- Nike veteran Elliott Hill started as the new CEO on Monday.
- Hill takes the helm as the company is facing multiple challenges.
- Nike said it’s aiming to boost innovation and reduce reliance on retro styles for future growth.
Elliott Hill became CEO of Nike on Monday, taking the reigns at a time when the company is facing a sales downturn and a struggling stock price.
Hill, a Nike veteran who retired in 2020, is tasked with getting the sneaker and apparel giant back on track. He’ll have his work cut out for him.
Earlier this month, Nike reported in its fiscal first-quarter earnings that revenue declined 10%, to $11.6 billion. The company also withdrew its full-year sales guidance and said that it expects Q2 revenue to be down between 8% and 10%.
During the last few years, Nike has focused heavily on selling classic franchises like the Air Force 1, Air Jordan 1, and Dunk. But those products haven’t been selling as well as they used to, and now the company is under pressure as rivals swoop in and steal market share.
“Nike has lost out to competitors due to its lasting lack of innovation and lagging fashion credentials,” Louise Deglise-Favre, apparel analyst at GlobalData, wrote in a note in early October.
On the company’s October earnings call, which Hill wasn’t present for, Nike said that “newness and innovation” would drive the company’s future as it tries to rely less on retro styles. The sports giant also said it’s leaning into its identity as a running brand to try to regain traction.
Hill is tasked with leading Nike through its next chapter and determining what other changes the company needs to get back on track.
Hill is expected to address Nike employees in an all-hands meeting on Monday, and he’s already made it clear to them that he knows there is a lot of work to do.
“I know things haven’t been easy, and we certainly have taken our fair share of shots,” Hill said in an email to employees in September reported by Bloomberg.
In a video shared with employees, he also said that it is time for “everyone to come together and rally as a team” and “to move with speed and a sense of urgency.”
Three decades with Nike — and now, a new chapter
Hill joined Nike in 1988 as an apparel sales representative intern, according to his LinkedIn profile. He spent 32 years at the company before retiring in 2020.
Not many CEOs have spent their whole careers at a single company, Thomas Roulet, professor of organizational sociology and leadership at the University of Cambridge’s Judge Business School, previously said. Many companies go the opposite direction, picking people with experience at other firms to bring in new ideas.
Indeed, Hill’s long history at Nike is a contrast with his predecessor, John Donahoe, who joined the company as CEO in 2020. Donahoe had stints previously as CEO of eBay and software company ServiceNow and was viewed by many Nike employees as an outsider to the company and the sneaker culture that has made it famous.
Nike announced last month that Hill would take the brand’s top job. He will serve as president and CEO and hold a director position on Nike’s board.
“A comeback at this scale takes time, but we see early wins — from momentum in key sports to accelerating our pace of newness and innovation,” said chief financial officer Matthew Friend on the most recent earnings call.
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