House of Strauss has followed the Fall of Nike since its inception, and it’s a rich topic because there are so many components. The more politically-oriented tend to see this crash as cultural in nature (“wokeness,” according to some), whereas the more business-minded focus on Nike’s disastrous “direct-to-consumer” rejection of retailers.
The failed DTC bid is the more tangible wound for Nike and thus more directly explanatory. I think it can be too tempting for some financial pundits though, especially among the controversy-avoidant, to wholly lean on this functional mistake. It’s a huge reason for Nike’s fall, obviously, but there’s clearly something wrong with that company’s corporate culture beyond nuts and bolts strategic choices. This week’s release of Nike’s widely panned Specter Edition NBA uniforms is yet another indicator of the company’s cultural rot. The people running this place just refuse to accept that sports fans like what they like. They keep trying to appoint a new customer rather than bend to the customer’s preference.