Global renowned sports brand Nike, despite maintaining its position as the “industry leader,” has seen its global market share decline for three consecutive years, with its market value shrinking by over 75% compared to its peak. Industry analysts attribute Nike’s risk of decline to three main factors. Nike has been seeking strategies to reverse the trend, but the factors related to the Chinese market are the most difficult for Nike to control and the most unpredictable from external perspectives.
Sports shoes are Nike’s flagship product, and Nike has been the “dominant leader” in the global sports shoe market, maintaining a high global market share of 34% to 35% from 2021 to 2023. However, by 2024, this percentage dropped abruptly to 26%, and by 2025, it further declined to 23%, setting a record of three consecutive years of decline and losing double-digit percentages for three years in a row. Market predictions suggest that Nike’s sales slump trend is likely to continue into 2026.
On May 15, 2026, Nike’s stock price hit a new low since 2014 – $41.88, significantly plummeting by over 75% from its peak of $174.88 in 2021. Nike’s market value also drastically declined from almost $300 billion to $62 billion. This reflects a loss of market confidence in the Nike brand.
According to The Daily Mail, there are three main reasons behind Nike’s current situation: resistance from conservative consumers due to embracing “woke culture”; sales strategy mistakes in reducing cooperation with retailers; and decreasing sales in the Chinese market.
Nike previously stood by NFL football star Colin Kaepernick of the San Francisco 49ers, who was known for taking a controversial kneeling stance during the American national anthem ceremony. Nike’s “woke” corporate culture has sparked strong dissatisfaction among conservative consumers, leading them to switch to other brands.
Former Nike CEO John Donahoe, in pursuit of higher profits, reduced partnerships with retailers like Foot Locker and Dick’s Sporting Goods, focusing on company-owned stores and online sales instead. This move inadvertently allowed long-standing competitors like Adidas and emerging sports brands like France’s Hoka and Switzerland’s On to capitalize on the opportunity and rise.
Since 2010, mainland China has been Nike’s most profitable single-country market outside of North America, maintaining double-digit growth for 20 consecutive quarters. However, in the last three fiscal quarters, Nike’s sales in China have plummeted by 28% compared to the same period five years ago. Despite still holding the top spot in the Chinese market, Nike’s market share has fallen from 18.1% in 2021 to 16.2% in 2025, and further to 15% this year, facing significant pressure from Chinese domestic brands.
Current Nike CEO Elliott Hill, who took office in October 2024, has pledged to return to Nike’s traditional core values and culture, emphasizing athleticism and optimizing product lines.
Hill has actively adjusted the business direction, revamped the management team, increased brand marketing investments, and cleared inventory through precise discount and return mechanisms.
In May 2025, after a five-year hiatus, Nike returned to the e-commerce platform Amazon. In October, Nike launched the world’s first neural science-based footwear product, Nike Mind, submitting over 150 patent applications globally. This shoe product, released globally in January, became a major highlight of the fiscal quarter.
These rebuilding efforts have proven successful in the North American and European markets. Nike’s running business grew by 20% this quarter, with sales in the North American market increasing by 3% and the EMEA market (including Europe, the Middle East, and Africa) by 2% (partially offset by the Middle East), yet these gains were offset by the downturn in the Chinese market.
A turning point in Nike’s continued growth in the Chinese market occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. That year, the US Congress passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, calling for a comprehensive ban on the import of all products containing materials from Xinjiang, including cotton, or products manufactured with forced labor in that region.
To avoid potential penalties for non-compliance from the US, Nike announced it would not source cotton or other products from Xinjiang, sparking strong backlash from Chinese nationalist internet users and leading to some influential endorsers severing ties with Nike and moving to Chinese competitors.
Meanwhile, Chinese brands such as Anta and Li-Ning have rapidly risen, attracting Chinese consumers with the advantage of being “good value for money” compared to international brands. Nationalism in China has fueled a trend of “homegrown pride” among consumers.
Anta’s market share in China has risen from 9.8% in 2021 to the current 21.8%, making it the top sports shoe brand in China. Anta claims to rank third globally and is poised to challenge Nike and Adidas for the top position.
American economist David Huang told The Epoch Times that Nike, like Apple and Tesla, has fallen into the trap of the Chinese Communist Party’s so-called “win-win” strategy. This strategy involves utilizing foreign enterprises’ large orders to develop local industry chains, ultimately leading to the rise of domestic companies through imitation, acquiring open-source technology, or even intellectual property theft.
Subsequently, the Communist Party will create disruptions through geopolitics to promote nationalism and prompt domestic brands to replace foreign brands, ultimately reducing the production and sales volume of these foreign enterprises. Huang describes this as internalize; the industrial chain becomes increasingly inward-looking, while technological barriers decrease.
Therefore, Huang believes Nike’s setbacks in the Chinese market are not simply marketing failures or product design issues but the result of systemic geopolitical backlash and the internalization of local industry chains.
The complex market landscape in China has brought Nike uncertainty and pressure. Nike admits that the Chinese market has become its worst-performing market globally, and Nike faces “structural” challenges in China.
Nevertheless, in recent years, Nike has been actively promoting a “China-for-China” strategy. Hill reiterated in March that Nike would not abandon the Chinese market but acknowledged that “it will take time” for Nike to regain growth in China.
As expected, market forecasts predict that Nike’s sales in China will further decline by 20% in the next fiscal quarter. Subsequently, Nike’s stock price hit an 11-year low. Nike then announced a 2% workforce reduction, affecting approximately 1,400 employees.
Such pessimistic market expectations have placed immense pressure on Nike’s senior management and Cathy Sparks, the newly appointed Nike Greater China Managing Director. With 25 years of frontline retail experience, Sparks previously led Nike’s business in Asian markets outside of China. She took over the position held by a Chinese national in March.
Wang He, a China affairs scholar, told The Epoch Times that Nike has achieved remarkable success in China, and in normal circumstances, a company of this caliber would not easily give up such a significant market. “If they adjust their strategy and select the right people, Nike may still maintain a certain level of competitiveness and market share in China.”
Moreover, Wang believes that due to the strategic geopolitical decoupling between China and the US, “the long-term objective background of Sino-US relations will significantly impact Nike’s performance in the Chinese market.” However, as Nike deals with footwear and apparel products rather than sensitive technologies like chips, it is possible for Nike to “survive in the squeeze” amid intense US-China competition.
Huang stated that Nike’s future performance in the Chinese market will depend on the final outcome of US-China relations and Beijing’s stance. Given the geopolitical nature of this relationship, if Beijing chooses to hinder foreign enterprises using domestic replacements and political pressure, it could be disastrous for foreign enterprises. However, Huang noted that this process is likely to be lengthy.
Through these insights, the challenges faced by Nike in the Chinese market reflect a combination of internal business strategies, external geopolitical influences, competitive dynamics, and shifting consumer behaviors. Nike’s efforts to adapt and revitalize its operations in China will require a comprehensive approach that addresses these multifaceted challenges in the evolving landscape of the global sports apparel industry.