Nike’s Comeback Is Still Stuck in Slow Motion

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Good morning, friends! Welcome back to The Kicks You Wear. Thanks so much for reading today. I appreciate you giving me a bit of your time. I hope you had a great weekend.

I made my way out to the Washington Mystics game here in D.C. on Sunday and experienced a four-overtime thriller, which turned out to be the longest game in WNBA history. I had a blast! I also never want to do that again, haha.

With today’s newsletter, I’ll set expectations for Nike’s upcoming earnings call. The company set the bar low for this quarter on its last call, but shifted attention to the third quarter of its fiscal 2027 year, where its “Sport Offense” strategy will be more fully formed. I’ll explain more below.

Plus, Ralph Lauren recently announced an extension deal with Wimbledon to maintain its status as the tournament’s apparel sponsor for the next decade, as tennis’ presence in fashion continues to grow larger by the year. That’ll be 30 years of Ralph Lauren by the time the contract ends.

Quick hits:

• BoF and McKinsey & Company’s latest State of Fashion report, this one a deep dive on luxury clients, just dropped. This is your must-read for the week.
• This piece from Angelo Flaccavento on what fashion’s version of masculinity looks like in 2026 following Paris’ men’s shows is one of the most interesting things you’ll read this week.
• I enjoyed reading this piece on Jay-Z’s 30-year anniversary exhibit. I’m still in awe from his performance at the Roots Picnic. If you can get out to the exhibit, you should.
• Here’s Snobette’s Lois Sakany on how Nike got its marketing groove back.

Let’s get to it.

Setting the Bar for Nike

It’s been years since Nike has built up a marketing moment equal to this year’s World Cup. Between the brand’s massive six-minute ad, the celebrities who took part in it and the activations that have followed, the brand’s presence has shined throughout the tournament.

It’s unlikely that we’ll see any of that impact reflected in the company’s fourth-quarter or full-year results, which ended on May 31.

Between the lines: While it’s possible there could be some positive momentum revealed in the company’s upcoming results, it’s unlikely that anything included will be the ultimate signal that Nike’s comeback plan is working. Chief executive Elliott Hill recently told the Financial Times on Monday that the brand is a bit behind schedule on its comeback attempt, in part thanks to external headwinds from the US’s tariff policy and rising oil prices.

“What I didn’t realise until I got in is the amount of work that needed to be done and the amount of time [it would take] to get us to where we are and, more importantly, where we want to go,” he said.

Pair Hill’s tone this week ahead of the call with the expectations set by outgoing chief financial officer Matthew Friend. During Nike’s third-quarter earnings call in March, he said the company expects its revenue to fall between two percent and four percent in the quarter.

• Friend said the company expects revenue in Greater China to be down by 20 percent as the company continues to clean up its marketplace. He also noted that the company expects its business with Converse to decline as well.
• There is an expectation for “modest growth” in North America despite the declines in China and Converse.

Outside looking in: That guidance seems to have tempered analyst expectations so far, as my colleague Eric Sylvers pointed out in The Week Ahead. Most believe things will get a bit worse for Nike before they get better in China, where customers continue to gravitate toward domestic labels that are cooler and less expensive than Nike in the region. The same can be said for the company’s Converse business, which seems to be headed toward a hard reset after Nike moved the brand’s biggest name in NBA star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander under its own umbrella.

The state of play: It’s likely that, after seeing the company’s fourth-quarter results, most will leave with more questions than answers. But at the very least, we do have a timeline on when some of those questions will be answered thanks to some key moments the brand has outlined over the last few months.

First, Nike said it’s holding an investor day in the fall at its Beaverton headquarters, where it will return to providing full-year and long-term guidance for the business for the first time since June 2024. Nike hasn’t announced a date for the event yet, but the company will have a new chief financial officer when that happens. Friend is exiting the business in September. He’ll be replaced by former Pfizer executive David Denton, who will serve as the company’s new CFO starting Aug. 17.

During the company’s third quarter earnings call, Nike chief executive Elliott Hill also pointed to Spring 2027 as the first quarter that will have “product flowing into the marketplace from the Sport Offense.”

The company’s Sport Offense strategy is the same one it has been using on its running business in recent quarters: A plan prioritising the development and production of innovative performance products. In the third quarter, Nike running saw over 20 percent growth.

Those same expectations shouldn’t necessarily be set for every category, but they do provide an example of what is possible if things break the right way for the company.

The bottom line: Spring 2027 is a long way away. There’s a lot that will happen between now and then, and all of it might not be positive. I wouldn’t count all of my eggs before they hatch.

But if you’re looking for when Nike’s comeback may finally bear fruit, that will be the window.

The Sneaker of the Year Conversation

In recent years, there’s always been one single sneaker design driving the cultural conversation. Think shoes like 2019’s Sacai Waffle or 2022’s A Ma Maniere Air Jordan 3. Most people would consider that the “Sneaker of the Year” — an unofficial award driven by public opinion bestowed upon a brand and its best design or collaboration.

In 2025, there wasn’t a definitive choice for the award — at least not according to the reporting that I did alongside my colleague Lei Takanashi. There were several shoes that mattered in the conversation, but not a single pair that really dominated it.

