Nike Announces More Job Cuts After Weak Forecast

The news is the latest setback for a brand whose share price has dropped by around 75% in five years. Retail expert Matt Powell told the BBC (the British Broadcasting Corporation) that Nike had made several mistakes. It stopped working with many shops so that it could sell directly to customers online, and it made once-rare limited-edition shoes easy to buy. He also said the company spent money on digital projects instead of new products. Without exciting new products, Nike has had to offer big discounts. Sales in China fell by 26%, the ninth fall in a row, as rival brands grow.

Chief executive Elliott Hill, who returned from retirement two years ago, has focused on key sports such as running and on repairing relationships with shops, but he admits there is "more work to do". There is some good news: the share of sales that Nike keeps as profit after production costs has risen to 42.8%. However, football stars Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal have left Nike for its rivals On and Adidas, and in September the company was removed from the S&P 100, a list of leading US companies. Powell expects the plan to show results next year, but doubts Nike will be as dominant as before.