Former Swoosh Guy wrote:
The company has lost the magic.
The current senior leadership is comprised of technocrats that have no concept about product, marketing, emotional connections, etc. The joint is run by a former Ebay exec, a former Walmart exec, and a ton of soulless ex-McKinsey and Bain people. They are more motivated by grinding out efficiencies and margins than by creating innovative and exciting products for athletes.
They also fixated on a consumer direct approach to sales. While that makes some sense in the online age, they sh*t on a lot of longtime retail partners and are starting to realize that consumers still like trying things on and the instant gratification of walking out of a store with something new. Last week, they brought back from retirement the guy that cultivated all of the retail partner relationships of the glory days.
A lot of the old guard is retired. Phil is fixated on his legacy, a University of Oregon football national title, and Oregon politics. Layoffs and restructurings have ousted a lot of longtime passionate people that lived for the brand. The CEO has mandated that employees have to be in the office four days a week while he continues to work full-time from his home office in Silicon Valley. I hear from friends still working inside the berm that the place is equal parts "Lord of The Flies" and the douchiest Greek house that ever existed. Once upon a time, you clamored to work at Nike because it was cool. Now, the new generation thinks that they are cool because they pull a paycheck from Nike. Great ideas get shot down because that makes higher ups feel threatened and marginally talented brown nosers get promoted for being obedient little suck ups. This has been going on for years and now Nike is harvesting what they have sown.
Right now, I am happy that I dumped my Nike holdings about two years ago. When John Donahoe took over, I had a gut feeling that things were going to go south. If I hadn't trusted that feeling, I would be looking for work today instead of enjoying retirement.
Nike represents the worst in big corporate behavior.
Manufactures in Asia, China, in sweatshop conditions, and marks up product 10x, as the "American way".
Whores like Jordan, NBA , track athletes, football, all line up for blood money, while they pursue ego glory, legacy, and to make a living.
make no mistake, i will take a Nike check, and make no mistake I will call them out for what they are.
Nike is rotten to the core.
Most of dollar goes out if country or to front men.
Lets run audience knows. can smell out yhe rats nicely.
That said, letsrun gets a bad name via basement dwellers posting hate and diatribe 24 7, no matter how great the event, party, they feel it is their duty to leave their tird in the punchbowl.