Can Nike Make Its Shoes Cool Again?

Summary

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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)

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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.

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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

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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.

Transcript

[Ryan Knudsen]

When Elliot Hill took over as the CEO of Nike about a year ago, he went viral on LinkedIn because of his resume.

[NT Pacheco]

Everyone was just sharing his, you know, job descriptions for the past 37 years, which is all Nike. He just started as an intern at Nike. In interviews, he has said that he basically started like moving boxes around and taking calls from customers and, you know, he wrote through the ranks to become an executive.

[Ryan Knudsen]

Last month, our colleague NT Pacheco flew to Nike's headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon and sat down with Hill.

[Elliot Hill]

I mean, I certainly, my job has changed now as a CEO and I've had to learn how to be a CEO, which has been, you know, frankly, a bit of a transition. More time with investors, more time with media like Michelle.

[NT Pacheco]

He says that he has an irrational love for the company. You know, when I was talking to people who know him, they would say that, you know, he gets emotional every time that he talks about the company and the employee base. There are even podcasts where he's like, they ask him about the company and he really just starts like weeping.

[Ryan Knudsen]

For Nike's investors. You could say that there's also been some weeping, but for a completely different reason. The stock is only worth about half of what it was three years ago. Nike's had five quarters of consecutive sales declines. Elliot Hill is the person who has to turn that around. How critical is this moment for Nike?

[NT Pacheco]

I think it's an important moment and I think the company's starting to show signs of improvement. But it is like, I think the point where things could keep improving or maybe things don't work out the way they were expecting. We'll have to wait and see.

[Ryan Knudsen]

Welcome to the Journal. Our show about money, business and power. I'm Ryan knudsen. It's Tuesday, November 18th. Coming up on the show, Nike's CEO and is game plan to turn the company around.

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[Ryan Knudsen]

Just a few years ago, before Elliot Hill took over, Nike was doing well. In 2023, the company set a sales record of more than $50 billion. But it's been all downhill since.

[NT Pacheco]

When they hit that mark, executives knew that sales were about to start declining. For the next couple of years, they could see in their forecasts that they weren't going to sell as many shoes in the coming quarters. And that's exactly what happened.

[Ryan Knudsen]

There's a few reasons why things have gone south. The first is that Nike bet big on E Commerce. It broke ties with longtime brick and mortar partners like Macy's and DSW and tried to sell primarily on its own website.

[NT Pacheco]

Nike's former CEO, when he saw that people were buying a lot of sneakers online, they decided that they could increase profit margins by selling directly to consumers rather than selling, you know, in bulk to, like, retailers like Foot Locker.

[Ryan Knudsen]

But instead it resulted in fewer sales. The second issue was that Nike made way too many retro shoes like Air Jordans and Nike Dunks. For years, these lines of sneakers sold really well, especially among sneakerheads.

[NT Pacheco]

That happened especially with the Nike Dunk, a shoe that, like, really blew up. Basically, Nike hadn't sold it in decades and all of a sudden brought it back in like the 2000 and twenties. It blew up, especially a colorway called the Panda Dunk, which is like a black and white shoe that people consider like very versatile. Can't argue with the beauty of the sneaker. One of the most popular sneakers that we've seen in a long time. And I'm all for the Panda Dunks.

[Ryan Knudsen]

Nike invested in making a lot of shoes like the Dunks, but the company overestimated their staying power and buyers eventually lost interest.

[NT Pacheco]

Literally everyone had that shoe, and I wrote a story in 2023 about how, you know, sneakerheads hated that shoe because they said that, you know, what they thought was, like, a very niche, cool culture that they owned was being taken away from them.

[Indeed Sponsor]

What's the worst sneaker of all time?

[Elliot Hill]

Panda.

[Indeed Sponsor]

Give me something else.

[Elliot Hill]

Panda.

[Indeed Sponsor]

Dude, there's no one sneaker that's worse than a panda.

[Elliot Hill]

Panda.

[Ryan Knudsen]

As Nike was focused on more fashion and casual footwear, other shoe companies, particularly ones focused on running, saw an opportunity to eat into Nike's dominance.

[NT Pacheco]

That's where we saw the rise of, like, Hoka and on which are these, like, super thick midsoles that you see everywhere now. And at that time, Nike wasn't seen as, like, the brand that had that, like, totally comfortable or cushiony shoe. While, like, running is really taking off in, like, social media. There's, like, a running boom. At the same time, all these run clubs start popping up everywhere, and Nike's kind of absent.

