On Monday, Elliot Hill became CEO of Nike, starting his reign as the company faces a sales downturn and struggles with its stock price. Hill is a Nike veteran who retired in 2020 as a President of Consumer and Marketplace. Now, he is back in the company and has the huge responsibility of getting the sneaker and apparel giant back on track. His work experience of more than three decades at Nike will be a great helping hand for him.
Hill addressed Nike employees in an all-hands meeting on Monday, and he made it clear that a lot of work needs to be done to bounce back. In a video shared with employees, Hill said, “Everyone needs to come together to rally as a team and to move forward with speed and a sense of urgency.”
New CEO Elliott Hill Makes a Comeback at Nike
In 1988, Hill joined Nike as an apparel sales representative intern. He spent more than three decades at the company before retiring in 2020. Thomas Roulet, Professor at the University of Cambridge’s Judge School said, “Not many CEOs have spent their whole careers at a single company. Many companies go in another direction, picking people from a rival or other big companies to bring new ideas and experience.”
While other companies chose CEO from other big firms, Nike has decided to go with a veteran who has experience with the traditional Nike workload and sales. This is in stark contrast to his predecessor, John Donahoe who joined the company in 2020. Donahoe previously worked as CEO of eBay and a software company ServiceNow, and was considered a stranger at Nike.
Matthew Friend, Chief Financial Officer said, “A comeback of this size requires time, but we thrive for early successes—from building momentum in key sports to speeding up our innovation and new product development.”
Hill Takes on New Challenges
Eliott Hill’s journey as the new CEO starts with several challenges that need urgent attention. Earlier this month, Nike reported its first fiscal quarter earnings with revenue declining 10%, to $11.6 billion. The company also cut its annual sales guidance forecast and said that it expects second-quarter revenue to fall lower between 8% and 10%.
In recent years, Nike has majorly focused on the sale of classic franchises like the Air Force 1, Air Jordan 1, and Dunk. These products had much lower sales than expected, and the company is under pressure as rivals swoop in and steal market shares. Louis Deglise-Favre, apparel analyst at GlobalData wrote, “Nike is losing out because of its lack of innovation and lagging fashion credentials.”
Despite the challenges, Nike is still a revered brand much loved by its customers. Hill has a good opportunity to revitalize Nike and bring the company’s revenue back up to meet expectations.
