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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Nike Chief Innovation Officer John Hoke to retire
This story was originally published on Retail Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Retail Dive newsletter. Adding to a long list of leadership changes, Nike Chief Innovation Officer John Hoke will retire after over 30 years at the company, according to an internal memo. Hoke will stay at Nike through Oct. 31 to finalize projects and support a transition. Chief Innovation, Design and Product Officer Phil McCartney (appointed to the position earlier this month) will soon announce Hoke's successor, per the memo. Hoke's replacement will retain the title of chief innovation officer and will operate in addition to McCartney's role. Hoke has been with Nike for the majority of his career, joining the brand in 1995 as a global creative director, per his LinkedIn. The executive served for about 15 years as the company's first chief design officer before taking on the chief innovation officer role. Against the backdrop of a large turnaround journey at Nike, the retailer is losing an executive who leaves a long-lasting mark at the company he's helped shape. CEO Elliott Hill noted that Hoke's impact helped establish the brand's designs and his influence will be long-lasting even after he departs. Hill is also part of a slew of executive leadership shifts at the athletics brand over the past year. He became Nike's CEO in October after John Donahoe exited the position following a decade serving on the company's board and a few years in the top spot. Hill rejoined the brand after retiring four years earlier as Nike's president of consumer and marketplace; he initially started working at Nike as an intern in 1988. The appointment was followed by a larger shakeup at Nike, with the company announcing a new general manager of the North America geography in October and a new global sports marketing lead in November — both appointees having already held positions within Nike. Over the past month, Nike announced the retirement of 26-year veteran Heidi O'Neil, who most recently served as president of consumer, product and brand, choosing to break up her responsibilities into three positions that report directly to Hill. Additionally, Nike appointed a new president of the Nike brand and a chief growth initiatives officer. Under Hill, Nike is continuing to strategically correct the business's approach to its sales strategy. The company is working to reestablish its relationships with wholesalers, who Hill says felt Nike turned its back on after spending more of its energy on direct-to-consumer sales for years. Earnings continue to take a hit as the company is working on this turnaround, in March reporting a 9% drop in Q3 revenue. Nike's wholesale business declined 7% while DTC dropped 12%. Its long-term strategy aims to correct such metrics, with the brand now focused on streamlining its footwear offerings and turning a strategic eye to apparel. Expanding its apparel offerings, Nike announced a partnership with Kim Kardashian's Skims brand in February and expects the first collection to drop this spring. Editor's note: This story has been updated to include additional information on Nike's plans for Hoke's successor. Recommended Reading Adidas creates 'Virtual Gear' product category as it preps for metaverse future Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
John Hoke, Nike's Chief Innovation Officer, to Exit the Company
Another long-time Nike executive will be exiting the company. John Hoke, the company's chief innovation officer and a 30-plus year Nike veteran, will be retiring. More from WWD Nike Is Bringing Its Wavy Patta Air Max Collaboration to a New Sneaker Charles Barkley's Most Popular Sneaker Is Getting a Nike SB Upgrade Nike and Lego Are Launching Studded Sneakers, Sneaker Block Sets and a Legoland Space The handwriting was on the wall, however. Hoke's departure follows a move made earlier this month promoting Phil McCartney to chief innovation, design and product officer. At the same time, Heidi O'Neill, president of consumer, product and brand — who had been with the company for 26 years — also revealed her retirement. Amy Montagne, a 20-year Nike employee, was promoted to president of the Nike brand. The moves are part of new Nike chief executive officer Elliott Hill's 'Win Now' action plan first unveiled last December. In the company's third-quarter earnings call in March, Hill, who was lured out of retirement to rejoin the company in the top post in October, was vocal about how Nike needs to be more innovative and also reduce the amount of product available in the market. During the call, he said Nike's new priorities will be centered around five fields of play: running, basketball, football, training and sportswear; three countries: the U.S., China and the U.K., and five cities: New York, Los Angeles, London, Beijing and Shanghai. While that work is going on internally, the company revealed last week that it plans to return to Amazon after a six-year hiatus and raise prices from $2 to $10 on apparel and $5 on footwear in response to tariffs. The return to Amazon is a sharp contrast to former CEO John Donahoe's strategy to cut wholesale distribution and focus on its own stores and digital channels. In addition to Amazon, Nike is returning to DSW, Macy's, Foot Locker, Urban Outfitters, Zappos, Belk and others. As Hill said in December: 'Wholesale….provides a very strong footprint, both physical as well as digital.' These major moves are an answer to criticism that Nike had lost its edge as competitors such as Hoka and On made inroads, particularly in the footwear space. While the company is making some progress, there's still a lot of work to do. Net income in the third quarter was $794 million, down 32 percent from $1.2 billion in the year-ago period. Diluted earnings per share were 54 cents, a decrease of 30 percent from 77 cents at the same time last year. Net sales in the period were $11.3 billion, down 9 percent from $12.4 billion, on a reported basis, compared to the prior year. The company also projected at that time to expect a steeper-than-expected drop in fourth-quarter sales. A Nike spokesperson confirmed Hoke's retirement Thursday but declined further comment. Hoke grew up playing sports and running cross country, where he noticed that all the racers wore Nike waffle trainers. He went home and sketched those sneakers — Hoke has dyslexia so he used drawing as a way to navigate the world — and began to envision how they could be better. He came up with the idea of adding cushioning to the shoe, a sketch he sent to Nike cofounder and former CEO Phil Knight. Knight responded, saying it was an intriguing idea and Hoke should consider joining Nike when he got older. After getting a degree in architecture, Hoke did just that — he joined Nike in 1992. Initially, he worked on image and brand design at trade shows, global exhibits and the Nike stores and he also created the first website as well as physical and digital catalogs. Among his roles at Nike were eight years as vice president of footwear design, two years at Converse and 15 years as Nike's chief design officer. He was elevated to chief innovation officer in 2023. Hoke will remain with Nike until October to complete some projects and the company plans to announce a successor for the chief innovation officer role, according to an internal memo obtained by Bloomberg. Best of WWD All the Retailers That Nike Left and Then Went Back Mikey Madison's Elegant Red Carpet Shoe Style [PHOTOS] Julia Fox's Sleekest and Boldest Shoe Looks Over the Years [Photos]
Asharq Al-Awsat
4 days ago
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Nike's Longtime Design and Innovation Chief John Hoke to Retire
Nike's chief innovation officer, John Hoke, is retiring, the world's largest sportswear company said on Thursday. Hoke, who joined Nike in 1992, has served as the company's chief design officer before being named chief innovation officer in 2023. Earlier this month, Nike CEO Elliott Hill, who took the helm in October to lead a turnaround, had made several changes to the senior leadership team, including promoting insider Phil McCartney to be the new chief innovation, design & product officer. Nike, in March, forecast a steeper than expected drop in fourth-quarter revenue, signaling caution as it works to rekindle consumer interest. Bloomberg News first reported Hoke's retirement earlier on Thursday.
