Nike's defining moves.
The defining strategic moves at Nike — each one explained and grounded in the record.
The Asset-Light Bet · Boundaries of the Firm
Nike Doesn't Make Shoes. It Makes Desire, and Rents the Factories.
Nike doesn't own a single one of the hundreds of factories that make its shoes - yet it earns a ~44% gross margin on $51 billion in sales. That gap is the whole strategy: Nike decided the money was in the swoosh, not the stitching, and rented out everything else. The same bet built its margins and its worst scandal.
7 min
The Distribution Rebellion · Distribution
Nike Bet Its Future on Selling Direct. The Math Was Wrong All Along.
Nike spent seven years tearing up its wholesale shelves to sell straight to you, on a thesis that DTC means fatter margins. It doesn't. The retreat erased $2.7 billion in Nike Direct revenue between FY2024 and FY2025 — and handed the running aisle to On, Hoka, and New Balance.
8 min
The Cannibalization Choice · Business Model
Nike Fired Its Best Salespeople to Sell Direct. Then It Had to Beg Them Back.
Nike's 2020 DTC acceleration looked like a margin win — skip the middleman, keep the discount. By FY2025 it was discounting harder than ever and rehiring an insider to undo it. The retreat proved the pivot was a strategy error, not an execution one.
8 min