Nike CEO Hill Sees Turnaround Picking Up From Europe to Asia

Nike Inc. expects its wholesale business to pick up steam across the world as it accelerates the launch of new footwear and apparel products and doubles down on its commitment to sports.

While Nike is already winning back the affection of retail partners in North America, it has the right strategy and leaders in place to make that happen in other markets, too, chief executive officer Elliott Hill said in an interview with Bloomberg TV.

“We have a joint consumer and they want access to our brands,” Hill said of retail partners during the interview. “When we’re driving growth and profitability for our retailers, that’s how we take market share.”

Hill is looking to reassure investors that his turnaround efforts will pay off for the world’s largest sportswear company. Nike has struggled to bounce back from its historic slump after its previous strategy to maximize its own sales channels alienated retail partners and sent many long-time fans into the arms of rivals including Adidas AG, On Holding AG and Hoka. Wholesale accounts for about 60 percent of Nike’s revenue.

Now in his second year at the helm, Hill has made some progress in repairing relationships with those retail partners while also breathing fresh energy into Nike’s offerings of performance sports products, especially when it comes to running, basketball and football. Even so, he’s facing an uphill battle when it comes to gaining steam in China and rejuvenating the struggling Converse brand.

One particular area of focus is outdoors, where Nike sees huge potential from consumers in the US to Europe to China, Hill said in the interview, which took place in Milan during his visit to the Winter Olympics. Nike is spearheading its outdoor push through its relaunched “All Conditions Gear” line, which dates back about four decades. The latest iteration of the line places a big emphasis on trail running, a booming sector that Hill hopes to cater to with his team of product innovators and marketers who are obsessed with the sport.

“You don’t just elbow your way in,” he said. “You have to be authentic to the sport.”

Converse has been a particular challenge for Hill, with the brand’s revenue cratering of late after lagging demand for its hallmark Chuck Taylor shoe and layoffs looming. Hill hopes to revive Converse with a bigger focus on basketball, skating and the low-key Jack Purcell silhouettes. “We’re committed to the Converse brand,” he said. It serves “a separate and distinct consumer” and represents “a separate and distinct opportunity for growth.”

China remains a central challenge — and more so for Nike than for brands including On, Adidas and Chinese rival Anta Sports Products Ltd. Hill is hoping to reverse a slide in sales in Greater China by repositioning the brand “through the lens of sport,” with greater emphasis on local athletes, curated assortments and efforts to “clean up the digital marketplace.”

A three-decade Nike veteran who became CEO in 2024, Hill has repeatedly said that the turnaround “won’t be a straight line” as the company resets its product innovation engine, redoubles its focus on sports and re-calibrates its distribution strategy across brands and regions.

Hill’s rebuilding efforts come at a delicate time in the sneaker world, with some industry analysts questioning if the 20-year-long global boom for sports and athleisure products is fading. Nike is also fending off increasing competition from challenger brands like On, Hoka and Anta.

Nike shares are down about 12 percent in the past year and more than half from the 2021 peak. That’s more or less in line with its peers, with Adidas and On also struggling to win the affection of investors despite demonstrating impressive growth and profitability. Investors have cooled on the sector amid concerns of inflationary pressure as President Donald Trump’s policies increase trade friction and raise anxieties over growth.

By Romaine Bostick, Tim Loh and Daniele Lepido