Why NIKE Isn't Cool Anymore *Losing Billions*

Growing up an athlete nike was THE symbol of athletics...but it has lost its market hold and "it" factor. This week I wanted to do a deep dive of the reasons I think nike has fumbled the ball

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Hi I’m Keltie a former college basketball player turned Youtuber.
Vlogging as I attempt different fitness challenges, ways to move your body, while I travel the world. Whether it's running a marathon, sweating it out in a heart bumping spin class, attempting a handstand, debunking a workout myth, swimming in the ocean, or stretching in the sun. My Wellness Diary series is me docuemnting trying all the different fitness, skin care, self-care, hair care, nutrition, and other wellness trends I find interesting

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[KeltieOConnor]

I messed up 🤦🏼‍♀️ as some of you pointed out I forgot to also talk about the controversy regarding Nikes treatment of women athletes (so dumb of me for forgetting that topic) . I know it goes without saying that women in sports is one of my biggest passions in life so you know how close that topic is to my heart. Disappointed in myself for forgetting that 🤦🏼‍♀️ That being said, it such an important topic it deserves its own video. Which now im VERY inspired to work on! Im invisioning a video about the populairty of womens sports & treatment of female athletes. Please comment any specific moments that come to mind for you! Ex the crazy pressures placed on nike runners, the populairty of cailtin clark, nike penalizing women for getting pregnant (doesnt have to be limited to nike). Etc!

Thanks to one of the comments recommendations I’m now reading “the longest race” by Kara Goucher & Mary Pilon that talks about this topic, if you want to learn more join me in reading it!

[Updog]

Girl, the way you’ve been stepping up and branching out your content game is commendable. This is not a generic fitness channel, this is insightful and fresh stuff! Keep taking risks and trying new things, queen.

[RizzyWow]

The biggest thing that Nike did to pushed people away in Europe was that they kept producing less of the popular shoes while increasing the price dramatically (on all their products). White Air Force 1's were super popular here and suddenly they became super hard to buy and the cost almost doubled. Literally within months everyone started to wear New Balance.

[GronVit]

Me and my girlfriend went to buy runningshoes here in Sweden 1 month ago.
The salesman showed us a pair of Asics, Hoka, Brooks and adidas but no Nike.
I asked him why he and other salesmen in other stores dosent recomend Nikeshoes, and he said that they cant recomend them because they are concidered more of a streetwear than a athleticwear. They even had meetings with Nike because the sales are so low that Nike start to questining the salenumbers.
Another common thing a lot of friends and relatives are saying is that they cant have Nikeshoes they are simply to narrow.

[mariellemartin]

I’ll never forget the athletic trainer from our high school HATED Nikes. He used to say they were good for going to class but not for sports and that there were (at that time) more affordable options that provided better support and led to less injuries during training, especially for the track kids. Almost everyone on the track team had gone through shin splints, but the kids who were using Nike during practice got it the worst. Eventually, the track team recommended the kids wear anything but. It was heartbreaking for a lot of kids to think that the shoes that represented the best of the best would be causing injuries - especially the student athletes who were going on scholarship to college.

[coachkrish]

As a former shoe retail manager- Nike stopped providing credit lines to smaller boutique running stores. Those shops were curating incredible test and try events and activations with all of their competitors. Many of these shops also have their own run clubs. EVERY reputable vendor was dogging Nike's quality and price, encouraging runner to try Saucony, Adidas and New Balance. Nike stores provide low inventory of running ad performance products which. Their sizing isn't reliable either. Too many pain points with no pay off.

[LadyDeutza]

I'll be honest, for me, Lululemon has not managed to outmarket/outinfluence my bad opinion of them: They don't make clothes for MY body type and they became like every other company - making stuff in cheap markets and still selling at the same price. When a company starts local and then decided to go make things in China for 1% of the cost while keeping the exact same prices = You've lost me forever. I used to be a huge fan of their bags (they used to be so original and interesting) because as I said - they don't make things for me, they never have.

[bethanydiehl]

The Wall Street Journal wrote years ago about Nike's use of child labor/sweat shops which is why I actively chose other brands when I can. I believe Under Armour got in trouble for the child labor as well around the same time frame.

[TheCozyHobbit]

This was really good, Keltie! However I do wish you had addressed how a lot of female runners (myself included) stopped buying Nike years ago due to their treatment of their sponsored female athletes - Mary Cain, Kara Goucher, Allyson Felix, etc. etc. (Not to mention the dissolution of the Oregon Project.)

[figureskater]

I worked at Sport Chek as a cashier from 2007-2013, I definitely saw the trends change. Clothing really shifted from Nike to Under Armour (tbh Under Armour was doing really cool things in those days). Streetwear shoes shifted to Adidas and Puma. I don't think Nike was keeping up. And what really solidified it for me was when team sponsored products were shifting to Adidas and Under Armour. Nike got boring. And Nike started to have bad takes around sponsoring women, and mothers. That had an impact on the trends that just one cashier in one store in southern Ontario was seeing.

