Nike made a splash with its February announcement of a new brand linked with Kim Kardashian’s Skims, called NikeSkims.
It’s been quiet since as the new brand’s spring launch date came and went.
A report from Bloomberg this week offered the obvious: the label’s launch was pushed due to production delays. The report cited people with knowledge of the brand’s plans in adding that NikeSkims is still expected to be released this year in the U.S. followed by global expansion.
When Nike and Skims first announced news of the brand, they offered a big promise: to “disrupt” the activewear industry with the new women’s line of apparel, footwear and accessories.
They offered little in the way of specifics around retail distribution and price points.
A lot’s riding on the launch for Nike, which has been struggling across categories and distribution points.
“The apparel space is ripe for fresh thinking, and I’ve asked our team to keep innovating across the spectrum of performance and style, and to seek out white space in the market to complement our brands and product portfolio,” Nike Inc. President and CEO Elliott Hill told analysts during the company’s March quarterly update. “Our responsibility is to grow the overall market. One of the most powerful ways we do that is through a relentless flow of coveted and innovative product through our powerful brands in both performance and sportswear for men, women and kids across footwear, apparel and accessories and up and down price points.”
Nike Turns Up Heat to Improve Business
The most recent quarterly results highlight Nike’s struggles.
Revenue fell 7 percent, excluding the impact of exchange rates, to $11.3 billion in the fiscal third quarter ended Feb. 28.
The slip was driven by direct-to-consumer sales (off 10 percent to $4.7 billion) and wholesale (down 4 percent to $6.2 billion).
On a category basis the challenges were most acute in footwear, with sales falling in all regions.
Apparel performance globally didn’t do much better, although sales there were up 8 percent in constant currency in the company’s largest market of North America.
On a brand basis, Nike and Converse sales fell. Converse held the largest drop of 16 percent.
In the case of apparel, the diversification of the mix is key, Hill told analysts.
The Nike 24.7 lifestyle collection released earlier this year is an example of that with its pleated skirts, half-zip sweatshirts, button-down tops and other pieces meant to be worn throughout the day.
“We want to minimize our reliance on fleece and push the edges to build new businesses,” Hill said. “And that doesn’t have to fit neatly into the sportswear category either. This quarter’s new 24.7 collection brings performance materials to high-style training apparel.”
The CEO said the first month of sales for the new line “exceeded expectations.”
The hope is NikeSkims continues the conversation around apparel assortment diversity—once it launches.
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