‘Things haven’t been easy’: New Nike CEO’s first words to staff
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Nike reported disappointing fourth quarter results in June and lowered its financial guidance.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
New York - Mr Elliott Hill, the newly named chief executive of Nike, acknowledged that things have been rough for the world’s largest sportswear brand in his first message to staff on Sept 19.
“I know things haven’t been easy, and we certainly have taken our fair share of shots,” Mr Hill wrote in an e-mail to employees.
He said he plans to host an all-hands meeting on Oct 14, his first day back at the company he worked at for decades. He included a video message in his note.
Dressed in a black Nike-branded shirt, Mr Hill said that through his more than 30-year career with the company, he “learnt to always put the consumer at the centre of everything and every decision”.
Mr Hill, 60, originally joined Nike in 1988 and served as president of consumer and marketplace before he retired in 2020. In a surprise announcement, the company said Mr Hill would replace long-time CEO John Donahoe.
The company reported disappointing fourth quarter results in June and lowered its financial guidance. That led to its biggest stock decline ever.
News of the new CEO saw Nike shares jump as much as 11 per cent in extended New York trading on Sept 19.
The sportswear company’s sales have dropped as consumers have grown tired of its lifestyle sneakers. Nike lost ground to upstart athletic brands such as On and Hoka, as well as more established rivals like Adidas.
Mr Elliott Hill, the new CEO of Nike, acknowledged that things have been rough for the world’s largest sportswear brand in his first message to staff on Sept 19.
PHOTO: NYTIMES
Layoffs that impacted 2 per cent of its workforce and a US$2 billion (S$2.6 billion) cost-cutting plan dented morale and left employees questioning if Mr Donahoe was the right person to meet the moment.
Investors will be looking for the new regime to speed up product development and release more of the groundbreaking sneaker technology that once defined the brand.
Over the past year, Nike has found itself lacking enough new exciting products to cycle in and keep shoppers interested.
“A new CEO changes the dynamic for the upcoming analyst day, and we believe breathes new life and hope into a semi-abandoned blue-chip company in an environment where investors are looking for exactly that,” BMO Capital Markets analyst Simeon Siegel said in a note to clients.
Mr Hill, who studied kinesiology and sports management, worked as an athletic trainer at Texas Christian University and the Dallas Cowboys. He started a baseball club in Austin after retiring from Nike. BLOOMBERG