[PostingCringeOnMain]

"Nike went woke" has to be one of the funniest lines, because they've been 'soft blocked' in my family since the 90's after they got exposed for using children in sweatshops... what was particularly visceral was a kid sewing a soccer ball in South Asia and my Mum refused to buy Nike for me or my sister. I think they more recently got a factory closed by the Chinese government for sweatshop like conditions. I mean... if the Chinese government saw your factory operation and went "oh, that's a bit much" you don't really get to call yourself woke because you put Colin Kaepernick in a commercial. Not that clothes manufacturing all over the World isn't horrific. I still remember the factory collapse in Bangladesh and all the major brands use some of the lowest paid labour on the planet and then jack the prices up for the Western consumer market... but yeah. Just my experience with Nike... also from a European perspective, Adidas always had a bit more of an edge here because they produced the soccer kits. Now Puma are getting in on that market. So yeah, over the pond Nike always had a bit of that 'cool American' factor, our home grown athletes were going to be in Umbro, Dunlop, Adidas or Puma... and more recently Gym Shark.

[FeralFeminine]

I love how much homework you are putting into your videos while staying true to who you are!

I stopped supporting Nike for two main reasons. 1) I consistently became injured using their shoes for running. I haven’t had that problem with my ASICS or Brooks. 2) their treatment of women athletes. Yeah, they brought women to the spotlight in the early days, but current treatment with pregnancy? Nah. I’m out.

[lenalaylay]

Keltie just casually throwing out a marketing strategy for Nike for free 😂 I hope someone from Nike is watching this gem

[kktypescript]

I grew up 6 miles from the Nike world campus in Beaverton Oregon. My cross country team had a working relationship with them, we’d run on the campus regularly and meet the athletes. It was inspiring to be running and see someone literally training for the Olympics. Nike had a chokehold on me until I hit puberty and couldn’t fit into my cross country uniform anymore because Nike only made for one body: thin white girls

[ivylovesrunning]

Oh my goodness. I love you and Susie! She'll be so excited you gave her a shout-out.

I absolutely love everything you've been doing. You've had me hooked for over 4 years. Keep up the good work Keltie.

[YaseminUlusoy-uw]

Keltie hi! My fitness journey, interests (ballet included), inspirations, injuries and everything has never been more in line with anyone else I know. You’ve been putting together my scattered thoughts for years. I have no words.

Nike should listen to what you’re saying imho. They used to host huge running events in Istanbul until pandemic hit. I mean i had a running event to attend everyday after i leave work, and they were really fun. As for lately, the last two pair of shoes i’ve bought are not Nike. Pls note that I’m someone who’s spent her entire income on athletic wear (ALL nike), gym memberships and healthy eating throughout her 20’s, so 2 not-nike sports gear in a row is threatening on nike’s end.

Thank you for being you. You have a friend in Istanbul. Great video 😎

[CappuccinoBrioches]

I'd also like to speak from my experience: I work in retail, and I worked for a sport fashion shop for 7 years, from 2016. We always sold Nike and I remember the prices and quality of the products on the beginning of my career, then I remember the hype in 2020 after the lockdown (I'm from Italy), and then of the last few years. Prices went up crazy, as with everything, but the quality went DOWN soooo bad. We had a lot of shoes we had to sell for 150€ and they still had glue and stitches you could see. It was awful.

[jacquelineeeeeeeeee]

The Nike marketing team should be runningggg to watch this.

The hold that the Nike pro shorts on girls and elite socks on guys had in the early 2010s was insane. Now there is just too much product to sort through to make sure you’re getting the quality version. I’ve been a Nike
walking/running shoe wearer my entire life, but have converted to Hoka the past few years because it’s too difficult to understand what Nike shoes are actually good now with so many models. The only Nike product I regularly buy/replace are metcons, which did break through to the influencer-verse!

[jpurdes]

As a runner, the thing that was a real gotcha moment for me was when you said that people started visiting local running shops and buying shoes that fit them, instead of shoes the pros were wearing. I usually have six pairs of shoes in my rotation, retire between six and eight pairs per year, and I'm always on the lookout for something new. And yet, from close to 80 pairs of shoes I retired, I only had a single pair of Nikes. In Europe, none of the running stores I visited carried any Nikes. I'm close to one store manager, and he told me that Nike would not let the store sell their shoes; that their strategy was only to sell direct. So, what I'm seeing in my peer group is that the only people buying Nike shoes are those who purchased a previous model somewhere, liked it, and keep on buying the new models. At least in the niche market of runners who like to try before they buy, Nike is committing suicide.

[mortvl]

I agree, though something that contributes to their downfall is that they became known for their unethical child labor practices. When you have their previous reputation of being exploitive sweatshops paired with "woke" advertising, it feels insincere to the consumer and disrupts how we perceive their ethos. Though they have improved their labor practices, they have (somewhat) recently received a lawsuit for greenwashing and not being totally transparent about their sustainability efforts. Do I love to see representation in advertising? Absolutely! But I think some people feel betrayed by them as a company.