Nike Is In Its ‘Middle Innings,’ But Is The Home Stretch Close?

Good morning, friends! Happy Friday! Welcome back to The Kicks You Wear. Thanks so much for reading today. I appreciate you giving me a bit of your time.

HOUSEKEEPING: Today’s newsletter will be the last send for TKYW in 2025. What a year, right? I just want to thank you all for supporting this newsletter, allowing it to grow and allowing me to grow along with it. I’m also very excited about what’s ahead in 2026.

Enough on that. Let’s get into today’s news.

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Now, let’s dive in.

All Eyes Are on Nike in 2026

Elliott Hill sure does love baseball analogies. Nike’s CEO told investors “we’re in the middle innings” of Nike’s comeback during the company’s second-quarter earnings call on Thursday.

The state of play: While Hill kept a reassuring tone of voice throughout the call, it didn’t stop investors from wondering how many more innings were left until the company might declare victory. That’s reasonable place for people to be as the brand heads into the second half of its fiscal year.

The good: There were plenty of positive takeaways from the call for anyone listening.

• Nike recorded another quarter of marginal growth, with revenue rising one percent year-to-year to $12.4 billion.
• Its North America business is also trending positively, with a nine percent year-to-year revenue increase to $5.6 billion.
• The sport offence seems to be working well. The company’s running sales grew 20 percent for the quarter.

The bad: There’s also still plenty to be concerned about for Nike’s business.

• The company’s margins are still a major struggle. They shrank for the quarter to 40.6 percent from 43.6 percent last year.
• Converse continued its spiral, with sales dropping by 30 percent for the quarter.
• Nike’s success in North America is held back by its struggles in Greater China, where its revenue shrank for the quarter by 17 percent.

The good didn’t seem to outweigh the bad for investors. The company’s stock fell 10 percent in the hours following Thursday’s call despite the call’s hopeful vibe.

Zoom out: Really, takeaways from the current state of the business for Nike will depend on who you’re talking to.

If you’re a glass-half-full kind of person, you’ll see another quarter of growth and success from a strategic standpoint. Nike’s sport offence is paying dividends so far — even if they’re marginal. The company just began implementing the new strategy in its EMEA business on Dec. 1 and expects to expand to see progress. It also outlined a plan for improvement across its geographies and is keen on turning its business in China with a focus on sport and storytelling.

Nike will have several big moments early in 2026, starting with the 2026 Winter Olympics and the NBA All-Star game in Los Angeles, where Hill said the company will work with Foot Locker on major activations behind Nike Basketball, Jordan Brand and Converse.

If you’re a glass-half-empty kind of person, you see where the brand’s margins stand and you’re still concerned. Between investments the company has made to clean up previous messes, struggles with discounted inventory and tariff headwinds, the struggle continues with no end in sight. Add the regression from Converse and the work needed to be done in Greater China and you’ve got a mess on your hands.

Considering just how much Nike seems to still be struggling in some of these areas, you can’t blame someone for wondering just how well this turnaround is going.

Where I stand: I’d say I’d lean more in glass-half-full territory. While it’s not early in Hill’s tenure, we’re not deep enough to expect things to be going full speed ahead.

• Hill knows people are searching for the light at the end of the tunnel. He also acknowledged that the brand isn’t anywhere near it’s potential yet. But, still, he’s preaching patience. “Our comeback continues to move at different speeds,” he said.

The bottom line: If 2025 was about setting things up properly for Nike, 2026 will be all about the payoff.

If we’re having these same conversations this time next year? That’ll be a huge problem.

Five Big Things for 2026

Nike might be hogging the industry spotlight a bit as the calendar turns, but there are plenty of other storylines to pay attention to as we head into 2026. Below are the five biggest storylines I’ll be locked in on for next year.

1. Who wins the World Cup?: I’m not talking about on the pitch — though, I’d love to know the answer to that, too. But, if you’ve been paying attention to what’s happening around the World Cup off the pitch, you’ve seen the marketing battle between Nike and Adidas is already underway.

• I wrote about this a bit last week with Nike showing up at Art Basel with its Toma soccer tournament, boosted by Travis Scott. The brand is already showing off its headlining product for the World Cup.
• On the other end, Adidas unveiled the largest selection of keeper kits in the company’s history for the tournament. The brand also seems to be cooking up something with Trinity Rodman? Not sure what, but she’s undoubtedly the most popular football player in the US these days. Having her on your side is good money.

This summer’s World Cup will be a major moment for fashion and could also be a tipping point for these two brands in particular. Football fashion is taking over. Winning here means winning for years to come. Both sides will do their best to secure the victory.

2. Can the Olympics be a boost?: I think it’s safe to say that the brands are ready for Milan.

This isn’t surprising. Milan is one of the fashion capitals of the world. When there’s a big moment in the city, every fashion brand wants in. But part of me wonders whether it’ll be worth it? The Winter Olympics are still a massive moment, but it’s always a smaller one than the summer. There are fewer sports involved with fewer participating athletes and nations. The ratings are never as strong as they are in the summer.

Maybe the Milan location changes that? We’ll find out in a few months.

3. Does Puma finally sell?: This question just won’t go away. There’s been so much speculation about Puma’s future since the Arnault family briefly looked into selling its 29 percent stake in the company. Rumour after rumour followed that, ranging from an Adidas-Puma pipe dream to Anta potentially absorbing the German-based footwear company into its business as it expands westward.

