Dive Brief:
- Nike said Thursday that Walmart vet Jane Ewing will become chief commercial officer on Sept. 7, according to a memo to employees from CEO Elliott Hill. Ewing, who will report to Hill and be a member of the senior leadership team, takes on a position that was just eliminated in December.
- In her new role, Ewing will lead Nike’s global marketplace, which includes sales and Nike Direct. Vice President of Global Sales Erica Bullard, Vice President of Nike Direct Shannon Glass and Vice President of Geographies and Marketplace Analytics Gail Cornelius will all report to Ewing.
- In her 14 years at Walmart, Ewing held roles across merchandising, digital and international operations. She was most recently interim CEO for Sam’s Club China and previously led one of the largest global divisions of beverage firm Diageo PLC.
Dive Insight:
It’s been almost two years since Hill came out of retirement to lead Nike, but the executive is still making changes to the retailer’s leadership team.
New CFO David Denton arrived earlier this month, replacing longtime Nike vet Matt Friend. Now Ewing will join to oversee sales and direct channels, just months after that same position was cut. Nike’s DTC business was a big part of the retailer’s strategy under former CEO John Donahoe, but the retailer has cut back on that effort in recent years, including by quietly shuttering Nike Live stores across the country (the localized concept was later rebranded as Nike Well Collective).
Ewing will be responsible for accelerating both wholesale and DTC growth, according to Hill. The executive called her role “vital” to building strong connections between product, brand and the company’s distribution channels.
“This is an important part of our comeback,” Hill said in a memo on Ewing’s appointment, which was posted to Nike’s corporate website. “Together, these leaders will continue advancing our efforts to create a more connected and integrated marketplace, strengthen partner relationships, elevate consumer experiences across digital and physical retail, and unlock growth opportunities around the world. We’ve made progress over the last year, and there’s more opportunity ahead of us.”
Nike revenue fell 1% in the retailer’s most recent quarter and the retailer cut guidance, flagging decelerating consumer trends starting in the middle of April. While analysts did flag some “kernels of progress” that suggest the business might be stabilizing, others saw the quarter as yet another sign of a protracted turnaround.
In addition to rebalancing the distribution of some of its major footwear franchises and strengthening wholesale relationships that were damaged under its previous DTC-first strategy, Nike is also contending with negative trends in its China and Converse businesses. The company last month announced a reset of its online distribution strategy in China, which will consolidate its digital presence in the region, and named new leadership for the region at the start of the year.
Converse received a new CEO last year, one of a slew of leadership changes Hill made in his first year at the helm. Revenue at the brand declined 32% in the retailer’s most recent quarter, leading some analysts to once again question if a sale is — or should be — on the horizon.
