Nike decided it has too many online distributors in China. Thousands of them. The company will cut them off to stabilize pricing and branding. This is what passes for strategy when you've run out of ideas.
The distributors sold Nike shoes online. Nike let them do this. Nike probably encouraged them to do this. Now Nike has decided this was a mistake. The shoes cost different amounts in different places. Customers noticed. Nike's solution is to pretend the internet works like 1987.
Streamlining the digital footprint. That's what they're calling it. You know what else streamlines a digital footprint? Bankruptcy. Also death. Nike went with option three, which is firing everyone who made you money last year because they might make you slightly less money next year.
Some analyst will call this bold. Another will say Nike is getting back to basics. A third will use the phrase disciplined approach to distribution. All three will be wrong. Nike looked at a spreadsheet, saw too many rows, and decided fewer rows would make the spreadsheet better. This is executive leadership in 2026.
The retail trader who bought Nike calls yesterday because the swoosh looked cool is now learning about supply chain management. He thought Nike made shoes. Turns out Nike makes websites that link to other websites that show pictures of shoes. Now there will be fewer websites. The stock moved. He doesn't know which direction. He checked his account. He's down 40%. He still doesn't know what a distributor is.
China has 1.4 billion people and Nike just decided thousands of stores selling their products was too many stores selling their products.
Photo by Xiaolong Wong on Unsplash
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