Nike: Changing the Sneakers Game

Anita  Elberse; Bryce  Aiken; Howard  Johnson

Case | HBS Case Collection | November 2018 (Revised April 2019)

Nike: Changing the Sneakers Game

by Anita Elberse, Bryce Aiken and Howard Johnson

Abstract

“Our goal is to be the kind of start-up that would terrify Nike—if Nike didn’t already own us.” Ron Faris, general manager of S23NYC, a Manhattan-based digital studio owned by sports apparel giant Nike, is on the phone with Adam Sussman, Nike’s chief digital officer. It is June 1, 2018. Two years earlier, Sussman was behind Nike’s push to acquire Virgin Mega, a startup comprising Faris and his small team, which has since morphed into a studio that plays a pivotal role in Nike’s digital strategy. With the studio’s mobile app, SNKRS (pronounced “sneakers”), specifically, Nike seeks to strengthen its connection with the most fanatical of its fans—the sneakerheads—and “bring back the fun and emotion of buying,” as Sussman put it. Is Nike on the right path with its digital strategy and, in particular, with how it seeks to change the sneakers game and compete with rivals such as Adidas and Puma? Does it make sense for the company to pursue the kinds of innovations featured in the SNKRS app? And what kind of campaigns and activations should it prioritize in the future?

Keywords: digital strategy; Digital technology; Apparel; fashion; superstar; innovation; general management; Mobile Technology; Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Innovation and Invention; Management; Sports; Entertainment; Apparel and Accessories Industry;

Language: English

Format: Print

23 pages

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Citation:

Elberse, Anita, Bryce Aiken, and Howard Johnson. "Nike: Changing the Sneakers Game." Harvard Business School Case 519-039, November 2018. (Revised April 2019.)

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Case | HBS Case Collection | June 2020

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Keywords: music; entertainment; media; superstars; Talent; talent development; contracts; labor economics; marketing; strategy; general management;