January 4, 2026
Swoosh or swoosh-nope?
Nike's Crisis and the Economics of Brand Decay
From Swoosh to Whoops: Fans roast Nike as rivals sprint ahead
TLDR: Nike’s sales plunged 11.5% as rivals filled shelves and athletes bolted. The comments split between “too much hype, not enough quality” and “hey, they’re not the worst,” with spicy drama over Federer’s deal and memes claiming accidental buzz from odd photo ops.
Nike just posted a brutal 11.5% revenue drop to $11.01B, with digital sales down 20% and app downloads down 35%. Cue the comment-section fireworks. Some fans say the company lost the plot when it shoved retailers aside for a direct-to-consumer strategy (selling straight to shoppers), only to watch competitors like On and Hoka grab the shelf space and the spotlight. Others point to CEO John Donahoe’s re-org—splitting teams into Men’s/Women’s/Kids’—as the moment Nike broke what made their shoes feel special.
The hottest take? “I never buy Nike because it’s more marketing than quality.” That theme exploded as users rattled off athlete exits: Roger Federer (now with On), Simone Biles (Athleta), even Tiger Woods starting his own brand. One commenter swears Federer didn’t leave for better tech—“Nike lowballed him.” Meanwhile, a contrarian insists Nike’s not the worst after eyeing leaked World Cup soccer jerseys from Adidas and Puma, cooling the pitchforks… a little.
And the meme brigade? Someone floated the “Maduro rendition photos” bump like it’s an accidental viral rebrand—chaotic, darkly comic, and completely on-brand for the internet. Amid the chaos, a shameless plug slid in for a mailing list, because of course it did. Community verdict: the Swoosh still swooshes, but the comments think it’s lost its stride—and its mystique.
Key Points
- •Nike’s revenue fell 11.5% to $11.01 billion in March 2025; digital sales (-20%), app downloads (-35%), and store foot traffic (-11%) also declined.
- •Gross margins compressed from ~45% (mid-2010s) to 42.7% in fiscal 2025, driven by higher discounts and an unfavorable sales channel mix.
- •A 2020 shift under CEO John Donahoe accelerated direct-to-consumer and cut hundreds of wholesale accounts, reducing retail presence and enabling competitors to fill shelf space.
- •Reorganization from sport-specific product teams to general categories weakened specialized development, led to talent departures, excess inventory, and further margin pressure.
- •Competitors On and Hoka expanded rapidly (On: $330M to $1.8B; Hoka: $352M to $1.4B by 2025); Moody’s linked intensified competition to Nike’s ~10% revenue drop and 42% EBIT decline; multiple athlete endorsements left Nike.