Glasses on the run Newsletter #58

Hi,

After a longer than usual break, I hope you will enjoy this short selection of stories from the business of running.

What was interesting in the business of running

Nike reported its results for 2025 Q1, which ended on 31st August and the results confirmed the difficult position the company is in. Its revenue for the quarter was $11.59 billion - a 10% drop from the same period a year ago. It also expects a drop of 8% - 10% for the current quarter, and changed its guidance for the fiscal 2025 revenue to be down mid-single digits, while it previously expected it to grow (CNBC). Nike already announced earlier that John Donahue is stepping down as CEO and is being replaced by company veteran Elliott Hill, who is coming back from retirement. That change took effect on 14th October.

In the meantime, after going through its own turbulent period, the fortunes of Nike's main rival Adidas seem to have turned. It just launched Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 4, which is a top of the line race shoe, retailing at $250 and already gets positive reviews (Runner's World). While a number of Olympic finals runners (both men and women) preferred the $500 Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1, the Adizero Adios Pro will still likely be the preferred choice for most non professional runners who choose Adidas for their race day.

Furthermore, Adidas increased its fiscal 2025 guidance for the third time, expecting 10% growth (Reuters). And here is a broader overview of how Adidas is trying to take advantage of Nike's current challenges (Reuters).

In the meantime, another major player - Brooks - is suing Puma. After Puma previously threatened to sue Brooks, Brooks has now asked the court to determine that its Glycerin running shoes do not violate Puma's rights (Reuters).

Strava has launched a number of new features:

• It launched Quick Edit, which among other things, makes it easier to keep activity data private by, for example, quickly hiding the time of the activity or the start and end locations (Engadget).
• It also rolled out to subscribers the Athlete's Intelligence feature, which it announced earlier this year. It is intended to help athletes understand better their performance (Tech Radar).
• And here is a full review of everything Strava this year by DC Rainmaker.

Finally, a couple of stories from the more extreme spectre of running:

• Running in the Himalayas - an interview with Tyler Andrews who climbed Manaslu - the world's eight highest mountain in record time (I Run Far).
• Training with Hoka's professional runners at high altitude (Tom's Guide).

As always, thank you for reading,

Momchil