--- title: "Fadeaway: Nike’s latest pivot is bad for brick-and- mortar retail - The Hustle" description: Nike announced it’s ending partnerships with brands totalling ~1k stores. What does this say about the apparel giant’s strategy road map? image: https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/139434517-News-Brief_2020-09-01T005347.846Z.webp --- # Fadeaway: Nike’s latest pivot is bad for brick-and- mortar retail ![Caroline Dohack](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/42631e59c16b84b43a02930edeed6b26?s=96&d=mm&r=g) [Caroline Dohack](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/caroline-dohack) [Caroline Dohack Twitter profile ](https://twitter.com/CarolineDohack) Published: April 11, 2023 Updated: October 11, 2023 The $139B sports apparel megabrand recently [announced](https://www.businessinsider.com/nike-cuts-ties-with-zappos-belk-dillards-and-others-report-2020-8) that it’s cutting loose some of its strategic partners. ![Nike Logo](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/139434517-News-Brief_2020-09-01T005347.846Z.webp?width=595&height=400&name=139434517-News-Brief_2020-09-01T005347.846Z.webp) The partners — which include retailers like Dillards, Belk, Boscov’s, and Fred Meyer — collectively represent ~1k physical stores. #### **Nike wants 50% of its sales to be digital ** Experts [say](https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/nike-levels-up-digital-game-in-wake-of-coronavirus-hit-59265634) it’s a feasible goal. The company is already on pace to hit 30% by the end of 2021, 2 years earlier than originally planned. Over the past quarter, Nike’s digital sales have surged by 75% — even as its overall revenues declined 38%. This has largely been aided by the company’s app presence: - The Nike commerce app has had** 8m+** downloads since February. - The brand’s SNKRS app scored **$1B** last fiscal year. - Nike-branded training apps have seen up to a **100%** [increase](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/27/coronavirus-nike-gets-more-exercise-app-users-and-its-driving-online-sales.html#:~:text=Typically%2C%20a%20premium%20NTC%20subscription,workouts%20in%20the%20latest%20quarter.) in usage during the quarantine. #### **Last year, Nike shunned Amazon…** Now, the company is shunning Zappos — all in an effort to regain control of its brand and inventory. Shops like DICK’S Sporting Goods, Nordstrom, and Foot Locker — who are digital savvy and tend to be more coachable on product display and promotion — were able to make the cut. According to the bankruptcy newsletter [Petition](https://petition.substack.com/p/the-fed-switches-things-up), the trickle down could be devastating for mid-tier malls. They house many of the retailers Nike is leaving behind and are [already in pain](https://thehustle.co/08262020-big-short/). 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Signup for a free account Close modal ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Caroline Dohack", "url" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/author/caroline-dohack" }, "datePublished" : "2023-04-11T04:43:13.000Z", "headline" : "Fadeaway: Nike’s latest pivot is bad for brick-and- mortar retail", "image" : [ "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/139434517-News-Brief_2020-09-01T005347.846Z.webp" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/09032020-nike-partnerships", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject" } } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "#article", "@type" : "NewsArticle", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Caroline Dohack", "url" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/caroline-dohack" }, "dateModified" : "2023-10-11T23:18:03+0000", "datePublished" : "2023-04-11T04:43:13+0000", "headline" : "Fadeaway: Nike’s latest pivot is bad for brick-and- mortar retail", "image" : [ "https://7355427.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/7355427/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/139434517-News-Brief_2020-09-01T005347.846Z.webp" ], "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 112, "url" : "https://fs.hubspotusercontent00.net/hubfs/53/assets/hubspot.com/web-team/WBZ/Blog%202021/Images/Logos/HubSpot%20Logo%20112X112.svg", "width" : 112 }, "name" : "HubSpot", "sameAs" : [ "https://www.facebook.com/hubspot", "https://twitter.com/hubspot" ], "url" : "https://www.hubspot.com" }, "speakable" : { "@type" : "SpeakableSpecification", "xPath" : [ "//title", "/html/head/meta[@name='description']/@content" ] } } ```