Nike boss John Donahoe blames WFH for first sales slump in two years saying: ... trends now
The boss of Nike has slammed remote working and blamed the shoemaker's first sales slump in over two years on staff not being in the office.
Nike, along with many corporations, continued with a work from home policy long after Covid restrictions were lifted and lockdown had ended.
John Donahoe has admitted it is 'really hard to do bold, disruptive innovation, to develop a boldly disruptive shoe, on Zoom'.
He said the company, which has experienced its first quarterly revenue decline in nearly two years, realized innovation had been lacking at the firm after teams returned to in-person work some 18 months ago.
The CEO's remarks come after boss of JD Sports, Regis Schultz, last month blamed Nike's lack of product innovation for weaker sales.
Nike has experienced its first quarterly revenue decline in nearly two years, which CEO John Donahoe blamed on the firm's former work from home policy
John Donahoe, pictured Friday on CNBC, has admitted that it is 'really hard to do bold, disruptive innovation, to develop a boldly disruptive shoe, on Zoom'
Donahoe, speaking to CNBC on Friday, said the firm was missing the 'bold, disruptive innovation that Nike's known for' and that a review of the situation revealed the reason for the creative decline was 'fairly straightforward'.
'We realigned our company, and over the last year we have been ruthlessly focused on rebuilding our disruptive innovation pipeline along with our iterative innovation pipeline,' Donahoe, 63, said.
'So the pipeline is as strong as ever.'
He said Nike is hoping to showcase its new approach this summer when top athletes will be sporting its shoes and apparel during the Olympics in Paris.
'We've done more to advance running than any brand in the world over the last 50 years and we continue to lead with elite runners,' he said, noting that there will be a range within the new kit that athletes can choose to wear during the games.
