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Globe and Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Nike Layoffs 2025: Is It Time to Sell NKE Stock as Nike Slashes Tech Jobs?
Nike (NKE) has initiated layoffs within its technology division as part of a strategic reprioritization. The company confirmed that a portion of this work will now be handled by third-party vendors, signaling a shift in its operational approach. The development follows the company's third-quarter fiscal 2025 earnings release in March, where Nike issued a softer-than-expected forecast for the fiscal fourth quarter. The market responded swiftly, with shares tumbling 5.5% the day after the announcement, reflecting investor concerns over the company's near-term trajectory. Adding to the caution, Nike has flagged the potential impact of tariffs as a headwind to recovery, amplifying doubts around the pace of its turnaround. Revenue pressures continue to weigh heavily, and the recent restructuring only reinforces the notion that Nike is tightening its belt to navigate a more challenging financial landscape. Against this backdrop, let us see if investors should remain patient with NKE stock or begin repositioning. About Nike Stock With a commanding market cap of $91.4 billion, the company boasts a robust brand lineup including Nike Pro, Nike Golf, and the iconic Air Jordan. Despite a 19% year-to-date decline due to market challenges, NKE remains resolute in its pursuit of growth. Its strategic pivot toward a 'Win Now' framework signals a renewed focus on brand strength and product innovation. The approach is already bearing fruit, with the stock rebounding 6.6% over the past month. On the valuation front, NKE currently trades at 29.2 times forward earnings and 1.81 times sales. While these metrics represent a premium over sector averages, they remain below the stock's five-year historical multiples, presenting a potentially attractive entry point. Nike Surpasses Q1 Earnings On March 20, Nike stepped into the earnings spotlight with its fiscal 2025 Q3 results, delivering a performance that, while bruised, managed to surpass market expectations. Revenues landed at $11.3 billion, reflecting a 9.3% year-over-year drop but edging past analysts' forecast of $11 billion. The dip, though significant, did little to shake investor confidence thanks to stronger-than-anticipated EPS of $0.54, down 30% yet nearly double the Street estimate of $0.28. A closer look under the hood revealed the shifting gears within the company. Nike Direct revenues came in at $4.7 billion, falling 12%, while Wholesale clocked $6.2 billion, down 7% from a year ago. Gross margin narrowed to 41.5%, a decline of 330 basis points. The slide stemmed from a mix of factors such as heavier discounts, greater inventory obsolescence reserves, rising product costs, and changes in the sales channel mix. Moreover, net income dropped 32.3% from the year-ago value to $794 million. At the same time, Nike is charting its return to Amazon (AMZN), reversing its 2019 decision to exit the platform in favor of direct sales. As of July 19, Amazon will begin phasing out certain third-party sellers to make room for Nike's official comeback. The maneuver aligns with CEO Elliott Hill's broader recovery blueprint, aimed squarely at leveraging North America, Nike's strongest market. Looking ahead, Nike believes the fiscal fourth quarter will bear the brunt of its 'Win Now' initiatives. It expects revenue to decline in the mid-teens, though toward the lower end of that range. As for EPS, analysts foresee an 89.1% year over year decline to $0.11 for Q4, and a 45.6% drop for the full fiscal year, closing at $2.15. While the path ahead seems rocky, Nike could weather the storm with strategy in stride. What Do Analysts Expect for Nike Stock? While challenges remain, NKE could experience a turnaround. Wall Street has painted a cautiously optimistic picture for NKE, stamping it with a 'Moderate Buy' consensus. Out of 36 analysts, 15 are all in, calling it a 'Strong Buy,' while three follow suit with a 'Moderate Buy.' Another 16 stay on the fence, holding firm with a neutral 'Hold,' and two raise red flags with a 'Strong Sell.' The average price target of $74.54 represents potential upside of 21%.
