Nike hires new CEO Elliot Hill to replace John Donahoe
Today, Nike, Inc. announced its replacement of much-criticized former CEO, John Donahoe, with Elliott Hill (pictured above.)
The move came mere days after Bloomberg published a devastating assessment of Donahoe’s tenure: The Man Who Made Nike Uncool. Instead of fulfilling fans’ desires to invest in R&D and fulfill the company’s golden era marketing aspirations as a high tech innovator, Donahoe’s reported approach more closely resembled that of a “fast fashion” brand: squeezing consumers, retailers, and workers alike to increase margins for decades-old models like the Nike Dunk. Though earnings rose under Donahoe’s tenure, the company ultimately failed the “vibes test,” resulting in a widespread loss of confidence. Earlier this year, share prices plummeted following projected revenue declines, due in no small part to sagging sales in North America, as the company’s missteps began to catch up with it.
Donahoe’s “direct to consumer” pivot ceded retail shelf space to rivals both new and old, allowing rivals like Hoka, ASICS, and On to gain visibility in Nike’s prized running category. Sneaker collectors, long weary of jumping through hoops to pay ballooning prices for decrepit tech and unfaithful replicas of classic sneakers, increasingly shifted attention and allegiance to the likes of New Balance. Repeated layoffs and the departure of key personnel eroded the company’s talent base.
Even Nike’s seemingly unassailable lead in basketball is now under threat. Adidas’ first signature shoe for Anthony Edwards made waves following its launch earlier this year, and New Balance recently announced the addition of top prospect Cooper Flagg to its growing endorsement team.
Nike remains a dominant force in the industry, with a large and enviable roster of sponsored athletes, but the brand has lost some of its luster and identity. Once marketed as a renegade, youthful underdog, Nike has since become the stagnant, establishment empire against which such underdogs rally.
Even as an overreliance on nostalgia contributed to the company’s recent stumbles, it again looked to the past when charting its path forward. In its press release, Nike stressed incoming CEO Elliott Hill’s longtime connection to the company, perhaps sensing the need to draw a sharp contrast against an unpopular outbound executive with no prior footwear experience often caricaturized as operating out of his depth.
Is Elliott Hill the right choice for the moment? Let us know in our forums.
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i tend to agree with this. and at the same time, the Sabrina 1s and 2s were really well done
Reactions 703 hwyBut man….these are wild. These were essentially one of two shoes (basic NBs being the other) issued at basic training. Never thought I’d see the day.
Reactions ALNotSure and 703 hwy
Reactions 703 hwy and gry60The innovation that made Nike ‘Nike’ disappeared a long, long time ago.
Reactions 703 hwy, robpzee612, a blinkin and 3 othersWhat’s wild is Kobe shoes had a purpose. He played soccer and wanted a lightweight low shoe because of some of the soccer strengths.
Not just Nike but Kobe stan athletes want to copy instead of making their own wave.
One thing about the first 23 or so Jordans, IT SET THE TONE. They didn’t copy they innovated.
Now with more shoes and competition it’s tougher and hey how much can anyone do to a shoe?
Today I rarely if ever see any new nike basketball shoes worn with jeans and a fit. They like just for actual basketball lol
Reactions langfor5That’s mostly because the style shift culturally. Nothing to do with the design of the shoe themselves.
Reactions WASHED KINGI agree on the shift but the designs also stink. Which is why the retros sells better than the new stuff.
You seen the Jordan 39? Brick city lol
I mean yea I don’t disagree with the new Jordan’s. But to me Jordan’s died with the 23. That’s the very last one I recognize. I stopped wearing Js in 2009 personally outside of Jordan 1 lows so I go even further.
But I still wear Kobe’s casually as those are the last shoes I wore when I played balled before I had to give it up so it’s nostalgic to me. But outside of that yea I wear AM1s some flyknits and such. Nike designs have gotten lazy but style shifts are a big reason. Nike never really did dad shoes which are in now. But I can’t even get down with that style 🤷♂️
Edit: I do wear Pegasus but they are comfortable as hell for walking.
Reactions ALNotSureNo no. I didn’t mean for this to come off as fat shaming. I just picked the first two pictures that popped up on Nikes website when I clicked on “clothing” tab under women. First one looks like it’s marketed as designer aesthetic, (which is a pretty niche market) and the pink outfit is more all inclusive to traditional gym attire.
In my opinion, it seems like they need to pick an identity and do it well, in order to maintain what made them dominant in the first place.
Reactions ALNotSureI don't like them with denim.
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Reactions ALNotSure and adobecs4They need more meaningful innovation and cultural impact to be more relevant in a time where our attention can see an entire landscape of appealing athletic wear brands and products. That said, they’re always one impactful person or product away from relevance.
