Will Revelations About Nike’s ‘Boys’ Club’ Culture Affect Its Bottom Line?

Now that the “inappropriate workplace behavior” at Nike has been made public, The Wall Street Journal is wondering if the brand’s disconnect with women at a corporate level could impact its retail business going forward.

While the revelations about workplace harassment haven’t hurt the brand’s stock price yet (investors have actually been inexplicably bullish as of late), WSJ’s Elizabeth Wrinkler posits that “even if one in 10 women customers reaches for another brand for just a few months, Nike’s earnings and its stock will take a hit.”

Noting that the company built their image “on empowerment and inclusion” — including high-profile campaigns focused “specifically on empowering women and girls” — Wrinkler says “it looks increasingly like Nike has broken its promise.”

And they couldn’t have done so at a worse time. As the story reports, “rival Adidas is growing faster than Nike” and “there is no shortage of athletic brands to choose from, especially when it comes to women-focused brands.”

And, “if sales to women flag, the company will struggle to meet the targets it has set, especially in its domestic business.”

You can read more about it at The Wall Street Journal.

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