[Ryan Knudsen]

A couple years ago, Nike started working on a turnaround plan. The idea was that the company needed to get back to basics and focus more on creating products for athletes. Nike hired a new CEO to help carry out that plan. That's when Elliot Hill came onto the scene. So he clearly loves Nike. Does Nike and its employees, how do they feel about him? Do they love him back?

[NT Pacheco]

I think so. I mean, you know, I think a lot of people still think there's a lot of work to do, but they feel that with someone like Hill in the driver's seat, like, they feel that it has a lot more direction.

[Elliot Hill]

I think people know that I care deeply about this place, and they respect the years of experience that I have here.

[Ryan Knudsen]

When Inti and Hill spoke last month, they discussed the CEO's plans for Nike.

[NT Pacheco]

How do you try to even reinvent a company that you know so well?

[Elliot Hill]

Yeah, it can overwhelm you, anybody, if you try to go, hey, we got to fix everything all at once. But 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.

[Ryan Knudsen]

What does that mean exactly, to put the athlete back at the center of what Nike does?

[NT Pacheco]

You know, they used to create products for men's, women's, and kids, and they're reorganizing the company to focus on sports. So in running, in soccer, in basketball, training was another category. They say that it's easier for them for teams to, like, you know, think about running as the category rather than, you know, by gender, make, like, all kinds of products for men, and that they also say that when people go to a store they will, you know, look at like the basketball section or the running section and that's how they've like redesigned their stores across the country. Thinking of the the shopper, you know, going in and trying to find like a section for runners I think is.

[Elliot Hill]

Without question has helped us get sharper on the product and the storytel, but it also makes us more competitive. And so I think the alignment around the sport offense is absolutely going to make us more competitive and help us drive revenue and certainly market share gains.

[Ryan Knudsen]

Another area of focus for Hill is re establishing the company's relationships with big name retailers like Foot Locker and also Amazon.

[Elliot Hill]

Our strategy is to make certain that wherever the consumer chooses to shop for our product that we show up in a really thoughtful way in terms of the assortment for that specific consumer because there are different consumers that shop different retailers.

[Ryan Knudsen]

The final piece of Nike's turnaround plan has to do with innovation. After the break, NT gets to see some of the new products Nike is betting on.

[Indeed Sponsor]

This episode is brought to you by Indeed. Hiring isn't just about finding someone willing to take the job. It's about finding someone with the right skills and background who can move your business forward. And a good way to start your search is with Indeed Sponsored Jobs. It's one of the best ways to make your job post stand out and reach the candidates you're looking for faster. According to Indeed data, Sponsored jobs posted directly on indeed are 90% more likely to report a hire than non sponsored jobs. Plus, there's no monthly subscriptions or long term contracts. You're only paying for results. Find the candidates who check all your boxes faster with Indeed Sponsored Jobs. Listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit to help get your job the premium status it deserves@ Indeed.com journal. That's Indeed.com journal right now. And support the show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.comjournal terms and Conditions Applying Hiring do it the Right Way with Indeed.

[Ryan Knudsen]

At Nike's headquarters, our colleague Inti went with Nike CEO Elliot Hill to check out one of the company's newest buildings. It's named after one of the world's best basketball players.

[NT Pacheco]

We were inside the LeBron James building where if you get on the elevator and you hit a button, LeBron James talks to you.

[Ryan Knudsen]

Well, he's actually there. Like he's just standing in the elevator.

[NT Pacheco]

Pressing that would be amazing. It's just a recording where he says fourth floor. And then you get to the fourth floor wow. But this is Nike's sports research lab building they call the NSRL.

[Elliot Hill]

So we're here at the LeBron James R D lab, and it's our advanced R and D center. We opened this up in 2020. This is really the heartbeat of our innovation.

[NT Pacheco]

They have, like, engineers, scientists, designers, all the kinds of people that you wouldn't expect work at a footwear and apparel company are in this building trying to design, you know, new solutions for problems that athletes might have.

[Ryan Knudsen]

Some of those solutions are pretty out there. Like, there's a puffy coat that inflates and deflates to change temperature, puff it up to get warmer, and release air to get cooler. And then there's this little machine that straps around your calf and connects to a special pair of shoes.

[NT Pacheco]

They call it an E bike for your feet.

[Ryan Knudsen]

An E bike for your feet.

