"Visitor Surge"... Nike Sees Sunshine from 'Olympic Effect' [Paris Olympics]

Nike, which had been struggling with sluggish sales, is now smiling. As athletes wearing specially designed uniforms and shoes targeting the 2024 Paris Olympics win medals and appear on camera, the number of visitors seeking Nike has also increased accordingly.

According to traffic analysis platform Similarweb on the 7th (local time), from July 26 to August 1, the opening week of the Paris Olympics, the number of website visitors to Nike and Puma increased, while Adidas, Hoka, and On saw a decrease.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

In particular, for Nike, on July 31, when the U.S. "gymnastics queen" Simone Biles, who achieved a triple crown in the Olympic gymnastics team event, all-around, and vault categories, won the team gold medal, the number of visitors surpassed 2 million, reaching its peak. Among them, 86,900 visitors made purchases. This contrasts sharply with competitor Adidas, which had a total of 532,500 visitors but only 3,600 purchased products.

Daniel Reid, Senior Insights Analyst at Similarweb, analyzed, "If athletes and teams sponsored by Nike continue to win, their popularity is likely to rise," adding, "The conversion rate of visitors to buyers is also expected to continue increasing."

Nike, suffering from sluggish sales, is putting more effort into this Olympics than ever before. Nike's sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024 (March to May) were about $12.6 billion, down nearly 2% compared to the same period last year. Especially, shoe sales, which account for 68% of the company's revenue, dropped by 4%, dealing a significant blow. This is due not only to consumers tightening their wallets amid high inflation but also to fierce competition from brands like Hoka One One, Asics, On Running, and Lululemon. The stock price has also fallen more than 30% since the beginning of this year.

In response, Matthew Friend, Nike's Chief Financial Officer (CFO), announced in June a plan to reinvest $1 billion for consumer activities in fiscal year 2025, including strengthening marketing during the Paris Olympics, showing a determined stance. Nike introduced new product lines such as the 'Alphafly 3' marathon shoes and Jordan 4 Retro SE, and also sponsored Team USA as well as South Korea's breaking dance team. The 'Jordan 4 Retro SE Paris Olympics Wet Cement' model, trading at $225 on the resale platform StockX, was traded more than 8,373 times as of the end of July, becoming the best-selling Olympic product on the site.

Drew Haynes, StockX's product manager, stated, "Nike is still a brand facing overall difficulties," but added, "However, the Olympics are definitely an opportunity to attract interest in sports products, and Nike is truly winning."

Meanwhile, on August 5, at the women's uneven bars final in artistic gymnastics held at the Bercy Arena in Paris, France, Biles attracted attention when she was captured on camera wearing a uniform with the Nike logo and the Korean phrase 'Nugudeun, modu-ga' (meaning 'Anyone, everyone') printed on the inner collar.