Reactions ALNotSureSame died after the 23
Agreed it’s not a jeans shoe. But it’s a fantastic sneaker. And only $120 instead of $220
NIKE, Inc. Announces Return of Long-Time Nike Veteran Elliott Hill as President & CEO — NIKE, Inc.
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Reactions ALNotSureYeah, I'm seeing that Elliott (the new guy stepping in) was really involved with commercial and marketing operations according to the official statement, so it makes me wonder if there is truly gonna be any improvement for product innovation and quality changes itself, but it seems that they may not go towards that direction.
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Reactions D Double, willypete, Ari$ and 50 othersYou hid behind the trash can to take this?
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Reactions ntva28, Upptempo, moe200069 and 14 otherssince social media WAY MORE people have gotten into shoes, so the market has grown....
cats just tryna stand out from the crowd so they going with alternative brands
but we all know who the big dawg in the yard is.
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Reactions 703 hwy, Moheezy, frshstunna and 11 othersYou'd be surprised.
Our team has been presented with what were essentially insulting "volunteer" requests from people at Nike on more than one occasion.
In the early 2000's, someone on the Jordan Brand team even went so far as to forward a message from a third-party firm that included a script for us to follow to promote a contest or something. This was back when we were all still chipping in to keep the site ad-free, we'd already been told that our forums had become an indispensable source of market research, and yet apparently that wasn't enough. They expected members of our team to act as their mouthpieces, likely because they assumed we were all such big fans that we were, I guess, supposed to consider it an "honor."
In each such instance, the conversation abruptly ends the instant you demonstrate a functioning spinal column.
Nike's a big company with a lot of turnover (especially now.) It would be a mistake to attribute to it one consistent "voice" or attitude. Some of the people there came up through communities like ours and maintain great respect for them. Others just crowd-surf in on privilege and want to act like they built something. Unfortunately, yet unsurprisingly, it seems someone in that latter camp is all too eager to exploit the brand's cachet for free labor.
I'm glad to see them getting aired out for it, and hopefully it will raise awareness among fans, too, to be on guard for this.
I've seen people twist themselves into knots running errands for people at brands like Nike just in the hopes that they might be considered for future employment.
Have some respect for yourself. Don't accept spec work from big corporations.
What we call "brand loyalty" is generally better described as exploitation.
True loyalty is reciprocal.
Reactions lothar, ntva28, earldagoat and 13 othersThose are terrible, my brother in Christ. Respectfully.
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Reactions ntva28, lil black jean jacket, danikerhino and 9 othersPeople say this like New Balance, Saucony, Asics....are putting out all this creativity and innovation
It's just that every 5-10 years people discover other brands, but they're putting out mostly "retros"
It's a cycle. It's weird most of you have been on this board for years and don't even recognize it. Same thing over and over, dunks are hot, dunks are cold, dunks are hot.
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Reactions earldagoat, Brownstone, fluid hips and 7 othersThe hoods have always determined what’s “trending “
You guys in here mentioning hokas and On cloud, I have never in my life seen those on someone’s feet and been like o man that’s a cool person, I need to get those shoes to copy them. Never happens. We are talking “trends” so not buy what you like.
I think the real issue is the hoods are lost. And left trend setting to rich middle class kids that have zero style. Social media destroyed regional hood trends.
It gained a bit of momentum when the UK hood scene started popping with their fashions, but that was also over saturated on social and conservative media, leading to fatigue.
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Reactions ntva28, ALNotSure, kickvicisous and 6 others**** is all a cycle.
Vomero's dropped five years ago and nobody wanted them, but now they're hot.
Most customers don't know what they want, they're just sheep who follow along with what the masses do. They see "influencers' wearing New Balance and Asics and they follow.
Reactions daruma, sneaksoy, vinnuendo and 5 othersAll the innovation nobody cares about.
Reactions WASHED KING, pirateslaw, ALNotSure and 5 othersI hope he muted the phone or else I know there was a loud click when he took that pic 😆
Reactions calye2da, computersputin, cragmatic and 5 othersThis isn't even factoring in the economy or how it has gotten increasingly harder for the younger generation to even move out of their parents crib and attempt to live like independent adults. 1k is rent - 50% of rent depending on where you're staying at in the country.
Nike created this monster and is the core reason the fake market has gotten as big as it is. They leaned too hard into the hype and limited marketing and left a huge gap to be filled.
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Reactions brendasdeadbaby, krazy88s, frank mucus and 4 othersPersonally got tired all the games trying buy a nike shoe so I’ve moved to designer and other brands. I’ll still rock and maybe try for a nike but not like before.
Folks swore Adidas would die after Ye but the AE1 sold out right away and has been very well received. Just got my son a pair. He’s 9 and I noticed he will wear most brands. No damn hokas tho lol.
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