Welcome back to SportsVerse, my twice-weekly newsletter that tells stories you can’t find anywhere else about the intersection of sports, fashion, business, and culture. Powered by OffBall.
On Wednesday, SportsVerse got a healthy bump of new subscribers after my insights were quoted by Dan Shanoff, managing editor of The Athletic, in his article: Why New Balance went all-in on NBA Draft sensation Cooper Flagg. Dan kindly referred to SportsVerse as “the essential business-of-sports-fashion newsletter.” And I’m inclined to agree. Welcome to all newbies, thank you for being here!
Yesterday was a significant day in the Nike world for several reasons.
The company reported its much-anticipated full-year earnings for its 2025 fiscal year ended May 31. Annual revenues were $46.3 billion, down 10 percent compared to the prior year ($51.4 billion). Fourth quarter revenues were $11.1 billion, down 12 percent year-over-year.
These declines were to be expected, as Nike continues its transition period under new CEO Elliott Hill’s turnaround plan, which has hinged on instituting new figureheads across the company’s leadership, restoring internal employee morale, doubling down on the power of athletes and sports marketing, and cleaning up its marketplace which had become oversaturated with certain sneaker styles that no longer drove hype in the way that they used to a few years ago.
The 12 percent decline in fourth quarter revenue actually came in below the 14.9 percent drop forecast by analysts ahead of earnings this week — an encouraging sign for the brand, though there is still a very long way to go to get back to growth.
More interestingly, yesterday marked the culmination of Breaking4, a year-long project the brand devised to support its athlete, Kenyan long-distance runner Faith Kipyegon, in her bid to be the first woman to run a mile in under four minutes.
Last night in Paris, the three-time Olympic 1500m champion so nearly achieved the unthinkable, shaving close to seven seconds of her previous best to set a world record time of 4.06 minutes, the smallest of fractions shy of her target.
Sitting down with Kenyan long-distance legend Eliud Kipchoge — he and Faith share a coach — earlier that day in Paris, he told me how significant this moment was.
“This is a real revolution in sports and culture,” he said, speaking exclusively to me at the glamorous Parisian townhouse which has been taken over by Nike to create a top secret Breaking4 HQ this week.
Ultimately, Kipyegon fell just short of breaking the 4-minute mile (0.7 seconds short), to be exact. But she nevertheless smashed the previous world record for that distance, which also had been set by her.
Regardless, the activation was a marketing tour de force on the part of Nike, which used it to indicate exactly where it intends to focus its energy going forward.
When Nike CEO Elliott Hill took the top job in January, a core tenet of the turnaround strategy he laid out was refocusing on the importance of the athlete and performance sports, bringing them back into the centre of Nike’s brand, concerning everything from product to marketing. Hill also laid out his intention for Nike to better serve female athletes and female consumers — an area in which the brand had taken its eye off the ball in recent years and fallen behind to competitors in various categories from activewear to running.
The brand didn’t just tell us this — this week in Paris, it showed us. The mere fact that this — a pure sporting showcase — was how Nike chose to show up during fashion week, was telling about how much the brand wants to communicate its commitment to athletic achievement once again.
It was also palpable how important a moment this was for the company, just from glancing at those who made the trip over from Beaverton, Oregon. Former CEO and executive chairman Mark Parker made a rare public-facing appearance, while outgoing chief design officer John Hoke was in attendance, along with chief marketing officer Nicole Hubbard Graham, chief innovation officer Tony Bignell and several other top dogs.
Breaking4 was also a useful marketing exercise for Nike to flex its prowess when it comes to working with the world’s elite athletes to design products which help them break world records. The custom race suit designed for Faith, along with her spikes, both featured Nike innovations being displayed in public for the first time.
The crown jewel of the suit was Faith’s sports bra. She became the first athlete in the world to compete in Nike’s all-new FlyWeb material, a 3D printed fabric which optimises sweat wicking and cooling better than anything else out there on the market, according to the design team who worked on it.
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When it came to the design of her running spikes, no detail could be spared. The team managed to get the new shoe (Nike Victory Elite FK) so light that it’s pretty much weightless — the mesh upper weighs the equivalent of just three paperclips, said Nike Running product expert Elliott Heath.
While these products are unlikely to reach the market any time soon, a moment like Breaking4 gives Nike the perfect excuse to stress test its latest innovations and show off its product know-how. It also presents an opportunity to promote current or upcoming products that are actually available to consumers, such as the new Pegasus Premium running shoe, which will hit stores in October.
For Nike, a brand striving to reclaim its authority in the running category, Breaking4 was certainly a stride in the right direction.
As I mentioned, I’ve been in Paris this week, taking in the sights and sounds.
If you care about the intersection of sports and fashion (as you should!), then Paris Fashion Week in June is the place to be. Most major leagues are in their off-season, meaning athletes are free to pull up for the week-long endless stream of runway shows, parties, showroom appointments, and fancy dinners that is PFW. I wrote this rundown for today’s edition of OffBall’s daily newsletter — if you love all things sports culture, you better subscribe (if you haven’t already)!
Before a single show had begun, Dior’s new creative director, Jonathan Anderson (fresh off his big money transfer from Loewe), set the tone by casting Kylian Mbappé as the face of his debut menswear collection for the luxury house.
The President of Sports-Fashion, Russell Westbrook, was back in Paris again to host his annual showroom, showcasing the latest collections of his Honor The Gift brand — in his capacity as creative director — to buyers from important fashion stores and members of the media. He also surprised guests when he appeared on the runway for his long time friend Feng Cheng Wang’s Spring/Summer show, modelling not one but two different looks.
Pharrell Williams’ Louis Vuitton show was always going to draw the biggest crowd from the world of sports. Football’s very own fashion king, Jules Koundé, was in attendance. Wemby and French rugby star Antoine Dupont, both LV ambassadors, made front row appearances, along with James Harden, Russ and Jalen Ramsey.
A strong Premier League contingent also showed up and showed out. Fulham’s Alex Iwobi, Emile Smith Rowe and Ryan Sessegnon were all in attendance, along with Andre Onana of Aston Villa and former Tottenham player Dele Alli.
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