"Converse's issue is that it is iconic and it has not been able to shift and morph the consumer's impression of the brand enough to allow for SKU expansion," said Yates Jarvis, founder and principal of the e-commerce agency 2 Visions.
Peloton's stock traded at a magical $125 in mid-2021, when people were trapped in their homes and wanted the exercise experience they had in the gym. By October 2022, the stock dropped to $7. It was down to $4 shortly after that, and has not improved by much more than a dime.
U.S. Soccer just dropped its new USMNT team kits this week ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and they're instant classics. If you expected the usual home whites and away reds or blues, hold on. This time around they went for it. We are given two kits, two distinct personalities, and a design process that actually involved the players who'll be wearing them.
Nike has been on a downward trajectory; its share price tanked under the previous CEO, John Donahoe, who was ousted last September in favour of Elliott Hill, a 32-year veteran at the company who was brought out of retirement to lead it back to growth. At the heart of its problems was Donahoe's hyper-focus on growing direct-to-consumer sales. Before Nike, he was a leader in the tech space (eBay, PayPal and ServiceNow) and came in with a vision to have more shoppers buy directly from Nike.com.
Specifically, the company is focusing on the production of its newest, weirdest shoe-a giant soled laceless running shoe with a single-piece toe box made of "hyper-foam" plastics sprayed on by robot arms. The plastics are 40 percent biofoam, and the shoe is made of just eight pieces; On says its minimalist approach saves on the shoe's carbon footprint.