Nike’s new chief executive officer Elliott Hill is making the rounds with top industry analysts to update them on the state of the company’s business.
According to several recent analysts notes about these meetings, the overall consensus is that Nike management is making the right moves but still has a long way to go before the beleaguered brand returns to its glory days. It’s expected that a recovery will commence in the back half of the second quarter of fiscal 2026, which is set to accelerate through the balance of fiscal 2026.
“We came away very impressed with Mr. Hill, and we believe that his experience with the company and his viewpoint towards the business make him the right person for the job,” Needham analyst Tom Nikic wrote in a note last week.
Here, FN breaks down some of the key takeaways from Hill’s recent meeting streak with analysts.
Air Force 1s, Jordan 1s, and Dunks Must Be Cut
Several analysts stressed the importance of Hill and Nike cleaning up its distribution of the oversaturated Air Force 1, Jordan 1 and Dunk models.
“The Dunk, which went from almost nothing to huge over the past 6 to 7 years and does not have the Nike history of the Air Force 1 or the Jordan 1, will almost be obsoleted over the next year,” Williams Trading analyst Sam Poser wrote in a note on Monday. “We are confident that other styles and a stronger and more controlled Air Force and Jordan businesses, combined with emerging franchises and updates to older franchises will offset the now ubiquitous Dunk business in second quarter of fiscal 2026.”
Accelerating Product Innovation
“Historically, when Nike has fallen on hard times in the past, product has been the reason it turned around – such as in 2017, with the Epic React, Air Max 270, Virgil Abloh collab,” Nikic said.
He added that one example of Nike’s renewed focus on innovation under Hill was the recent release of the Pegasus Premium, which was accelerated to launch by a year. The initial launch sold out, but more drops like this is necessary going forward.
[Fresh] offerings include new colors of Air Force 1s, updates to Jordan Retros, more colorways of the Pegasus Premium, the Vomero Plus, updated Deion Sanders shoes, the Diamond Turf x DT Max, the DN8, the MaxMoto for women, and some core footwear directed at more price conscious consumers, drew interest with athletic lifestyle retailers,” Poser added.
Rebuilding Its Wholesale
In a stark reversal of a previous strategy that saw Nike pivot away from wholesale, the athletic brand turned its focus back to building its retailer relationships in 2024, but more is needed to be done.
“By maintaining its over-commitment to DTC, and failing to properly support its wholesale partners, Nike lost touch with its competition, and lost that winning feeling,” Poser wrote.
But to the Jefferies analyst team, Hill is already making improvements.
“Early in his tenure, Hill has met with retail partners and started implementing an integrated consumer-led marketplace to foster stronger collaboration between Nike’s Direct and wholesale businesses,” the Jefferies analyst team wrote in a note last week. “That said, we anticipate retail partners will continue featuring competitors like On, Hoka, Adidas, and New Balance, as these brands are resonating with consumers.”
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