Nike’s Impressive Speed Play

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Good morning, friends! Welcome back to The Kicks You Wear. Thanks so much for reading today. Happy Friday! It’s Halloween weekend already, somehow. Where has 2026 gone? It feels like just yesterday we were popping champagne and ringing in the new year.

Today’s newsletter begins with Nike’s new Vegam Run shoes. This is a brand new silhouette from the Swoosh set to launch exclusively in India on Sunday. The shoe took just 55 days to produce and five months to go to market, an extraordinarily quick turnaround when it comes to footwear. These shortened production windows will be part of Nike’s strategy moving forward. I’m really interested in seeing how people react to the product.

Plus, VF Corp reported earnings this week. And for once, Vans seems to be on the up and up. The overall financials aren’t great, but there are finally signs the company’s turnaround is finally progressing. We’ll dive into more details today.

Quick hits:

• Lady Gaga is the new CEO of Haus Labs. Our Jessica Kwon has details on the big news.
• Our Sheena Butler-Young’s latest on luxury’s battle for million-dollar salespeople is fascinating. Who knew that sales associates had this much power?
• Absolutely fascinating story here from BoF’s Lei Takanashi on how Twitch and Discord are shaping the next generation of menswear enthusiasts.
• It’s insane how quickly Adidas put out this new Anthony Edwards ad just days after the announcement of his big injury. Bravo, marketing team.

Let’s get to it.

Nike’s Speed Game

Nike’s journey to dominate the burgeoning Indian sportswear market begins on Sunday with the release of its newest running silhouette, the Vegam Run. On the surface, this might feel like just another runner, but it could be one of the most consequential products on the market in 2026.

The details: The shoe is set to launch exclusively in India on Nov. 1 at Flipkart and other select retail locations in a limited capacity. The shoe was created with feedback enlisted from consumers across the country.

• It was built primarily for running but can also withstand everyday wear, including the moments before and after a run.
• The colourways — coming initially in vibrant pink and yellow hues — are also locally inspired. A third yet-to-be-revealed colourway comes from Nike’s “After Dark Tour,” the brand’s women-led series where runners gather in specific locations to race after dark. The event has a Mumbai stop coming in December.

Why it matters: This shoe is a direct result of two new strategies chief executive Elliott Hill announced during the company’s first quarter earnings call.

1. A new focus on India: The company is planting new seeds in the country, developing new, localised product lines and even building a new global campus in Bengaluru. That’s a smart move, given that the value of the Indian sportswear industry is expected to hit $13.7 billion by 2030, according to Euromonitor.
2. A focus on local communities: Nike also wanted to double down on the local consumers within each of its geographies, giving those groups products more specifically tailored to their individual needs.

What’s impressive is how quickly this was all delivered. Nike says the shoe went from design brief to product within a span of 55 days, with another three months to launch, a process that usually takes 18 months to two years. Nike cut that timeline down thanks to localised production and the product’s limited nature. This shoe will have another short-run launch across more retailers in India in spring of 2027 and a wider global release later in the year.

Zoom out: This is a strategy we’ll be seeing a lot more of from Nike, even outside of India. In fact, we’ve already seen it happen in China, which is another geography the company is looking to make up ground in.

• The brand’s new team, dubbed the Local Creation Collection, designed a new Jordan Brand apparel line alongside local manufacturers in China in just 120 days.
• The 20-plus piece assortment was meant to combine Jordan’s streetwear style with local Chinese street aesthetics using elevated materials and looks that didn’t feel copied and pasted from past collaborations.

Be smart: There are so many elements here at work that should ultimately drive Nike’s desirability among consumers in these local geographies. The quick turnaround doesn’t leave consumers waiting on these projects for too long. The limited nature and specificity of these creations gives them an air of exclusivity. The local touch makes it feel a bit more familiar and closer to home. On paper, this should work really well. But the product has to stick. If people don’t like it, nothing else really matters.

We’ll see if the Vegam Run moves people in India. But, at the very least, this is a sound strategy from the brand that could pay off in the long run.

Vans’ Comeback Has Finally Begun

I know, I know. I’ve said this about Vans before. Maybe in the past, my optimism came a bit too early. Even now, it’s not yet appeared in in VF Corp’s financials. But I stand by everything I’ve said so far — a Vans comeback has been brewing for a while now. But this week’s earnings, while not evidence of a full turnaround, the numbers are there to prove it.

The latest: VF Corp’s second quarter earnings call revealed that Vans’ overall sales are down 9.8 percent on the year. But chief executive Bracken Darrell revealed that the footwear brand’s global direct-to-consumer business grew for the first time in nearly five years — what could be a true inflection point for the company.