[NT Pacheco]

Right. It's a. It's a motor, actually, that you can attach to a specific shoe. And it really does push you, like, I don't know that if it gives you more energy, but it really pushes your feet and up, and so it helps you move faster.

[Ryan Knudsen]

Why would that need to exist? Because presumably runners aren't going to be able to use that in competition.

[NT Pacheco]

Yeah, that's true. They were saying that, you know, it could help people with mobility issues, it could help older people, but their bet is that kids are also going to want to wear this.

[Ryan Knudsen]

There's also a new technology they're calling Nike Mind. It's these special bumps on the inside of a shoe that basically massage your feet while you're moving in such a way that it's supposed to make you relax.

[NT Pacheco]

They, like, spent years developing it, looking at brain waves, looking at how they could help athletes focus more ahead of the game, how they can get in the zone.

[Ryan Knudsen]

What, there's a shoe that's gonna help you chill out?

[NT Pacheco]

Yeah. Relax. Yes, correct.

[Ryan Knudsen]

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.

[NT Pacheco]

Yep.

[Ryan Knudsen]

Can I wear them before I go into a podcast interview?

[NT Pacheco]

Yeah, I think that would be really helpful. Actually.

[Ryan Knudsen]

A lot of these products haven't been released yet, but one product from the Innovation Lab that is for sale now is a new running shoe called the Vomero Premium. It has a super thick 2 inch midsole.

[NT Pacheco]

It's a really chunky shoe. I believe it's, you know, the thickest midsole out there right now of any running shoe. It's supposed to be their most comfortable shoe. It adds a Lot of, you know, cushioning to your stride.

[Ryan Knudsen]

Six and a half miles done in the Vomero Premium. So here are some of my first thoughts.

[NT Pacheco]

I would say these are good for, like, shorter to mid distances. I would never do a long run in these.

[Ryan Knudsen]

It is a wild pair of sneakers.

[NT Pacheco]

I think it's the softest shoe I've ever worn. The cushion in these shoes is actually insane.

[Ryan Knudsen]

Insane for Nike. There's something else that's innovative about this shoe. It was designed much faster than normal in just eight months.

[NT Pacheco]

Usually, shoe development at Nike takes, like, around 18 months from, like, when they start designing it until they actually have the shoe, you know, produce it at scale and they can send it to wholesalers. So in this case, they had a team of designers and engineers travel to South Korea to, like, work directly on the shoe as they were developing it and, you know, give it to the factory people so they could, like, modify it on the spot. And they say that that brought down the development process by, like, a year.

[Ryan Knudsen]

Does it seem like Nike's back on the right course?

[NT Pacheco]

A lot of investors are happy with what they see. There are some that, you know, think that it's a complicated time to be in this situation because the market is so fragmented. People are buying on. They're buying Hoka, they're buying Asics, they're buying New Balance. All those companies, you know, six years ago weren't as big as they are today.

[Ryan Knudsen]

It feels like Nike, like, is oscillating so far. The pendulum is swinging so far in the other direction. Like, they, for several years, lean so heavily into the retro throwback Jordan Nike Dunk. These old shoes that had this cachet, they milked that for all it was worth until it kind of blew up in their face to some degree. And now they're swinging hard in the other direction, which is like, no, no, look, we can think about the future and we can innovate and we can come up with a new mobile exoskeleton thing for your feet that's going to help you, you know, run like, Marty McFly or whatever in Back to the Future, too.

[NT Pacheco]

Well, you know, what I think is, like, from my reporting, the thing about, like, the pendulum swing, if you do it too hard, it might backfire. There was this bet on E Commerce, and it just, you know, never happened. People went back to stores and, you know, now they're betting on this idea of, like, focusing on sports, but is that, you know, how they're gonna make their money or. Or are they working on a new Nike dunk that can deliver billions in sales. Like, you know, it's hard to tell whether shifting focus so hard, you know, so quickly is the solution.

[Ryan Knudsen]

Mm. Sounds like there's no idea that's a slam dunk.

[NT Pacheco]

Exactly.

[Ryan Knudsen]

But we're just gonna have to wait and see once Nike gets across the finish line.

[NT Pacheco]

Right. Oh, my God. You had those ready?

[Ryan Knudsen]

Nope. It just came to me.

[NT Pacheco]

Just now. Nice.

[Ryan Knudsen]

That's all for today. Thursday, November 18th. The journal is a co production of Spotify and the Wall Street Journal. If you like our show, follow us on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. We're out every Weekday afternoon. Thanks for listening.

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