“The man who made Nike uncool” Bloomberg called him – and 10 days later CEO John Donahoe was toast, to the delight of shareholders. News of his impending departure (Donahoe will be replaced on October 14) saw critics of his leadership come screeching out of the woodwork. Amongst their complaints (other than poor share performance) was a rupture with retail partners and narrow focus on digital channels. Donahoe joined Nike in 2020 when bricks-and-mortar stores were shutting as the pandemic started – and retailers without digital channels and direct-to-consumer muscle were realising their predicament. Donahoe and Nike was arguably a natural fit at the time. His background at eBay and Silicon Valley experience saw him prioritise what are widely regarded in most businesses these days as two linchpins of success. Owned channels that directly reach your customer. Rich first-party data gleaned from those channels. Donahoe had admirable success here. Nike’s digital share of business nearly tripled to 26% in fiscal 2023 from 10% in fiscal 2019. Nike.com alone now has more than 300 million users and processes $20 billion in sales yearly – whilst four applications (SNKRS, the NIKE Mobile App, NTC and NRC) have hit over 500 million […]
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