5 days ago
Nike's Running Comeback: Why Retailers Say It's Real
Nike chief executive officer Elliott Hill told investors in the company's fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 conference call last month that the worst is now over.
Net income and sales both declined again in the period, but based on Nike's 'Win Now' actions over the prior 90 days, Hill said: 'From here, we expect our business results to improve. It's time to turn the page.' Investors agreed, with Nike shares closing with a 15 percent increase the following day.
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One spot where the numbers are already showing improvement is in running. Nike Running grew by 'high single digits' in Q4, and Hill called out the success of the Vomero 18, which has already grown into a $100 million franchise after launching at the end of February.
Three specialty retailers who spoke with Footwear News all agreed: the Nike Running comeback is very much on.
Chris Farley, owner and president of Pacers Running, said Nike is outpacing all of its other vendors, with a 20 percent growth in sales so far in 2025. With five stores in Washington D.C. and Northern Virginia, Pacers has seen the Vomero 18 become its top-seller.
The story is the same for Philadelphia Runner and Heartbreak Hill Running Company, which has locations in Boston, Chicago and Santa Monica, Calif.
'I really liked the [Vomero 17], but we did not sell very many of them,' said Philadelphia Runner co-owner Ross Martinson. 'The new Vomeros are the best-selling Nike right away. The problem has been the men's (sizes), we haven't been able to get enough of them. But that's sort of a good problem.'
The Vomero 18 has come in the early days of a streamlined new era for Nike Running focused on three franchises: Pegasus, Structure and Vomero. In order, the franchises are targeted toward responsive cushioning, supportive cushioning and maximum cushioning.
Each banner gets three different silhouettes, starting with the numbered baseline model and offering upgrades through the Plus and Premium variants. The Pegasus is the only franchise to see all three of its models come to stores already with the Pegasus 41, Pegasus Plus and Pegasus Premium, the latter of which is Nike's first sneaker to ever feature a curved, full-length Zoom Air unit.
Nike will follow up the Vomero 18, which uses a combination of ReactX and ZoomX foams, on August 7 with the Vomero Plus, which is boosted by a full ZoomX midsole. The Vomero Premium will then come October 2 with Air Zoom units at the forefoot and heel taking the max-cushioned proposition to the highest level.
Heartbreak Hill Running Co. co-founder Dan Fitzgerald, who's also a Nike Running coach, said the Pegasus franchise has always sold well in his stores and credits the Swoosh with creating the super shoe. But outside of those areas, it's been more hit or miss for Nike Running in recent years.
Anecdotally, Fitzgerald points to a personal friend who logs 10 miles a day and runs in On. Having enjoyed the Vomero 18 himself, he was curious what his friend would think of it. 'He put them on and he said, 'Yeah it feels pretty good.' Then I hit up a week later and he said: 'I'm actually blown away. That's my favorite shoe.'
With only five of the nine sneakers from the Vomero, Pegasus and Structure lines having launched, it's still too early to tell what effect the relaunch will have on consumers. At the very least, though, the new dividing lines does it make it easier for retailers to explain to customers.
'Our staff really dictate the experience on the floor,' Farley said. 'I think [the shoes' purposes] are more clear. A simpler approach has been much better, so they're more comfortable bringing out, talking about features, benefits and all those things where they may not have been as clear in the past.'
The new silos serve to replace the Infinity and Invincible, the purposes of which weren't quite as clear and were easy to conflate with each other because they have 'In' as prefixes.
There is still some concern that the difference, for example, between a base and Plus model may not be quite as recognizable. 'The Vomero Plus looks awesome too,' Martinson said. 'I'm curious to see how that affects sales of he regular Vomero because it's kind of a different feel, but they still look fairly similar. So we'll see how that goes.'
As promising as this year's returns have been for Nike Running, as well as the positivity of its forecast, it does indeed still have ground to make up in the sport.
For runners who may go out just once or twice a week, as well as walkers and broader fitness enthusiasts, Farley said Nike still isn't winning that conversation. With those consumers, Brooks, Asics and Hoka still reign.
And because the super shoe race has become so crowded, Martinson believes it will be more important than ever for Nike to win over the more casual runners and offer the best shoes that won't be used on race days. '[Nike has] dominated super shoes and still leads it, but where they were 90 percent of those sales, maybe they're going to be 50 to 60 [percent] going forward,' he said. 'So it feels like good timing for them. It certainly feels like a turnaround for Nike or a vibe shift.'
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