Nike Pulls Out of Sears
Likely fearful of the less than upscale brand perception associated with Sears and Sears' recent purchase of Kmart, Nike has decided to stop selling its shoes at the mass retailer. Nike, apparently. does not want to associate it self with downmarket Sears. Some say it's a good thing and will allow Nike to continue as a hip, premium and expensive brand. Others, such as Sterling Group President Debbie Millman think it's not so smart saying, "It is surprising and incredibly short-sighted of Nike to pull their sneakers from Sears. This would have been the perfect opportunity to leverage the idea of a 'specially designed' sneaker for the retailer in an effort to capitalize on the current design-led economy we are living in, which is a good part of what is currently differentiating Target."
Comments
Steve, you are right. Enough Nike.
Nike made some great ads. Good looking shoes.
And lots of money. Won lots of ad awards. Made careers.
Enough Nike! Swoosh yourself Nike!
Who's the next Nike? ? Is there one?
just means more sales for Reebok and Adidas in Sears stores. a very big competitor they don't have to worry about.
I've been into the Nike Store inside Sears - a lot the products are at normal prices.
It's not like Nike was selling a lot of sneakers at Sears. Sears costumers are unhip people over 45.
well i sort of disagree. I think Nike has no problems with Sears. It's Kmart, that is the bone of contention. Hadn't it been so, then, why Nike would have agreed to market an exclusive range of shoes for WalMart?
This seems really consistent with Nike's approach to managing by scarcity (my term not theirs). Nike pulls its products out of retail with some regularity. It does so when it feels its image is a bit flat or a particular brand/subbrand is over exposed. This is one of their unique approaches to having both the highest volume and the highest margin brand in the business. Few brands in the world have the guts to pull out of retail. Usually it is focused on something more tangible like a refussal to paying slotting. Personally I applaud Nike and hope it inspires more brands think and act differently in their approach to their retail experience!
Davis