Nike's Elliott Hill Outlines New Strategy to Revitalize Brand and Revenue

In a bid to rectify years of mistakes, Nike's new CEO Elliott Hill is refocusing the company's efforts on its sportswear roots, reducing promotions, and repairing relationships with retailers, following a decline in revenue and profitability

Elliott Hill, who recently took the reins as CEO of Nike, has identified key areas where the company has strayed from its core strengths, comprising offering too many discounts, losing focus on sport, and souring relationships with partners in the retail marketplace. To address these issues, Hill is ushering in a new era for Nike, prioritizing product innovation and cultivating meaningful partnerships with retailers to enhance wholesale revenue streams

Part of Hill's strategy involves injecting some discipline into the company's inventory management by liquidating surplus merchandise through channels that may yield lower returns than optimal selling prices. This will prepare the marketplace for the company's transition towards an online business model where products are sold at full price. The Nike leader also plans to abandon practices that have disrupted the retail landscape and reshaped selling strategies to prioritize partnership maximization. Hill intends to concentrate the business on five core categories – running, basketball, training, football, and sportswear – marking a return to the company's legacy in sport

Despite announcing a sales decline of 8% in the recent period, the company managed to beat expectations due in part to a gross margin of 43.6%, the uplift being largely befouled by a product mix shift. The sales statistics further reveal an accumulation of inventory across units and wave of discounting. Rather than ramping up product development, Nike is targeting decreased supply for brands like Air Force 1s and Dunks to increase their overall attractiveness and value

With this new plan in place, CEO Hill is confident that Nike will grow once again on the premise of rediscovering its productive capabilities, power of partnerships, and out modish product odes to showrooms.