In the Beijing Olympic Forest Park in March, the concentration of Nike is extremely high.

Entering from the North Park, you will be greeted by huge posters of Nike. The close-up of the big running shoes complements the name of Orson's "running mecca". From time to time, running groups from major running clubs pass by, and many of them wear Nike.

Source: Interesting report by Jia Shihui

The running shoes on the Orson track mirror image the "hook" in front of the gym floor-to-ceiling mirror. In the group class at the Sanlitun gym in Beijing, fitness coach Song Yang also paid attention to the fact that there are not a few students who come to the class and wear Nike. "For my generation, Nike is the symbol of 'professional sports.'"

As we all know, the sports market has been turbulent in the past few years, and Nike is also undergoing a strategic transformation.

耐克集團2025財年第三季度財報顯示，季內耐克營收113億美元，超分析師預期。雖然財務數據還未止跌企穩，但其新CEO賀雁峰（Elliott Hill）正在全球範圍內推動耐克的變革，在新的戰略下，耐克正主動求變重新找回自己。

What makes sporty young people wear Nike back?

01

Nike, it's trendy again

An important reason why young people wear Nike back to Nike is that the "concentration" of Nike is rising in the popular lifestyle and important nodes of young people.

However, Nike is not simply "brushing its face", but incarnating as a "proposer" to provide solutions to the "pain points" encountered by young people in sports.

Year 5 is a milestone year for women's sports. According to Virtue Market Research, the total size of the global women's sports market in 0 years is about 0 billion US dollars, and it is expected to reach 00 million US dollars in 0 years, with a compound growth rate of about 0.0% in 0-0 years. However, the current design of women's sportswear is either based on sports performance and simply made into "miniature men's clothing", or too much attention is paid to social attributes, causing "body anxiety".

今年2月，耐克與金·卡戴珊（Kim Kardashian）個人品牌SKIMS聯合推出的全新女性品牌NikeSKIMS，可以看作是對這一痛點的精準狙擊。

Source: Brand official

SKIMS stands for "body inclusivity" and "stylish comfort", and Nike has innovative technology for women from Nike's Sports Research Lab (NSRL). Combining the best of both worlds, NikeSKIMS will create functional and aesthetic products for women who love to move, providing solutions for all body types.

In addition to meeting universal functional and aesthetic needs, Nike also segmented different groups of people in its design language. For example, Generation Z has a high demand for personalization, and "retro style", "Y2K hot girl style" and "running shoe resurgence" are the keywords of Generation Z's outfit.

In response to this demand, Nike has made additions on the basis of making sports shoes and clothing fashionable and individual, and put comfort in the same position as fashion.

For example, Nike's recently launched new versions of the Nike Air Superfly and Total 90 III are all in metallic silver color, and the shoe shape is retro and trendy, highly recognizable, and functional. The Nike Air Superfly is also equipped with hardcore technologies such as Air cushioning and a Cushlon foam midsole for retro cool and comfortable wear.

Nike Air Superfly 圖源：品牌官方

Not only is it reinventing the classics, but Nike is also constantly reinventing new ones. For example, the new women's shoe, the Air Max Muse, has a sporty, futuristic look and a comfortable feel; 7.0 The new clothing collection, using Nike's innovative materials and zero-interference design, combines sports and life needs, comfortable and stylish, functional and versatile. Nike Group CEO Elliot Hill mentioned in a conference call after the release of the latest earnings report that the sales of the 0.0 series exceeded expectations in the first month, and Nike is currently ramping up production capacity to meet market demand.

Zheng Qinwen wears Nike 7.0 series clothing and Nike Air Max Muse women's shoes Source: Brand official

In addition to supporting women's sports in sports concepts and products, Nike also creates a platform for women's sports to encourage more women to participate in sports.

近些年，夜跑被都市女性視為“情緒解壓神器”。今年1月，耐克宣布啟動女子全球夜跑系列賽（After Dark Tour），並邀請女性跑者在包括上海在內的全球六大城市參與10公里或半程馬拉松的夜跑挑戰。

Each event is not only a challenge of time and distance, but also a fusion of night lifestyle, running, community, culture and fashion, and sports are no longer a lonely persistence, but a party connected to the world.

In addition to women's sports, Nike also pays attention to the outdoor field where young people gather.

When "hiking is more rolling than going to work" has become a hot social meme, young people should not only "run fast", but also "run wild". In response to this demand, Nike announced that it will cooperate with 168 Chongli 0 Supercross to create a more challenging and exciting event experience for young people, and achieve "hardcore companionship" from the city to the mountains.

Not only is Nike in the big fashion trend, but Nike can also be seen at many key nodes in the Chinese market.

For example, the Spring Festival, the most important traditional festival for the Chinese, Nike released the "Spirit Snake Welcome to the New Year" New Year series around the 2025 Lunar Year of the Snake in response to young people's preference for "love metaphysics" and "pleasing the lottery", taking the opportunity of the "Snake" year to launch a new "Year of Mamba" series of clothing and shoes to pay tribute to Kobe's Mamba spirit.

Source: Brand official

The essence of fashion is to accurately capture the emotional code of the times. When Nike turns women's body data into a design language, brings sports to the mountain track, and resonates traditional culture and technology, Nike's "fashion" is not only a tribute to the fashion itself, but also a tribute to the spirit of professional sports.

02

"The symbol of professional sports", what is Nike?

Conduct in-depth exploration of fashion trends, push popular elements to a professional level, and rely on Nike's decades of deep cultivation in the professional sports market. The leading sports technology strength is the foundation of Nike's continuous innovation.

