How is Nike's CEO Implementing his Turnaround Strategy?

Nearing a year into his tenure as CEO of Nike, Elliott Hill says his strategy to reverse the company’s recent struggles is beginning to show results, but he admits it won’t be a quick fix.

In an interview with CNBC’s Sara Eisen, Elliott said Nike is on “the path” to recovery, but cautioned that profitable growth “is going to take a while”.

In a sit-down interview at Nike’s headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, he said: “When we come to work we think about three brands, and then multiple sports under each brand and then 190 countries that roll up to our four geographies.”

The turnaround plan focuses on restoring wholesale relationships, restructuring the business around specific sports rather than consumer segments, and reigniting innovation across Nike’s portfolio. 

“It’s not linear,” Elliott added. “But it is a portfolio, and ultimately the goal is to have the entire portfolio all working together to drive the revenue and the profit that we hope to deliver for all of our investors.”

Stocks slip amid uncertainty 

While Elliott’s leadership is beginning to steer Nike in a new direction, the company’s recent financial performance reflects the challenges ahead. 

Nike’s stock has dropped around 12% over the past year and, although Wall Street is aware of the CEO’s game plan, the timeline for tangible results remains unclear.

Elliott’s approach contrasts significantly with that of former Nike Chief Executive John Donahoe, who leaned heavily into direct-to-consumer digital sales during the pandemic. 

While that move saw short-term success, Elliott believes it became a liability post-COVID.

He reflects: “When COVID hit, supply got constrained, demand goes up and I think the team did what I think anybody would do: shift product over to digital commerce and, all of a sudden, that takes off.”

Discussing how physical retail became normalised, he continues: “I think over time it ended up hurting the brand, because there’s a certain set of customers that want to shop choice and they want to shop across each of the different channels of distribution.”

To course-correct, Elliott is rebuilding Nike’s wholesale business and reclaiming shelf space ceded to competitors. He's also introducing new partnerships, such as with women’s retailer Aritzia, to target under-penetrated consumer segments.

Elliott is also undoing a key element of John’s restructuring by shifting the internal structure back to sport-specific categories, rather than men’s, women’s and kids’.

These structural changes aim to reignite product innovation, a pain point under John’s leadership, when Nike faced criticism for relying too heavily on legacy products like Air Force 1 trainers. 

Elliott said in his interview that he believes this renewed sport-focused setup will allow teams to tailor products to athletes’ specific needs and respond more nimbly to market shifts.

Tariff challenges

Part of Elliott’s plan includes navigating rising operational costs, particularly from tariffs, and repositioning Nike’s pricing strategy accordingly. 

Nike recently warned tariffs would cost the company US$1.5 billion this fiscal year. To mitigate this, Elliott said the company has raised prices across its core categories. 

Data from retail analytics firm DataWeave shows Nike footwear prices rose 17%, apparel by 14% and equipment by 18% from September 2024 to September 2025.

Karthik Bettadapura, CEO of DataWeave, adds: “In practice, Nike’s pricing architecture reflects a targeted approach, reinforcing brand value in performance while using select promotions to maintain accessibility.”

As Elliott approaches the one-year mark as CEO, his leadership is being closely scrutinised.

With early signs of progress and a clear strategy in motion, the challenge now lies in execution and convincing investors that Nike’s best days are still ahead.