, there’s more: Sylvester also partnered with Kith over the weekend to bring New York City out for his annual GO ride.
Sylvester hosts this community bike ride every year. He’ll invite bikers out to come with him riding around the city. It’s pretty cool.
Participation in the GO ride was also a requirement for entering Kith’s raffle for a chance to purchase the shoes.
I can’t lie — I felt like requiring folks to ride a bike for this was a bit much, personally.
With that said, the people showed up. Just look at this crowd.
We haven’t seen people be this enthusiastic about a product centered around one of Nike’s athletes in a long time.
Storytelling doesn’t always work in sneakers. Sometimes, pitches fall flat. But this right here? This is what it looks like when it does.
Lock it in
Adidas isn’t waiting for the dust to settle on the AE 1 to lock things in with Anthony Edwards.
Cashing out: The brand has reportedly signed Anthony Edwards to a new lucrative contract extension, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania. The deal will reportedly net Edwards “eight figures” annually.
The backdrop: Edwards first signed with Adidas back in 2020 when he was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Since then, he’s become one of the biggest names in basketball.
He’s a two-time All-Star so far after playing just four seasons of NBA basketball.
He also made the All-NBA second team this year, which marks him as one of the 10 best players in his sport.
Be smart: This deal sets Edwards up to be the face of Adidas basketball.
There’s not a more popular basketball sneaker out there right now. His signature shoes have been among the most coveted shoes this year. They consistently sell out on Adidas’ website and are even hard to come by through restocks.
There hasn’t been a signature basketball shoe with this much fervor on and off the court in well over a decade. That’s why Adidas is willing to invest so much in him now.
Smart play.
Speaking of fun ads…
On and Zendaya are cooking. This air tennis spot with Roger Federer is so creative and fun.
I love this sort of creativity. It fuses sport and entertainment in a unique way that not many other brands have been able to do. The direction is crisp. It isn’t an ad that takes itself too seriously.
They’re not trying to change the world with this one — they’re just having fun! Exactly as they should be.
On is cooking.
What’s droppin’, bruh?
Can’ y’all believe it’s already July 15th? This is insane, man. Time is going to fast. Summer is halfway over.
The Whitaker Group x New Balance 1906r “Willful Bias” — Tuesday, July 16
Nike SB Dunk Low “Trocadéro Gardens” — Thursday, July 18
New Balance 998 “Coffee” — Thursday, July 18
Nike Air Safari — Friday, July 19
Adidas AE 1 “Ascent” — Saturday, July 20
Nigel Sylvester x Air Jordan 4 RM “Grandma’s Fence” — Saturday, July 20
That’s a wrap, folks! Thanks so much for reading today. I appreciate you giving me a bit of your time.
If you have any tips, questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to email me at mikedsykes@gmail.com or send me a message via Substack.
Until next time, friends! Peace and love. Be easy, be safe, be kind. Let’s do this again next week. Peace.
-Sykes 💯
Mike this Volume of KYW was really good!! Thank you!! Always love when you do a focus on Nike!!
Nike and Apple are kings of storytelling and this ad with Nigel was sooo good!! Was more like a mini film than an ad (nobody wants to watch an ad anyway).
Not a fan of On (i’m a die hard nike woman when it’s come to workout shoes and clothes) and this ad was good!! Light and fun!!
Great blog! Reading some of your older posts.
Have a few questions about the sneaker/footwear world in general if you don't mind. I'm planning to write an industry primer on footwear stocks and want to see if I'm thinking correctly:
- About Nike, the way I see it is it's dificult to change a winning team until it losses. The same thing that today is criticized about Nike (lack of innovation, endless iteration of the 80/90s classics) is what the market was asking for two years ago, until it didn't. Only now that they have failed can they innovate again. But my question is, do they still have the correct teams to do that? Because maybe the designers, supply chain experts, creatives, etc. all left for more nimble companies. Any information you have on this topic? Do you think this is the key aspect or maybe a successful turnaround depends on other factors?
- There are lots of companies enjoying their time under the sun. I can think of On, Hoka, Birkenstock. My question with "new" brands which are so silhouette/style focused is always what will happen in the next fashion cycle. They need to put out new silhouettes at some point or else they will face the same problem as Nike. I haven't seen the second level of innovation that will break from the previous form yet, maybe except for the Rogers in the case of On but that was 4 years ago. Do you have counter examples?
- Obviously subscribed to your blog and be sure I will be reading it every week, but any other blog/website you like in particular?
Cheers!