Mint
5 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Inside India's hush-hush hype luxury economy where sneakers cost more than gold
Would you pay ₹7 lakh for a pair of limited-edition Nike-Dior Air Jordan sneakers or ₹50,000 for a tiny monster stuffed toy or ₹20,000 for lip gloss iPhone covers? India's young, style-conscious and wealthy shoppers are shelling out big money for such hype-driven luxury. The country's super-rich shoppers are driving demand for hype wear and collectibles, some of which is never officially sold in the country. Demand is propelled by scarcity, brand hype, and social media buzz created by global fashion houses, streetwear giants, or celebrity-led brands through exclusive drops and collaborations. Buyers pay a premium for underground luxury on resale platforms such as Culture Circle and Crepdog Crew. Some even treat it as an investment which they can flip in the future. As high as 72% of buyers are under 28 years of age—mostly males from big metros, according to Devansh Jain, who co-founded Culture Circle with Ackshay Jain. But sales in tier II cities are now growing at over 60% month-on-month, he said. The average spend is about ₹32,000 per order, with some users spending lakhs within weeks of their first purchase. Handbags are being picked up by women aged 25-32, often as a first, big luxury purchase, Jain said. Many customers are purchasing two or three sizes of the same item: one to wear, others to store 'like wine" in the hope of appreciation. Hype wear or limited-edition clothes, shoes and accessories are a global style phenomenon built on scarcity and status. While they're tough to find in stores and sell out fast, they reappear (usually brand new) on resale platforms at much higher prices, targeting those who want a shot at exclusivity. Among India's young consumers, search for such alternative assets and a hunger to own and experience luxury also reflects growing affluence. Also read | Foreign luxury jewellers chase India's young, wealthy buyers Luxury sneakers and Stanley tumblers to collectible Japanese soft toys and Hailey Bieber's lip gloss are flying off the shelves as global novelty 'drops" or limited collections find buyers in India. Even everyday items like ₹7,500 Off-White branded arrow socks or ₹8,000 Supreme branded water bottle are turning into status symbols. Some sellers even stay anonymous because they are holding stock worth crores of rupees, multiple collectors told Mint, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Culture Circle recently facilitated the sale of The Air Jordan 1 High OG Dior, Nike's streetwear shoes with Dior's luxe detailing and monogram under the shoe. Only 8,500 pairs exist worldwide, making the sneaker a coveted collector's item, with resale prices crossing ₹7 lakh apiece. A footmat to most, the Virgil Abloh x Ikea Marekrad "Wet Grass" rug stirred a resale frenzy, fetching around ₹1.4 lakh. Abloh, a designer and an artist, is known for blending streetwear with high fashion. The collection included over a dozen items sold globally, with the rug originally priced at $249, selling for 560% more than its base price. On Culture Circle and Crepdog Crew, you can find the special edition Rhode lip-gloss case to a ₹400,000 Louis Vuitton x Takashi Murakami Keepall Bandouliere 50 Black bag, which otherwise retails for ₹320,000. These are frequently resold at steep markups. Sneaker love in Ludhiana A pair of rare, red sneakers can fetch up to ₹30 lakh and go even as high as ₹50 lakh on Culture Circle, according to Jain. Last month, a woman in Delhi walked into its physical stores and bought every pair of special-edition sneakers in her size. No questions asked, no discounts needed. And the motivation? 'Bragging rights, cred, and being able to say, 'You can't find this anywhere else." In Haryana's Sonipat, Ronak Batra, 26, runs a company called Kicks Charger that sells special-edition sneakers from Adidas and Nike to On Cloud and Yeezy. The lawyer, who is not practising anymore, said he spends all his time acquiring special-edition sneakers from these retail stores and then reselling them. "Earlier, when the competition was less, the percentage you could earn from a sneaker could go up 15-20%, but now that's gone down somewhat and is around 10%, especially if the pair is under ₹10,000," he said. Also read | DS Luxury bets on premium fashion boom, plans 30 stores by FY28 as India's luxury market is set to boom This month, he sold a ₹35,000 The Air Jordan 1 'Lost & Found' Chicago', which became popular in 2022 for its nostalgic design that replicates a vintage 1985 sneaker discovered in a dusty stockroom, complete with aged details and a mismatched box lid. It taps into sneaker culture's love for storytelling and history, while appealing to both old-school collectors and new fans. Batra, who started collecting himself at the age of 21 and slowly turned it into a business, said, 'Globally, there must be under 10,000 such pairs. Though the real number is unknown, but collectors know it is a special shoe." Earlier, his clients were in college, but now the hype shoes business is transcending the age barrier. He even has 50-year-old buyers who are friends of his father. 