蘑菇AV

Walmart bought a mall, Coca-Cola launched a soda, and Nike partnered with SKIMS in February, marking some of the month鈥檚 most interesting retail moves. Here are the eight most interesting retailers and brands from last month, as ranked on our 鈥淏ehind the Numbers鈥� podcast.

Nike expects more pain as external headwinds complicate its turnaround plan: The company forecast a mid-teens drop in quarterly sales as inventory struggles and tariffs take their toll.

Nike partners with Skims to launch women鈥檚 activewear brand: NikeSKIMS combines the former鈥檚 performance expertise with the latter鈥檚 form-fitting style and emphasis on inclusivity.

Adidas鈥� CEO says Q4 results were 鈥榤uch better than we had expected鈥�: The company鈥檚 sales rose 19% YoY, ahead of analysts鈥� expectations, helping it gain ground on Nike.

Nike troubles complicate Foot Locker鈥檚 turnaround plan: The retailer lowered its full-year guidance as it struggles to win over cautious shoppers outside of peak shopping periods.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss why Nike isn鈥檛 doing all that well, how it can stay relevant with the competition, and which brands it could possibly learn from. Listen to the conversation with our Senior Analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts Senior Analyst Zak Stambor and Analyst Rachel Wolff.

Alibaba touts early Singles Day successes: Apple, lululemon, and Nike were among the biggest beneficiaries as price-conscious shoppers took advantage of steep discounts and other promotions.

Nike pulls FY guidance amid sales slump: Incoming CEO Elliott Hill has the difficult task of reinvigorating the brand and ramping up innovation to win back market share.

It won鈥檛 be easy to get Nike back on track: The brand鈥檚 missteps enabled competitors adidas, On Running, and Hoka to build connections with consumers that may be hard to dislodge.

The company was one of 76 signatories, including Nike and adidas, to a letter asking President Donald Trump for an exemption for the footwear category. The missive noted that reciprocal levies stacked on top of already substantial footwear tariffs mean American companies must now pay duties ranging from 150% to nearly 220%.

After its expansion in Europe and Japan, over 200 brands have run ads on BeReal, including Levi鈥檚, Nike, and Amazon. BeReal has also tested US ads from some of these brands over the previous six months. BeReal hired Ben Moore as its US managing director to support ad growth. Moore previously led global media buying partnerships for TikTok.

The increased costs will add to the headaches facing Nike, H&M, and other struggling brands and weigh on the performance of successful companies like Abercrombie & Fitch and Inditex. Tariffs add to the pressures facing the sluggish housing market and related industries. Duties on imported materials will make housing construction and remodeling more expensive.

The market opportunity: On鈥攍ike fellow upstart Hoka and stalwarts like Brooks and Saucony鈥攈as been a major beneficiary of the performance running boom thanks to innovative, high-quality products that filled a gap left by Nike and adidas. US running shoe sales are up 20% over the past three years, according to data from Circana reported by Bloomberg.

Nike fashioned a playable minigame called Nikeland. Earlier this year, Kidz Bop launched an experience on the platform. Additionally, beauty brands like e.l.f. Cosmetics, Fenty Beauty, and Maybelline, manage activations and games on the platform. Meanwhile, Walmart built out a whole marketplace called Walmart Discovered, where users can personalize their spaces, discover items, and also play games.

Despite broader corporate pullbacks, the NFL, Nike, Pinterest, and Costco have maintained their commitments. Nike鈥檚 Super Bowl ad focused on elevating marginalized athletes, while Pinterest鈥檚 鈥淭ailored鈥� campaign celebrated Black fashion鈥檚 past, present, and future. These brands are betting that sustained engagement with diverse audiences will pay off in long-term loyalty. Our take:.

Western companies鈥� desire to downplay ties to Xinjiang also risks raising the ire of both the government and consumers鈥攁s PVH, like Nike and H&M before it, discovered. Our take: Retailers like PVH are easy targets for Beijing.

In an 蘑菇AV interview, OAAA CEO Anna Bager discussed how DOOH鈥檚 continued growth, combined with programmatic capabilities and improved measurement tools, has made OOH an increasingly attractive option for major brands including Apple, McDonald's, Amazon, Disney, Google, and Nike. Additionally, pharmaceutical advertisers are shifting budgets from television to OOH as a viable marketing channel.

Nike boosted its OOH spend by 443% year over year, according to Bager. Samsung added $10 million to its OOH investment in 2024. Hubspot鈥檚 head of brand paid media, Jonathon McKenzie, said that OOH accounts for about 40% of the company鈥檚 ad spend in North America. 鈥淥utdoor is really a barometer for where culture is at,鈥� said Pat LaCroix, executive vice president of media and growth at MissionOne Media.

The store features: four different bars with premium drinks, coffee shop, a spa area offering facials, carefully curated merchandise with limited SKUs, a "Nike residency" featuring exclusive products, and cross-merchandised displays rather than traditional departments. As for in-store technology, "We saw nothing," Davidkhanian said."We saw one QR code.". Listen to the full episode.

Meanwhile, cutting ties with Irving cost Nike one of its most promising franchises鈥攚hich Anta was quick to capitalize on. The Chinese company was the fastest-growing sneaker brand on Stock X in 2024. Its sales catapulted more than 1,900% YoY, in large part due to Irving鈥檚 Kai 1 basketball sneaker launching early in the year. Our take: In many ways, Nike is still on top.