With a market value of about $112 billion and annual revenues of around $36 billion, Nike is a global behemoth in the athletic market, where its dominance went largely unchallenged for several decades.
But the company is facing significant business hurdles. Adidas, one of its biggest competitors, has gained ground in key markets like apparel and footwear. Nike is also struggling to get traction in women’s categories, the fastest-growing segment of the market.
Some of those interviewed by The Times said the weakness in women’s products in part reflected a lack of female leadership and an environment that favored male voices. Nike’s own research shows that women occupy nearly half the company’s work force but just 38 percent of positions of director or higher, and 29 percent of the vice presidents, according to an April 4 internal memo obtained by The Times.
And while Nike executives have told investors that the women’s category was a crucial part of its revenue growth strategy, former employees said it was not given the budget it needed to roll out the sophisticated marketing campaigns that were the hallmark of traditional men’s sports, like basketball.
When Nike did put money behind campaigns targeting women, it sometimes flailed.
Last year, Mr. Edwards, the former president, gave the green light for a marketing campaign for the fall launch of the VaporMax shoe for women; the female British singer FKA Twigs was given creative license for a shoot in Mexico City. The result, according to a person who saw a rough cut of the commercial and another who saw the final cut, featured few shots of the shoes and instead had a woman twirling on what looked like a stripper pole and male athletes in sports bras striking odd poses. The campaign was killed, costing Nike millions of dollars.
Asked about the aborted campaign, Mr. Wilkins of Nike said the company was proud of its relationship with the singer. “We have a history of pushing the boundaries in marketing, just as we do in product development,” Mr. Wilkins said. “We create a lot of material that is not deployed in the marketplace.’’
Nike forcefully disputed the notion that women were not involved in the creative and marketing operations, noting that a female executive leads its women’s division. But Mr. Wilkins, the spokesman, acknowledged that, in areas like basketball, “there was more room and opportunity for the company to increase female representation in its senior positions.”
While women struggled to attain top positions at Nike, an inner circle of mostly male leaders emerged who had a direct line to Mr. Edwards. Within the company, as reported earlier in The Wall Street Journal, this group was known as F.O.T., or Friends of Trevor. They texted him in meetings or bragged about having lunch or dinner with him.
A charismatic and creative marketing force, the London-born Mr. Edwards joined Nike in 1992. He oversaw marketing in Europe in the late 1990s, before moving to the United States and taking over the brand in 2002. In 2013, he became Nike brand president.
Paige Azavedo recalls her first meeting in 2014 with her new boss, Daniel Tawiah, then a senior director for Nike’s digital brand in North America. She expected they would discuss digital marketing plans.
Instead, she was surprised when he talked mostly about himself and how Mr. Edwards had nominated him for a fast-track career program. “He basically said, I’ve been nominated to be in this V.P. program and that’s going to be my goal for the next six months to a year,” said Ms. Azavedo, who left Nike in 2015. “He made it clear he was a friend of Trevor.”
Multiple women, including Ms. Azavedo, told The Times they reported Mr. Tawiah to human resources for berating them in front of their peers, sometimes to the point of tears. He was promoted to vice president last year. This month, he was among those who abruptly departed.
Reached by telephone, Mr. Tawiah declined to comment. Mr. Wilkins declined to comment on the complaints against Mr. Tawiah or his departure.
Mr. Edwards, who resigned in March but is advising Mr. Parker until he retires in August, did not respond to an email or a message left on his LinkedIn profile. A representative for Mr. Martin declined to comment.
As men advanced more quickly into key roles in merchandising, design and marketing, a number of high-ranking women began to leave the company.
Among the first to depart, in the spring of 2017, was Patty Ross, a vice president of workplace design and connectivity who had started working at Nike when she was 16. She had also founded a women’s mentoring network inside Nike.
She was followed by Kerri Hoyt-Pack, a 15-year veteran of the company who had helped launch the Nike women’s brand. Then came Nikki Neuburger, a vice president in global brand marketing for running, who was a driving force behind the Nike+ app.
Ms. Ross declined to comment for this article. Ms. Hoyt-Pack and Ms. Neuburger did not respond to messages seeking comment.
When Ms. Neuburger left, she sent a pointed letter to Mr. Parker as well as other members of her team, laying out the reasons for her departure. They covered familiar themes, said one person who said she was read the letter: harassment, and the exclusion of women from the inner circle of decision makers.
“Nikki did write a letter,” Mr. Wilkins said. “It was thoughtful and professional. Mark took the letter very seriously and did meet with Nikki.”
Concerned about these departures, a group of women inside Nike started the behind-the-scenes survey that eventually ended up on Mr. Parker’s desk.
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