'Maybe some of these people won't understand the cultural significance, but their family members tend to teach them about them as well." Sneakers also top the demand charts. Some buyers will even pay double, triple and even 10 times the original price just to own a sneaker seen on a celebrity's Instagram. A black-and-white pair of Nike shoes named 'Panda" Dunks sold 780 units in three minutes around the world. Read this | Luxury Boom: Accor expands in India as rising prosperity fuels hotel demand The obsession is not confined to the metro cities. Ludhiana—with a population 1.6 million—now ranks among the top five in luxury sneaker sales for Culture Circle. Business families' Gen Z kids are apparently driving that trend, said co-founder Devansh Jain. 'No logic' Labubu dolls, a line of expressive Japanese soft toys, are now prized collectibles among Indian buyers. There's a surge in demand for brands that aren't even officially in India: Rick Owens, LOEWE, Eric Emmanuel, Gymshark, Lululemon. And if something's spotted on a celebrity — whether it's Hailey Bieber or a cricketer from India's playing XI — it sells out in minutes. Prices can spike up to 400% purely because of an Instagram story. Gurugram-based realtor and collector Abhijeet Singh, 25, a sneakerhead who has 130 pairs, buys in doubles so he can keep one and wear the other. He recently paid ₹480,000 for the Nike Air Jordan Low, but his average purchase price is ₹25,000-30,000. 'For me, it's all about authenticity," Singh said. 'Earlier, when I began to collect, there were no means to cross-check products, but now you can upload the original bill or receipts you get with the product on the Culture Circle platform to cross-check on a third-party platform if it's a legitimate product." As for demand, 'there's no logic to it", he said. 'If it's rare, it is wanted. If it's sold out, it's worshipped." And read | Ticking up: Hublot CEO on India's growing appetite for luxury watches
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Teen girl missing for nearly a week last spotted in Hyde Park
CHICAGO — Police are asking for help in the search for a teen girl who officers say has been missing for nearly a week. According to Chicago police, 14-year-old Myla Spann has been missing from her home in Hyde Park since Thursday, May 22. She was last seen in her neighborhood on that day by family members, but has not been contacted since. Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines Officers said Spann is known to frequent areas on the Southeast Side of the city. Police say Spann, who stands 5-foot-7 and weighs around 150 pounds, has brown eyes and black hair. The missing teen was last seen wearing a red hooded sweater with the word 'GAP' on the front, black sweatpants as well as red and white Air Jordan high-top shoes. Authorities provided details about the missing teen's disappearance in a news release sent out on Monday. LATEST CASES: Missing people in Chicagoland Anyone with information on the whereabouts of 14-year-old Myla Spann is asked to contact the CPD Area One SVU at 312-747-8380 or dial 911. Those with information that could help authorities in their investigation can also leave a tip at Tips can be filed anonymously. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Michael Jordan promised to go visit Nike's sweatshops in Asia: "I just want to see for myself"
During the 1990s, Nike became controversial after complaints that its Southeast Asia-contracted shoe factories operated sweatshops that exploited workers. Although the matter only involved the Swoosh Brand, Michael Jordan became indirectly involved because he was the company's top endorser. Jordan's interest in the issue grew after, in September 1997, Nike created a separate division called Jordan Brand to cater to all MJ-related footwear and apparel, including the top-selling Air Jordan sneakers. With his name attached to the controversy, the Chicago Bulls superstar addressed the subject during an interview with the late Stuart Scott on the day of Game 3 of the 1998 NBA Finals. "I just want to see for myself," said Jordan, confirming that he planned to visit the factories during the upcoming offseason. "A lot of the complaints were being made, and I think one of the good things that happened was Phil shed some more light on it by stepping up and saying 'Okay, we can improve these scenarios in these countries.' And you know, that's all good and fine. But that should not deteriorate my appetite to see what's being talked about." A month before MJ's interview with Scott, Nike founder Phil Knight finally gave in to a long-standing request to allow labor and human rights group representatives to join the