Glasses on the run Newsletter #6

Hi,

I have a new post on Nike Direct this week and there are a number of interesting topics elsewhere in the business of running.

My blog post this week

A few weeks ago Nike reported its annual results for the fiscal year, which ended on 31st May 2022. I took a look at the annual report and wanted to see how Nike's direct to consumer (DTC) business, called Nike Direct, is performing.

Nike Direct has previously been praised as big success and rightly so. Nike started focusing on and investing heavily in DTC in 2017 and it has paid off, as evidenced by its latest annual report.

The full blog post is here.

What was interesting in the business of running

There were a number of quarterly earnings reported over the last two weeks...

Let me start with something I referred to (although I didn't expect it to happen so quickly) in my earlier posts on Hoka. It is now a $1 billion brand, bringing in $330 million (54.9% higher than the same period last year) in just one quarter - more than 50% of Deckers' revenues for its 2023 Q1.  

Adidas issued a profit warning due to its sales in China impacted by lockdowns.

At the same time, Puma raised its annual outlook, based on stronger than expected Q2 results.

Garmin announced its second quarter results (pdf) with revenues 6% lower compared to the same period last year.

Outside of the earnings season, Nike has started offering $5,000 referral bonuses (requires subscription) for some of its technology roles. As per my blog post this week, that highlights the key role technology plays for Nike Direct and Nike's overall business.

And finally, continuing supply chain challenges impact kit sales of more than half of the English professional football clubs at the start of the 2022/2023 season.

Thank you for reading,

Momchil