What's gone wrong at Nike? Sportswear giant loses mojo

The largest sportswear brand on the planet, named after the ancient Greek goddess of victory, has been losing sales, customers, and ground to its rivals. The one-time industry disruptor is now the establishment and is caught in the middle of a tricky turnaround plan.

Nike's latest financial results show signs that a turnaround strategy put in place by company veteran Elliott Hill, who was coaxed out of retirement two years ago, is working, though the recovery pace resembles a marathon rather than a sprint.

However, this recovery momentum was dented when football star Kylian Mbappé ended his 20-year partnership with the brand to join the fast-growing Swiss competitor, On. The departure of the Real Madrid striker raises doubts about whether Nike can maintain its top position among elite athletes and their fans.

Missteps over recent years have wiped hundreds of billions of dollars off its stock market value as shares tumbled by 75% over five years. Last month, the company was also ejected from the S&P 100 stock market index of major US blue-chip firms.

Matt Powell, a veteran retail analyst, noted that Nike made several strategic errors that proved hard to reverse, including cutting ties with multi-brand retailers to sell exclusively direct-to-consumer online and oversupplying limited-edition items.