company's independent auditors while inspecting the factories in Asia. Knight also vowed to end child labor and apply U.S. rules there. But Jordan's plan to travel to Asia didn't materialize that summer — there is no evidence that he traveled to Vietnam, Indonesia or China during that period for that purpose. During his interview with Scott, MJ also mentioned making it a point to check on the Jordan Brand factories after retirement. But he did not make his first trip to the Chinese capital until 2004, after his third and final NBA retirement. The trip was officially to promote his brand, not to visit 2002 and 2004, Nike made 600 factory audits, including repeat visits to problematic locations. A year later, the Beaverton, Oregon giant became the first company to publish a complete list of the factories with which it has contracts and make public a 108-page report detailing the findings from its three-year audit. The Swoosh's commitment to value human rights is also evident on its official website. "NIKE focuses on building relationships with suppliers who share our commitment to respect human rights and are investing in their workforces. NIKE's expectations for suppliers starts with our Code of Conduct and Code of Leadership Standards. NIKE's Code of Conduct is aligned with international standards and contains the foundational requirements all suppliers must meet in producing NIKE-branded products," per With its current factories still in Asia, accusations still come up occasionally, but not like the '90s sweatshop scandal that really rocked the Swoosh Brand. Today, Nike remains the industry leader, with Jordan Brand still being its best-performing division.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Yahoo
Teens attack 2 girls with bat, shave 16-year-old's head in NYC park assault: ‘Vile and inhumane'
A group of teens brutally beat two girls in a Queens park with a baseball bat — and even shaved the head of one of the victims in a horrific caught on video attack that a relative said was like an attempted 'execution,' The Post has learned. The 13- and 16-year-old friends were playing basketball in Flushing's Kissena Park around 6 p.m. on May 2 when a group of older kids approached and began an argument. At least four 17-year-olds and a 16-year-old dragged the girls to a wooded trail and ruthlessly whacked them with the bat, according to police and video clips of the incident posted to social media. One of the tormenters allegedly shaved part of the 16-year-old's head with a portable hair clipper, and the mob fled with her cell phone and the younger girl's $558 limited edition Air Jordan 4 White Oreos, leaving the victims bruised and swollen, police said. A brute in a black and red hooded sweatshirt could be seen whaling on the 13-year-old with the bat as she lay on the ground curled into a ball, according to disturbing video posted last week on Instagram by the advocacy group Asians With Attitudes (AWA). He then ripped off her sneakers and pummeled her again. The assailant then sat the victim up, and appeared to take a piece of clothing off of her, according to the footage. The girl appeared limp by the end of the attack, the video showed. 'This was a planned, vicious and inhumane assault . This wasn't bullying, it was torture,' one community advocate said in a response video. The victims knew their attackers, according to police, who did not reveal what the kids were beefing about. The victims were both Chinese and the attackers reportedly appeared to be Asian as well. The incident has not been deemed a hate crime, authorities said. One of the girls lost consciousness during the two-hour ordeal, World Journal, a Queens-based Chinese newspaper reported. The family shared photos of the older girl on a hospital gurney with her back covered with massive bruises and a patch of hair missing from right above her forehead, World Journal reported. 'The whole process was like an execution,' an unnamed relative told the outlet, adding that the victim struggled to even speak after the attack. Police are treating the incident as a robbery, since the group made off with the younger girl's sneakers and the other victim's phone — but the victims' families have called for further investigation. So far, the NYPD has arrested three 17-year-old males, a 17-year-old female and a 16-year-old boy on a slew of charges including felony robbery, assault, gang assault, strangulation, harassment, weapons possession and grand larceny. Four of the alleged attackers were arrested a week after the incident and a fifth was arrested on Monday. The Kissena Park beatdown comes less than a year after the terrifying rape of a teen girl in the same green space. A 25-year-old migrant attacked that victim, 13, typing up her and a male friend at knifepoint in a wooded area of the park. Christian Inga was indicted in September for kidnapping, robbery, sexual assault and rape in the incident, according to officials.
