Nike, Inc. is launching its first new sub-brand in decades as the troubled athletic footwear and apparel brand looks for options to turn the business around.
The focus of Nike’s latest new launch, NikeSkims, finds the company partnering with Kim Kardashian’s Skims brand in a co-branded effort to find a pathway to more female consumers while potentially risking its efforts to connect with core female athletes that were the company’s clear focus in its Super Bowl advertising and recent comments from the company’s new CEO, Elliot Hall.
Nike bought its first Super Bowl ad in 27 years this year, broadcasting the 60-second “So Win” commercial geared toward encouraging female athletes.
During the company’s recent fiscal Q2 earnings call, CEO Hall said that Nike is running a “gender offense” by launching a women’s basketball program. Most envisioned Nike Sport as the core approach for the women’s business.
Why shift the approach this early in the company’s “So Win” campaign? Why muddy the message?
“Nike, Inc. and Skims are teaming up to disrupt the global fitness and activewear industry with the launch of NikeSkims, a new brand that will deliver industry-leading innovation,” the company announced on Tuesday morning, February 18. “The long-term partnership will introduce an extensive product line that invites more athletes and women into the world of sport and movement.”
Nike management may have seen an opportunity present itself and did not want to lose out to a competitor like Adidas. Perhaps the company saw the energy the Skims brand generated in the outdoor active lifestyle space with its collaboration with The North Face this season. The Skims x The North Face collection went live on December 10, 2024, and the offering reportedly sold out within hours after the launch, with consumers having to get on a waitlist on the Skims website. The outdoor industry and trade press also met the collab with the expected “what the…”
Nike, Inc. said NikeSkims will debut its first collection in the U.S. this Spring, available online and in select retail locations, with a global rollout planned for 2026. The company said NikeSkims would deliver an extensive fitness product line — including apparel, footwear and accessories.
“We’re energized by the opportunity to build a new brand and shake things up for the next generation of athletes with NikeSkims,” offered Heidi O’Neill, president of consumer, product & brand at Nike, Inc. “This partnership brings together the best of both brands and unlocks an incredible opportunity to disrupt the industry with our shared passion and commitment to innovation. We will invite even more athletes into sport and movement with product that makes them feel strong and sexy.”
The launch of a new Nike sub-brand is said to be the first since the launch of the Jordan brand in the 80s.
“NikeSkims brings together Nike’s world-class approach to advanced innovation, sport science, and athlete insights with Skims’ obsession with the female form and pioneering approach to creating solutions for every body,” the company said in a media release, proclaiming that the brand’s shared vision celebrates every dimension of athleticism, from elite to everyday athletes.
“Products will be crafted to fit every curve and enhance the body’s natural form,” while partnering with Kim Kardashian is not exactly what most expected when Hill took the CEO role in October 2024 in an effort to revitalize the company.
“Nike and Skims share a deep commitment to innovation, inclusivity and pushing boundaries, driven by an unwavering belief in the power of women,” added Kardashian, co-founder and chief creative officer of Skims. “This partnership is the culmination of that shared vision, delivering product that is meticulously designed to sculpt and perform for every body. Every single detail has been obsessed over and carefully considered. We’re incredibly excited to unveil our first collection this Spring.”
Nike, which once had a very healthy women’s business focused on the core athlete and women’s empowerment, may see this venture providing some spark to its efforts again after the women’s business grew just 1 percent in currency-neutral (c-n) terms in fiscal 2024, ended May 31, 2024, to $8.6 billion. Nike’s men’s business also grew just 1 percent c-n in fiscal 2024 but tallied sales of $20.9 million over that period. Fiscal 2024 growth trends represented a sharp moderation versus the double-digit growth trends in prior years as the women’s business grew 11 percent c-n year-over-year from fiscal 2022 to 2023, and the men’s business grew 17 percent c-n in fiscal 2023.
“Over the past five years, Skims has redefined the intimates and loungewear industry,” said Jens Grede, co-founder and CEO of Skims. “Now, by partnering with Nike, the undisputed leader in athletic performance and innovation, we’re poised to create a new standard in the global fitness and activewear market. This partnership will empower individuals to express themselves authentically, merging Skims’ focus on body confidence and self-expression with Nike’s relentless pursuit of excellence.”
NKE shares were up more than 6 percent on Tuesday, February 18, to close at $77.59, a small reversal of the trend line for the company after falling 25 percent over the last 12 months.
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