Why that matters: The only positive for Vans for the last few quarters has been its business in the Americas, which grew 4 percent in VF Corp’s first quarter. Not only is this another category for Vans showing positive momentum, but it’s evidence of growth on a global scale. That’s a major green shoot.

The intrigue: The positives were bound to come in at some point for Vans. The company’s impact in fashion is real. There’s a reason it keeps popping up in our annual “Sneaker of the Year” conversations. It’s resonating thanks to the hype behind creative general release models like the “Souvenir” Old Skool 36 and the newfound excitement behind partnerships like the company’s Satoshi Nakamoto collaboration.

• In a survey of over 9,000 consumers conducted by management consulting firm, Alix Partners, Vans was ranked as the second most popular fashion footwear brand, only behind fellow VF Corp subsidiary Timberland.

Reality check: With that said, the company is still a bit of a ball and chain for the rest of VF Corp. The wider business’s overall sales are flat, but Timberland and The North Face both grew by 4 percent in the quarter. Vans’ slow turnaround is absolutely costing the company with investors. Tom Nikic, managing director at investment banking firm Needham, put it perfectly here:

“While there are still green shoots at Vans, and guidance is for trends to improve significantly in fiscal 2H, the glacial pace of the turnaround continues to be frustrating.”

But, if its global DTC business is any indication, that wait may not be going on for much longer.

Keep Eyes On Altra

I usually don’t double up on a specific company’s earnings, but I felt like VF Corp’s Altra deserved a shoutout here. The performance running brand grew by 40 percent in the quarter, according to Darrell.

Altra feels unique: It’s less like your typical running outfits that concentrate on the elite runners. Altra has found a niche in grassroots running and building the consumer’s skill in the sport. It’s provided a running guide on its website with training tips for runners on all skill levels. That makes the product feel a bit more welcoming to the average consumer.

The brand has also connected with niche audiences in the running space that other brands haven’t. For example, Altra has targeted older runners with its “Legacy Team.” It includes four British runners between the ages of 75 and 85, who are a combined 300 years old.

VF Corp has owned the running company since 2018, but this might be one of the few times I’ve actually heard it mentioned on the call. If it keeps this up, it certainly won’t be the last.

Adidas’ Apparel Is The New Samba

The Samba has been slowing down for months now, prompting questions on what will replace it. Apparently, we’ve been looking at the wrong category.

What’s new: Adidas’ fiscal third-quarter earnings call this week showed strong results once again, with revenue growing 9 percent to €7.3 billion ($8.1 billion). Operating profit is expected to reach €2.5 billion for the year. But the key detail, in my opinion, was the answer to the Samba question, which wasn’t what most people expected.

According to chief executive Bjorn Gulden, the new Samba is actually Adidas’ apparel business.

• Adidas’ apparel grew 19 percent overall on a currency-neutral basis.
• Zooming in a bit, Adidas Originals, which is the brand’s lifestyle and heritage sub-brand, saw its revenue grow nearly 50 percent.

Driving the growth: Adidas’ apparel has been able to cross over outside of sportswear and really lean into fashion. Partnerships with laureates like Grace Wales Bonner, Simone Rocha and Willy Chavarria, who recently launched a new “adiSignature” line with the brand, give its apparel more cachet. Plus, Gulden told investors, Adidas’ exploration of new materials has made a big difference.

“We have a great team,” said Gulden to investors on the call. “They have the freedom now to go way outside what we used to do, which was basically cotton and polyester.”

The big picture: Adidas is still primarily a footwear company and eventually will need to introduce a shoe that captivates the market the same way the Samba did. But in the meantime, apparel is holding down the fort well enough.

#TheKicksWeWear

This is the community section of the newsletter where you (Yes, you!!!!) send me your best fits and kicks from the week. Feel free to send submissions to michael.sykes@businessoffashion.com or shoot me a message via social channels @MikeDSykes

Good rotation today, folks. First, my guy Max came through with the Pigalle Air Force 1s. These are really good. It’s rare that a triple-black shoe works for me, but I just like the shape of these. And Max has worn them into the ground, haha.

Marissa pulled out a Golden Goose pair for her birthday. Happy birthday, homie! Hope you had a fantastic one. Always good to see someone being treated with kicks.

Then Watts came through with a CRAZY rotation. Lots of New Balance. Some really good Nike, too. Those Infrared Air Max 90s are sick. So are the Every Now and Then 992s — still upset I missed out on a pair myself.

Good stuff gang.

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 💯