Author: Mike Sykes
Grace Ladoja has played multiple behind-the-scenes roles in the past with Nike. But in April, she’s launching her own footwear collaboration with the brand for the first time.
Good morning, friends! Welcome back to The Kicks You Wear. Thanks so much for reading today. I appreciate you giving me a bit of your time. I hope your weekend was great. Lots of college basketball this weekend! I didn’t put together a bracket this year for the first time in a long time. I’ve got to say, it’s been pretty refreshing to watch the tournament with no stakes! Please sign in to ensure you can read our agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice. Or get in touch at support@businessoffashion.com if you experience difficulties.
Nike’s first official shoe release with the Virgil Abloh Archive begins its launch cycle this week.
Sneaker brands have always had a love-hate relationship with the vast ecosystem of websites and social media accounts that disseminate rumours, design specs and photos of uncertain provenance about upcoming releases. They can play a useful role in generating buzz around new products. They can also disrupt carefully planned campaigns and open up designs to criticism based on incomplete information. Please sign in to ensure you can read our agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice. Or get in touch at support@businessoffashion.com if you experience difficulties.
Good morning, friends! Welcome back to The Kicks You Wear. Thanks so much for reading today. I appreciate you giving me a bit of your time. I hope you had a great weekend! Remember how last week it was almost 90 degrees one day and then it snowed? This week, we’re starting things off with tornado warnings. Fun times here in the DMV! Please sign in to ensure you can read our agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice. Or get in touch at support@businessoffashion.com if you experience difficulties.
Good morning, friends! Welcome back to The Kicks You Wear. Thanks so much for reading today. I appreciate you giving me a bit of your time. I hope you had a great week! Mine was a whirlwind, mostly because of this weather. On Wednesday, it was 87 degrees in D.C. On Thursday, it snowed!!!! I am so tired of this, y’all. Please sign in to ensure you can read our agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice. Or get in touch at support@businessoffashion.com if you experience difficulties.
Good morning, friends! Welcome back to The Kicks You Wear. Thanks so much for reading today. I appreciate you giving me a bit of your time. I hope you had a fantastic weekend. We’re looking at clear skies and 80-degree days here in the DMV. I am declaring winter to be officially over. Please, don’t get cold again. Please sign in to ensure you can read our agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice. Or get in touch at support@businessoffashion.com if you experience difficulties.
Nike’s long restructuring plan under Elliott Hill has at least one more round to go. A filing on Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission detailing a new plan approved by management that is costing the company hundreds of millions of dollars to implement. “On February 27, the company’s management approved a plan to implement certain organisational changes, which together with previously approved actions, are expected to result in pre-tax charges of approximately $300 million for the nine months ended February 2026,” the filing said. Most of that $300 million is associated with employee severance costs, the filing said, and…
Good morning, friends! Welcome back to The Kicks You Wear. Thanks so much for reading today. I appreciate you giving me a bit of your time. Daylight saving time is back in the US this weekend. Don’t forget to set your clocks, folks. We’ve got a bit of a juicy newsletter today. Another guest is here! This time, we chat with On co-founder David Allemann following the brand’s hot 2025. That great year for On is contrasted by a more cautious approach to growth in 2026 — at least for them, anyway. Plus, I wrote a bit about Nike’s ACG…
Usually, brands use the Olympics to introduce an up-and-coming athlete ambassador or hype a new version of their hero product. But this year at the Milano-Cortina games, Nike took to one of the sports world’s biggest stages to promote its little-known ACG sub-label. ACG, which stands for All Conditions Gear, has maintained a quiet presence under Nike’s umbrella since it was founded in 1989 as the anchor to the brand’s outdoors category. The idea was to create footwear that could perform across all sorts of terrains and conditions. While it has always been niche — Nike has never broken out…