Why I’m Buying Nike After Warning About Its Relevance Problem
A few months ago, I wrote that Nike's real problem was not sales. It was relevance. I still think that was the right way to look at the company, because in consumer brands the numbers are usually the last thing to admit the truth. Sales can hold up for a while. Margins can look respectable. The brand can still be everywhere. But underneath, behavior starts to move. Consumers get excited by something else. Product drops do not create the same urgency. Competitors that once looked small start taking the cultural moments. The business does not collapse. It drifts. That is what makes it so dangerous. One reason I avoid retail investments is that they are rarely compelling.
