day when stocks overall were flat. The jump added $6.7 billion to Nike’s market value, which has been struggling as of late.  As revealed by the sportswear brand’s latest quarterly report, Nike’s overall global revenues fell by 8 per cent, to $12.4 billion, in its second fiscal quarter ending November 30, with gross margin falling by a full percentage point. This collaboration marks another bold move in the sportswear retailer’s journey to reclaim its cool kid status and stand out amongst other women-centric activewear producers, such as Lululemon and Alo.  Recently, Nike returned to Super Bowl advertising for the first time in 27 years with a 90-second spot that featured only female Nike endorsers, including WNBA players Caitlin Clark, Sabrina Ionescu and A’ja Wilson, as well as gymnast Jordan Chiles, sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson and tennis player Aryna Sabalenka. With a renewed focus on marketing and products geared toward female customers and a partnership with retail’s current “it girl” Skims, some retail experts think the brand has a decent shot of taking back its spot at the top of the commerce ladder.  As Nike’s president of consumer, product and brand, Heidi O’Neill, stated, “We’re energised by the opportunity to build a new brand and shake things up for the next generation of athletes* with NikeSkims. “This partnership brings together the best of both brands and unlocks an incredible opportunity to disrupt the industry with our shared passion and commitment to innovation. We will invite even more athletes* into sport and movement with product that makes them feel strong and sexy,” O’Neill enthused.  What retail experts have to say about Nike’s partnership with Skims  Global Data’s managing director, Neil Saunders, CI&T’s director of retail strategy Melissa Minkow and Retail Strategy Group’s Liza Amlani believe that Skims could revive Nike’s popular kid status, but not without some caveats.  Saunders stated, “On the face of it, the partnership with Skims sounds great. It combines the reach of Nike with the buzz and innovation of Skims.” The partnership is expected to help Nike win over customers in women’s apparel and accessories, an area where it has been playing second fiddle to brands like Lululemon for a long time. That being said, Saunders pointed out that it is interesting that Nike felt the need to create a partnership rather than do this by itself.  “In theory, Nike should have all the skills needed to drive its own brand in womenswear, but the reality is it has lost some of its ability to storytell, innovate, and wow consumers,” Saunders noted. “Partnering with Skims remedies some of those weaknesses, but it also makes Nike dependent on another brand which is not necessarily a comfortable position for a brand that should be leading the market.” Minkow said she has been impressed with the comeback Nike has been making from a marketing perspective, “such as with its recent Grammys and Super Bowl commercials.” While Minkow applauded the sportswear giant for its updated, female-centered approach to marketing, she heeded that it will take more than a well-executed campaign to bring the retailer back in fighting shape.  “They have to back up the marketing with the right product innovation and retail strategy, which they notoriously botched with their narrowing to DTC a couple of years ago,” Minkow cautioned. “As for the Skims partnership, Skims is a brand known for innovation and for its high quality, but its target is relatively narrow compared to Nike’s, so I’ll be curious how much reach and volume this partnership can drive for Nike.” Amlani commented that Nike’s recent moves indicate the retailer “finally woke up and said, ‘We need to make bigger, bolder moves to re-claim our dominance in the market”. “They dumped the consultant turned CEO [John Donahoe] and turned inward to get the new leader to take them forward,” she said. The “new” leader Amlani is referring to is actually a veteran executive of the Nike family, Elliott Hill.  Hill was Nike’s former president of consumer and marketplace, who retired four years ago after 32 years with the company. He came out of retirement in October 2024 to take the company’s reins back from Donahoe.  In the brand’s prior report, Hill stated, “We’re taking immediate action to reposition our business, so we can get back to driving long-term shareholder value. Our team is ready to go, and I’m confident you will see more moments of Nike being Nike again.” Amlani added, “Whether or not this collab itself is a winner, the move is part of the broad strategy that Nike is leveraging, leaning into women and sport while giving Lululemon and Alo some much-needed competition in fashion sportswear and athleisure.” “Don’t forget, Nike is already a big dog, it’s just become a more aggressive one,” she finished.  Saunders also believes that Hill is helping right some of Nike’s errors in recent years.  “However,” the GlobalData director cautioned, “we are very early in the turnaround and there is a long way to go before the brand is fully back on the front foot.” Further reading: Can Nike’s new CEO help the company regain its momentum?