Fast forward: So far in 2026, it seems we might be headed down the same path. A few models stick out, but none really sprint ahead of the competition. Some of the more popular drivers of the conversation aren’t even actual sneakers.

The contenders so far: We’re about halfway through the year, so I figured now would be as good a time as any to check in on some of the candidates here.

I made a quick short list of my favourites so far:

• The Nike Mind 001: This is arguably the most sought-after piece of footwear on the market. According to secondary market platform StockX, the light grey colourway of the shoe is the No. 1 release from Nike in the platform’s history.
• Satoshi Nakamoto x Vans OTW: The way consumers reacted to these Vans felt like old school Air Jordan releases. They camped out overnight, waiting in long lines and even fought just to get pairs. Vans had a legitimate hit here.
• Adizero Evo SL: The Evo SL was a big part of last year’s conversation, which was already notable since it’s rare for a performance running shoe to be in the mix, but it feels like it’s getting a bigger boost this year thanks to the brand’s moment at the Boston Marathon, when two runners wearing the shoe made history by completing the race in less than two hours. Google Trends data shows a 120 percent search increase year over year, with a huge spike coming in April right around the time of the marathon.
• Melitta Baumeister x Nike Vomero Premium: The Vomero Premium was already an interesting silhouette before Nike’s Melitta Baumeister collaboration. I’ve seen this model on the street several times already this year and it always looks different. It’s eye-catching.
• Nike x Virgil Abloh Archives Air Jordan 1: The Virgil Abloh Archives drop was one of the most anticipated of 2026 so far. It’s a bit controversial, considering that it’s essentially a retread of a design from the late Abloh. But that didn’t stop it from being an instant sell through.

There’s still plenty of time and more newness to come from brands. We’ll see where things end up at the end of the year. If I had to bet, though, I’d say the Evo SL will almost certainly be in the conversation when December rolls around. We’ll see.

Ralph Lauren Re-Ups with Wimbledon

The start of Wimbledon this week not only signifies the beginning of tennis’ premier event. It’s begins the third decade of Ralph Lauren serving as the tournament’s official outfitter.

The news: The company announced the multi-year extension with the All England Lawn Tennis Club earlier in June.

• The partnership between the two sides began in 2006 when Ralph Lauren became the first designer in the tournament’s history to create uniforms for its officials.
• Deborah Jevans, the chair of the All England Club, said the partnership has gone from “strength to strength” in the two decades since. “We look forward to continuing to shape the style of the champions with Ralph Lauren,” she said.

The backdrop: This extension comes amid a tennis boom in fashion. The sport has never been more interesting to fashion brands with high-end luxury labels pouring into the tournaments and the athletes that play in them. It’s a sport with elite origins that now carries more mass appeal, creating a sweet spot for brands that allows them to grow their audiences.

Ralph Lauren has been the gold standard for fashion in tennis for the last 20 years, largely thanks to its partnerships with the US Open, which began in 2005, and Wimbledon, which began a year later in 2006. The brand has become synonymous with the sport because of its presence on these massive stages.

Why this matters: When the Australian Open shifted its own apparel sponsorship away from Ralph Lauren to Hugo Boss after six years, questions naturally arose about the brand’s future in tennis and what it might look like.

The company affirmed its overall commitment to tennis and sports as part of its business following the news of the Australian Open’s decision. This extension with Wimbledon further confirms that.

Skims Rethinks Athleticism with Will Ferrell

Will Ferrell certainly isn’t who I’d think of when I think of an athlete. But that didn’t stop Skims from including the comedian in its latest campaign.

Wait, what? The brand tapped Ferrell to model its newly launched cotton brief, cotton rib tank and crew socks. He showed up for the shoot in character as Lonnie Hawkins, a golf legend who Ferrell plays in Netflix’s “The Hawk.”

• The tagline for the campaign is “Built for men who know they’ve still got it,” which absolutely got a chuckle out of me.

Why this matters: Aside from giving me a good laugh, I thought this was a good example of a brand reinterpreting what an “athlete” is. It’s easy to get caught up in the trap of trying to snag a star athlete to star in a campaign, but sometimes that can feel a bit redundant as the same faces are recycled over and over.

Ferrell’s appearance here is a pleasant surprise and a change of pace. Other brands have adopted this strategy, too. On has mastered this playbook with Zendaya, for example. She’s not an athlete, but her work in Challengers along with her tennis fandom have made her a star within the atmosphere of the sport.

Sometimes choosing someone athlete-adjacent can be an interesting and fun option.

What’s Droppin’, Bruh?

This is a dedicated section detailing upcoming sneaker releases for the week, and sometimes other interesting drops I think you might care about.

• Brain Dead x Disney x Adidas Predator — Tuesday, June 30
• Nike Air Force 1 Low ‘01 — Wednesday, July 1
• Adidas Climacool Laced — Wednesday, July 1
• A-Cold-Wall x Salomon ACS Pro — Wednesday, July 1
• a-Feeling x Saucony ProGrid Paramount — Thursday, July 2

Thanks for reading, gang!

If you have any questions, comments or concerns, reach out to me via email at michael.sykes@businessoffashion.com or shoot me a message @MikeDSykes via socials.

Peace and love. Be safe, be easy, be kind. We out.

-Sykes 💯