Podcast Summary: The Journal

Episode: Can Nike Make Its Shoes Cool Again?
Date: November 18, 2025
Hosts: Ryan Knutson & Jessica Mendoza
Reporter: NT Pacheco
Special Guest: Elliot Hill (CEO, Nike)

Overview

This episode examines Nike’s recent struggles and the strategic plans of its new CEO, Elliot Hill, to revive the brand’s cool factor and financial performance. Through interviews, on-site reporting at Nike’s Oregon headquarters, and analysis, the hosts explore Nike’s missteps, the current turnaround plan, and the innovative products the company hopes will win back consumers and investors.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Elliot Hill’s Climb & Emotional Connection to Nike

• Hill’s Career: Started at Nike as an intern, moved through the ranks over 37 years.
• Viral Resume: “Everyone was just sharing his…job descriptions for the past 37 years, which is all Nike.” (NT Pacheco, 00:12)
• Leadership Style: Hill is known for his deep emotional connection to the company, sometimes weeping when discussing Nike and its employees.

2. Nike’s Recent Downturn

• Financial Dip: Stock value cut in half since 2022; five consecutive quarters of sales decline. (Ryan Knudson, 01:20)
• Forecast Misses: Even as Nike set a global sales record in 2023 ($50+ billion), executives anticipated impending declines. (NT Pacheco, 04:22)
• Strategic Missteps:
  • Betting heavy on e-commerce: cutting ties with retailers hurt sales instead of boosting margins.
  • Overproducing retro shoes like Air Jordans and Dunks, saturating the market and disappointing sneaker culture purists.

Quote:
-“Literally everyone had that shoe... sneakerheads hated that shoe because... what they thought was, like, a very niche, cool culture...was being taken away from them.”
(NT Pacheco, 06:09)

Memorable Moment:

• Elliot Hill repeatedly naming the "Panda Dunk" as the worst sneaker—“Panda… Panda… Panda.” (06:25–06:36)

3. Competition Stepping In

• While Nike focused on fashion/casual and retro, rivals like Hoka and On took over the performance running market, capitalizing on the running-boom and leaving Nike sidelined. (NT Pacheco, 06:50)

4. The Turnaround: ‘Back to the Athlete’

• Refocusing Strategy:
  • Nike is reorganizing product lines around sports (like basketball, running, soccer) instead of demographics (men’s, women’s, kids’).
  • Stores now reflect this focus, with improved in-store navigation and sharper product stories.

Quote:

• “What I tried to do is go back to what is essential to Nike, and that is putting the athlete back at the center of everything that we do.”
  (Elliot Hill, 08:23)

• Renewed Retail Partner Strategy:

  • Nike is rebuilding relationships with traditional retailers, including Foot Locker and Amazon, aiming for “the right assortment for that specific consumer.” (Elliot Hill, 10:11)

5. Innovation: Nike’s New Bet

New Technologies & Products

• LeBron James Building/NSRL: Nike’s advanced R&D center in Oregon, housing scientists, engineers, and designers tackling athlete problems. (12:08–12:48)
• Wild Prototypes:
  • Inflatable puffer coat with adjustable temperature (13:09)
  • E-bike for Your Feet:
    • Motorized apparatus to assist walking/running: potentially helpful for elderly, people with mobility issues, or kids. (13:27–13:58)
  • Nike Mind:
    • Shoes with “special bumps” to massage and relax the wearer pre-competition, developed through brainwave research for optimizing focus. (14:10–14:42)

Quote:

• “So you wear these shoes before game time, and then it'll help relax and calm you down, and then you can go perform well.”
  (Ryan Knudson, 14:42)

Speeding Up Shoe Development

• Vomero Premium Running Shoe: Now available, features a super-thick (2") midsole—a direct play against modern ‘max comfort’ rivals like Hoka.
  • Notably, developed in just 8 months (vs. Nike’s usual 18), by embedding teams in the manufacturing process in South Korea to accelerate iterations. (15:55)
• User Experience:
  • “I think it's the softest shoe I've ever worn. The cushion in these shoes is actually insane.”
    (NT Pacheco, 15:42)

Is Nike’s Course Correction Working?

• Some investors are optimistic about the new direction, but others worry the market is now too fragmented and competitive, with challengers like Hoka, On, Asics, and New Balance all growing.
• Pendulum Problem:
  • Nike may be swinging too hard from focusing on retro/casual/fashion to sports/innovation; such dramatic shifts might risk alienating both old and new fans.
  • “If you do it too hard, it might backfire. There was this bet on e-commerce, and it... never happened. People went back to stores and, now they're betting on sports... Is that how they're gonna make their money?” (NT Pacheco, 17:43)
  • “Sounds like there’s no idea that’s a slam dunk.” (Ryan Knudson, 18:26)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• Panda Dunk Disdain:

  • “What’s the worst sneaker of all time?”
    – “Panda.”
    – “Give me something else.”
    – “Panda.”
    – “Dude, there’s no one sneaker that’s worse than a panda.”
    – “Panda.”
    (Elliot Hill, 06:25–06:36)

• Reflecting on Strategy Shifts:

  • “Like, they for several years, lean so heavily into the retro throwback…milked that for all it was worth until it kind of blew up in their face…now they're swinging hard in the other direction.”
    (Ryan Knudson, 17:03)

• Playful Puns:

  • “Sounds like there’s no idea that’s a slam dunk.”
    (Ryan Knudson, 18:26)
  • “But we’re just gonna have to wait and see once Nike gets across the finish line.”
    (Ryan Knudson, 18:30)

Timestamps of Key Segments

• Elliot Hill’s Background & Appointment: 00:05–01:44
• Nike’s Decline & Strategic Errors: 04:09–07:23
• Hill’s Turnaround Plan: 07:23–10:30
• Innovation Lab Tour & New Products: 11:58–15:28
• Is it Working? Investor Sentiment: 16:32–18:30
• Closing Banter & Puns: 18:26–18:39

Summary Takeaway

Nike is in a period of intense transition—grappling with past strategic blunders, experimenting with major organizational change, and doubling down on innovation to reclaim lost ground. Though new CEO Elliot Hill is celebrated internally for his devotion and industry experience, Nike’s challenge is navigating a fast-changing, fractured athletic market, regaining its cool, and winning back not just sneakerheads, but also the broader sports community.

As NT Pacheco concludes:

“It’s hard to tell whether shifting focus so hard, so quickly is the solution.” (17:43)

Nike’s next big thing might not be a slam dunk, but the finish line is still ahead—and all eyes are watching.