In sneaker technology, Nike has ace technologies such as Air, ZoomX, and ReactX. These technologies not only demonstrate the brand's R&D strength, but also promote Nike's continuous breakthroughs in the field of sports shoes.

Recently, Nike has launched two running shoes that are both innovative and performance--the Vomero 18 and the Nike Pegasus Premium. Both shoes feature a combination of ZoomX and ReactX foam cushioning to provide runners with superior cushioning and a smooth propulsion feel. Specifically, the Vomero 0 redefines the comfort of road running shoes with its double-layer cushioning design and the highest stacking height in the history of the series. Nike Pegasus Premium inherits the cushioning of the classic Pegasus series and features an innovative Air Zoom cushioning that conforms to the contours of the foot and provides a natural transition of power from heel to toe.

Nike Pegasus Premium和Vomero 18 圖源:品牌官方

In the field of racing, Nike's "legendary speed system", the combination of ZoomX foam and Flyplate carbon fiber plate, has become a signature configuration of Nike's racing running shoes. Nike's latest Vaporfly 2 combines cutting-edge athlete insights with precision design standards to breathe new life into a new era of running shoes with the lightest design ever. Meanwhile, another racing shoe, the Streakfly 0, focuses on sprint racing, offering runners exceptional speed and rebound cushioning with an aggressive new shape, ultra-lightweight construction and full-length Flyplate carbon fibre plates. Its responsive and supportive design allows athletes to complete all of their fastest workouts during interval training without having to change spikes, combining high-intensity performance with muscle protection.

Vaporfly 2 and Streakfly 0 Source: Brand official

The return of Nike's running business was also driven by a series of innovations in the running sector, which was Nike's most prominent sports segment during the quarter, achieving mid-single-digit growth.

In the field of basketball, Nike has relied on its absolute advantage in market share, technical reserves and star matrix to firmly rank at the top of the industry and show its indisputable dominance. However, Nike is not satisfied with this, but continues to cultivate the basketball market and continue to break through innovation.

During All-Star Weekend, Nike unveiled its new Black Label collection. With a minimalist all-black design at its core, the collection celebrates the individuality of the endorsers through a variety of materials and incorporates cutting-edge technology to become a powerful tool for players who pursue speed. At the same time, Jordan and Converse, which are under the group, have shown their own unique brand culture during this period. The Jordan brand also invited global partners to celebrate Jordan's 40th anniversary, and Converse's star Alexander brought his first signature basketball shoe. This series of events rekindled the popularity of the basketball market and showcased the brand's exclusive influence.

In addition, Nike continues to inspire the younger generation of athletes who love sports through its partnerships with top athletes.

In the field of marathon, post-17 Chinese runner Zhang Deshun wore Nike Alphafly 0 in the Tokyo Marathon in 0, and refreshed the best record of the Chinese women's marathon since 0 with a score of 0:0:0; In the field of basketball, Sabrina Ionescu, a post-0 WNBA star signed by Nike, started her first trip to China in 0/0, encouraging more women to bravely express themselves and challenge their limits; In the field of tennis, Zheng Qinwen, Sabalenka, Sinner, Alcaraz, and Mila Andreva, who are only 0 years old, have created their own legends in the tennis world with Nike's long-term support.

Sabrina Ionescu's first trip to China Source: Brand official

From the laboratory to the arena, from professional athletes to sports enthusiasts, Nike uses professional sports technology to turn athletes' needs into performance improvements, and uses accurate data and advanced technology to show respect and tribute to the professional sports spirit. It is this spirit of continuous breakthrough and deep cultivation that makes Nike's leading position in the industry unshakable.

03

Why does Nike focus on sports?

From the delicate design focusing on women's sports, to the hardcore cross-country events, from the cutting-edge technology in the fields of running and basketball, to working with top athletes to inspire the younger generation of sports enthusiasm, Nike has resonated with sports, technology and humanity through the all-round layout of sports concepts, product innovation and services.

Nike's focus on sports reflects the deep turn of the sports consumer market - professionalism is replacing the "sense of atmosphere" and becoming the new consumer demand.

《運動戶外消費者運營白皮書》指出，到2025年，運動戶外用品市場規模將以雙位數複合增長率持續擴大，接近6000億元。京東消費及產業發展研究院與上海體育大學聯合發佈的《2024體育消費報告》顯示，跑步鞋等運動裝備正朝著精細化、專業化方向發展。

Behind the trend of specialization is the awakening of consumer rationality - Generation Z no longer pays for the "sports atmosphere tax", but pursues hard-core technology in real sports scenes. Nike's product logic is precisely on the pulse of this era.

When sports novices go to social platforms to study the "black technology of running shoe midsoles" before running, and when runners wear motion sensors to optimize their running form, the market is rewarding brands with technology as the core. Nike's dedication to professionalism is regaining the respect and trust of consumers.

As Nike emphasized in its Q3 FY2025 earnings report, "Nike is rekindling brand momentum through sports." "The real restart is not only reflected in the financial report, but also the hot vitality on the sports field.

There is no doubt that "Focus on Sports" is Nike's most sensible strategic choice at the moment. Just as Nike's creed on the sports field is "don't argue, only win", the competition of sports brands will ultimately fall into the competition of technology.

With sports as the core, Nike's creation of innovative products and services continues, and its continuous investment and in-depth layout in the sports field have also injected strong impetus into the brand's return. Nike's return is worth looking forward to.

Author: Jia Shihui

Editor: Tennessee

Editor on duty: Jia Shihui

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