CEO Arthur Hoeldt is just beginning to implement his plan for the brand, so I doubt we get any clarity on this in the near future. But the company’s next earnings call is in February. The tone of that call will be telling.

4. Which sport seizes its moment? The fusion of sports and fashion has worked extremely well for some sports. For example, tennis really blossomed around the U.S. Open at the tail end of last summer. Is there another moment like that for another sport awaiting us in 2026? The upstart track league, Athlos, caught a lot of attention this fall and is preparing to spread next year. The NWSL’s use of Domo Wells as a creative director has women’s football positioned well heading into the new year. Formula One is also always good for moments like this. Next year will be a breakout year for some league. I can’t wait to find out which.

5. Where will Steph Curry land?: Stephen Curry’s sneaker free agency has been one of the most entertaining things to happen in the footwear industry in quite some time, but a free agent has to sign somewhere eventually. Curry has been spotted in every brand except Under Armour over these last few weeks. There’s no indication of where he might go to this point. But a free agent has to sign somewhere eventually.

Hoka Needs a Big New Year

I had a bit of a revelation in doing our research and reporting for The Business of Fashion’s big sneaker of the year piece.

My thought: People aren’t thinking about Hoka right now. At least, not like they were.

• Not a single one of the nearly 200 votes we received in our reader poll mentioned a pair of Hoka’s as their favourite sneaker of the year.
• None of the 19 experts we spoke with mentioned a Hoka project in our conversations.
• Generally, you didn’t see the brand pop up in any of the data that we’d received either.

Why that matters: It was only a few years ago that you couldn’t get people to stop talking about this brand and its shoes’ comfort. Now, not only has the brand’s growth slowed, but it also appears to be out of consumers’ minds.

The problem: That’s a bit concerning because Hoka actually tried some things. The brand put together a few projects this year that I thought might keep them in conversations throughout the year.

• The brand executed a strong upscale collaboration with Marni on the Bondi B3ls this spring, which I thought was well-received.
• It also launched a collaboration with Halfdays on a pair of winter sneakers in November, joining in on the pre-Olympics fun.

Activity isn’t the problem for the brand — connectivity is. They’re creating things people seem to be unmoved by.

How to fix it: Hoka needs to make its collaborations stick more. Sometimes, that looks like a brand attaching itself to an interesting cult of personality, similarly to how brand rival On has done with Zendaya. Oympic gold medal-winning gymnast Suni Lee is the brand’s biggest name at this point, but you don’t see her in much of the brand’s marketing.

Simply tapping into celebrity a bit more and expanding the brand’s roster a bit would go a long way for Hoka. Let’s hope we see that movement in 2026.

Does Anyone Want the Boardflip?

Speaking of things that no one cares enough about, Reebok relaunched the Ice Cream Board Flip on Wednesday in NYC to a sparse crowd, according to Complex’s Matt Welty.

The backdrop: Reebok announced the return of Pharrell’s old Billionaire Boy’s Club (BBC) sneakers back in October alongside Don Tolliver at ComplexCon. Wednesday’s wider release was in-person only at the BBC stores in New York and Miami. But it doesn’t seem like there was much interest.

My question: Did anyone know that this was even happening? Because I certainly didn’t. I don’t know how Reebok promoted this, but I couldn’t find anything about it on the brand’s website or BBC’s site.

My take: What a swing and a miss for Reebok. I’m not sure the brand played this right.

• The big, clunky Y2K skate shoe moment isn’t quite upon us yet. Skate shoe sales declined in 2025, according to data from Circana.
• For there of this event to be so limited feels strange considering the shoe’s history. Pharrell wasn’t part of this at all — likely because of other deals he has in place with rivals like Adidas. But still. This was way too quiet.

The big picture: In the end, it’s fine if there aren’t a ton of people looking for these. The drop was extremely limited. Even if it’s ultimately unsuccessful, it doesn’t really hurt anything.

But it seems Reebok might want to go back to the drawing board with this one.

#TheKicksWeWear

This is the community section of the newsletter where you (Yes, you!!!!) send me your best fits and kicks from the week. Feel free to send submissions to michael.sykes@businessoffashion.com or shoot me a message via social channels @MikeDSykes

First, the homie Jaden kicked us off with the Black Cement AJ3s. LOVE these shoes man.

The homie Mark kept us going with these wavy Air Force 1s. Sick.

The homie Ant came through with these AMAZING Air Max 90s. What a pair.

Then my guy Jimmy sent us home for the holidays with the Ugly Christmas Sweater Air Tech Challengese. LOVE THESE!!!!

Thanks for reading, gang! Hope you enjoyed the newsletter. Thank you so much for being part of TKYW’s evolution this year. It’s been a treat for me to send you guys these newsletters. Thanks to all the new folks reading and a really special shoutout to my day ones. Wouldn’t be here without y’all.

If you have any questions, comments or concerns, reach out to me via email at michael.sykes@businessoffashion.com or shoot me a message @MikeDSykes via socials.

Peace and love. Be safe, be easy, be kind. We out. Happy holidays! 🎁

-Sykes 💯

Want to dive deeper into an insight from this article? Check out The Brain of Fashion, BoF’s new generative AI tool where you can unlock BoF’s sports archive with a single question.