Reporter of every business: Cai Ding Editor of every business: Zhao Yun
10 million pairs of sneakers, quality control of every pair. Nike is not careful and loses 1.3 billion.
In a focus match between the University of North Carolina and Duke NCAA at the evening of Wednesday (February 20), Duke's main power forward Zion Williamson (Zion Williamson) "stepped on" the Nike PG 2.5 sneakers he wore in just 33 seconds, which caused him to be injured and left the court.
Image source: Visual China
Before the game, the game between Duke and North Carolina was once hotly hyped, and former US President Obama came to watch the game. Many people spend high prices to see the No. 1 pick Williamson. He is physically strong and skilled, and is often compared with American basketball star LeBron James .
"Shoe Burst Incident" directly led to Nike's stock price closing down 1.05% at the close of US stocks on Thursday (21st), and its market value evaporated by more than US$1.3 billion.
After the "shoes" incident, Nike's stock price plunged (Picture source: Yahoo Finance)
However, as of Friday's closing, Nike's stock price rose by 0.96%, regaining the "lost land". An analyst said: "Although this makes Nike feel embarrassed, it will not have a substantial impact on its business."
kicked and his Nike basketball shoes cracked in half
ABC report screenshot
Daily Economic News (WeChat ID: nbdnews) The reporter noticed that in the American university campus with an especially strong sports atmosphere, Nike's brand awareness is almost entirely based on designing first-class sneakers and team uniforms for athletes. These sneakers that were stomped on one foot also hit Nike's brand image.
signs endorsement agreements with well-known American sports stars including LeBron James and Serena Williams, as well as sponsorships with professional sports leagues, top college basketball teams and football teams, are all important parts of Nike's growth strategy.
In addition, Nike spent a total of US$11.5 billion on marketing and endorsement contracts in 2018, accounting for nearly one-third of its sales. Nike and its Jordan brand sponsored 85 men's and women's basketball teams in the NCAA last year.
CNN reported that the reason why Nike's market value once evaporated by more than $1 billion is because Williamson is considered the number one hottest in the NBA draft this year and the hottest rookie since the current NBA No. 1 star LeBron James entered the draft from high school more than a decade ago.
According to physical test data previously released by Duke University, Zion is 2.01 meters tall and weighs 129 kilograms, while LeBron James (2.03 meters) who is similar to his height is 113 kilograms. With similar heights, Zion is 16 kilograms heavier than James.
Some people say that what is even more incredible is that under such a large weight, Zion can still complete the free throw line dunk, which shows how powerful his physical fitness is.
In addition, not only Williamson, but the focus battle between North Carolina and Duke also attracted well-known figures including former US President Obama to watch it.
Before the game, Duke and North Carolina occupied two places in the NCAA's top three in the United States. Before the game, the cheapest ticket price of this focus battle was first hyped up by scalpers to $2,500, close to the level of the "US Spring Festival Gala" Super Bowl, and the annual salary of the two teams combined reached $11 million. After Williamson got out of the field with a knee injury, the video of Obama pointing at the sneakers that were trampled on the Internet. The Nike PG2.5 worn by Williamson was officially launched in 2018 and is priced at $95 to $105 on Nike's official website. In previous games, Williamson also often wore these sneakers, but never had any problems.
PG2.5 (Photo source: from Nike official website)
Nike, who is responsible for providing team uniforms, sneakers and game equipment to Duke's basketball team, quickly issued a statement afterwards, saying: "We are worried and hope Zion can recover as soon as possible. The quality and performance of our products are crucial. Although this is an isolated incident, we are working to find out where the problem lies."
Daily Economic News (WeChat ID: nbdnews) reporters noticed that Nike actually warned investors in the company's annual report. The company said that "negative remarks or publicity involving us" from major sponsors and spokespersons may "seriously damage our reputation and brand image."
But analysts expect that the Williamson incident will not have a long-term negative impact on Nike's brand image. Nike's products have not had any major failures in the past, except that some NBA players' jerseys were tear in the game in 2017. NPD Group analyst Matt Powell also said: "Although this will embarrass Nike, it will not have a substantial impact on its business. "Bloomberg Information Analyst Chen Grachut Grazutis said that if Nike is combined with its Jordan brand, it will be found that Nike accounts for more than 90% of the basketball market. After the incident, Nike was violently criticized by
and
Although Nike tried hard to minimize the negative impact of the incident, it was still inevitably criticized by netizens on social media.
Puma (PUMA) basketball said that it uses it as its own. This will not happen to home products. This update was "deleted in seconds" after it was posted, but netizens' screenshots were faster.
"Introduce you Nike's new sneakers/sandals - 'Zion No. 1' [funny]"
"My inference - Nike operated Zion's sneakers in secret to help North Carolina win because Michael Jordan is very close to the University of North Carolina. "
After the Zion incident, some netizens found that the price of PG2.5 was reduced by 4.5% to 16% on Nike's official website.
" Live broadcast: Nike's marketing department is now like this-"
" After seeing Zion stepping on PG2.5, Nike's executives are like this..."
"Watch Zion stepping on Nike after PG2.5, as shown in the picture-"
Nike's advertising slogan changed from "Just Do It" to "Just Glue It” (Sarcastic Nike just sticks sneakers):
2015 Nike shoes also had similar embarrassment
Daily Economic News (WeChat ID: nbdnews) The reporter also noticed that this is not the first time that Nike's footwear products have become the focus of public attention because of problems in large-scale events.
2015, when Kenyan player Eliud Kipchech (Eliud Kipchoge) During the marathon in Berlin, his customized Nike running shoes fell out. At that time, Kipchoge was almost certain that if his Nike running shoes didn't have any problems, he could break the world record. But Yahoo Finance reported that few people can remember Kipchoge's misfortune.
Image source: from Twitter
reporters noticed that at the 2017 CCTV 315 Gala, Nike shoes also became the target of public criticism. ——On Nike's Chinese official website, a classic basketball shoe is said to have Nike's patented ZOOMAIR air cushion. However, it has been proved that there is no so-called air cushion at all. It is understood that this shoe sold more than 300 pairs. After various disputes, in early April of that year, Nike finally let go and posted on Weibo that, targeting consumers who have purchased the shoes of this problem, they will reclaim the goods and provide a full refund of RMB 4,500, which is equivalent to three times the original price.
Daily Economic News
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