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On July 19, Nike's Chinese official website launched a themed promotional video titled "Not Everyone Can Be a Winner". A scene in the video of a female athlete licking a table tennis racket sparked controversy among netizens. Many netizens believed that the scene could easily cause psychological discomfort and have a negative impact on the brand. On July 23, the topic became a hot search on Weibo. As of now, the promotional video is still posted on the Chinese official website, and Nike has not responded to it yet. Another customer service representative of Nike's official website said in a communication, "The customer service department mainly handles product-related after-sales services. We will record the problems you report and feedback them to the relevant departments."

Screenshot of the promotional video.

"Winning isn't for everyone" is a new brand planning and brand blockbuster released worldwide. The full version of the film mixes Kobe, Ronaldo and other well-known sports stars in the 90s fast cut, and is narrated by American actor Willem Dafoe. It opens with the subtitle "Am I a bad person?" to recreate the key moments on the court. Some famous athletes signed by Nike also participate in it. A Nike spokesperson previously stated that this advertisement shows the inner monologue of Olympic athletes, who performed well and "celebrated everything it takes to be a winner."

According to a previous report by Nandu, on June 27, Nike released its fourth quarter and full-year financial results for fiscal year 2024 ending May 31, 2024. The group achieved revenue of $12.606 billion in the fourth quarter ending May 31, which was lower than market expectations and a year-on-year decline of 2%; the annual revenue in 2024 was $51.362 billion, which was flat year-on-year. Wind data showed that this was Nike's slowest annual sales growth since 2010. The next day, Nike's stock price plummeted 19.98%, closing at $75.37, and fell to a low of $74.555 during the session, setting the largest single-day drop in history. The current market value is about $113.76 billion, and the market value evaporated by about $28.41 billion (about RMB 206.46 billion).Previous report: Nike's stock price plummeted nearly 20% after the release of its financial report, with the slowest sales growth in 14 years

Compared with Nike's stalled growth, Adidas has shown a trend of performance recovery among the old sports shoes and clothing brands. Adidas recently announced preliminary data for the second fiscal quarter. The group's revenue soared 11% to 5.822 billion euros. Excluding Yeezy sales in the past two years, revenue increased by 16%, and operating profit soared 97% to 346 million euros, including about 50 million euros contributed by the sale of some remaining Yeezy inventory. This is the first quarter of Adidas' continued growth. The first quarter of 2024 financial report shows that Adidas achieved revenue of 5.458 billion euros in the quarter, an increase of 8% over the same period last year at an unchanged exchange rate, operating profit of 336 million euros, and gross profit margin increased by 6.4 percentage points to 51.2%.Previous report: Adidas and Asics saw a sharp increase in revenue in the second quarter and raised their full-year profit expectations

According to a survey by Citi analyst Paul Lejuez, although Nike is still a leader in the field of sports equipment in North America and Europe and the United States, the brand's appeal in the Chinese market is no longer as good as Adidas, which has caused concerns among senior executives. According to the survey, Chinese consumers believe that Adidas is the most innovative brand and the brand they are most likely to buy. It is reported that Paul Lejuez interviewed 1,600 North American consumers, 1,000 Chinese consumers and 900 European consumers. The results showed that North American and European consumers were relatively consistent, with Nike ranking first in both Net Recommendation Score (NPS) and purchase intention, but in China, the brand that respondents tend to buy is Adidas.

Meanwhile, major Wall Street banks have downgraded Nike's stock ratings. JPMorgan Chase downgraded Nike's stock rating to "neutral" after rating it "overweight". Morgan Stanley downgraded Nike's rating from "overweight" to "hold and wait", mainly because Nike's performance was disappointing. Industry analysts believe that consumers have become more picky about non-essential spending, and Nike has launched more and more classic old products, which has driven new professional sports brands such as On and Hoka to gradually snatch customers from old sports merchants.

In 2023, the Chinese market contributed 15% of Nike's total revenue, down from 16% in 2020. Looking at the $7.5 billion in revenue from Greater China in fiscal 2024, it accounts for about 14% of Nike's total revenue, a year-on-year decline. Nike Chief Financial Officer Matthew Friend revealed in a financial report conference call: "If the Chinese market had not started the 618 Shopping Festival in advance, Nike's sales in China would not have met its internal expectations."

Written by: Nandu reporter Wang Xin