John Emont

Yeah, well, things have really been tough for Nike over the past few years, going back about five years now.

So Nike was huge in China.

There was a growing sports market and Nike really owned it to a great degree.

And so Nike sponsored Chinese athletes and it really made itself known.

a brand that was associated with athletic prowess.

And the NBA, which, of course, Nike's very associated with as well, is very popular, was very popular for a very long time in China, too.

So Nike just had this great position, and they enjoyed double-digit growth for many years.

And it became a real cash cow for the company and a reason that investors were very excited about Nike's prospects.

But that hasn't been true recently.

Nike's situation in China has gotten so bad that revenue over the past three quarters was nearly 30% lower than in the same period five years ago.

And the company has said that they're estimating that this current quarter, that revenue will drop by about 20%.

Right.

Well, I guess the most positive read for Nike is they were a victim of their own success.

They were just so big that it was going to be hard to maintain.

And that there are a lot of new competitive brands that are very interested in the Chinese market, from foreign brands like An and Hoka to these increasingly competitive domestic brands like Li Ning and Anta.

And so it was hard for Nike to maintain control over its huge market share.

And at the same time, younger Chinese especially were

are very interested in using clothing to express themselves, to show their identity.

And Nike's in everything.

You know, they make tennis shoes, they make soccer shoes, they make running shoes, they make basketball shoes.