Nike kicks off a summer-long journey with Just Do It Headquarters at 1541 North Cahuenga Blvd in Los Angeles.

Source: Just Do It This Summer

I can’t count how many times since Investor’s Day 2017 that I’ve stated how Nike moves like a startup. It’s one of the reasons that in my prediction for 2018 I stated that Nike would see growth and a resurging interest in the brand. I was wrong about the appeal of the Air Max 270 as I had only seen pictures of the shoe. The Air Max 270 has been one of the best selling shoes for me and utilizing my theory of resell predicting brand heat the Air Max 270 in several colorways resells at a higher price than almost all of the Air Jordans that have released this year. Nike has more love than any other brand out there and with the way the company is building their CDO and Nike App use I don’t see them slowing down at all.

What they are doing now however is right in line with something I wrote about Under Armour a year ago. I said that in order for Under Armour to compete they would have to think small and tackle the niche fitness areas. As Reebok is currently being sued by Crossfit:

CrossFit Is Suing Reebok: Here’s What You Need To Know

https://www.floelite.com/articles/6213709-crossfit-is-suing-reebok-heres-what-you-need-to-know

Nike is taking a scaled down approach to launching fitness centers that mimic the type of training being done at the small Crossfit and Ninja gyms across the country.  The slogan “Just Do It” is no longer a marketing concept, the brand intends to launch JDI spaces across the country.

In short, the space brings all aspects of the Nike Training Club (NTC) app to life, including the five facets of training (movement, recovery, nutrition, mindfulness and sleep), empowering athletes to face their setbacks and grow self-belief.

The conflict with Reebok and Crossfit leaves an opening that I saw a year ago as a natural fit for Under Armour with their sponsorship of Jessie Graff and the launch of their Project Rock footwear and apparel, but UA tends to move at a snail’s’ pace in implementing concepts.

The fact that Nike is opening a fitness space at the same moment as Reebok is faltering in their sponsorship of Crossfit can’t be a coincidence. If it is just perfect timing, that’s incredible.

During Investor’s Day everyone discovered the most important aspect of the Nike Plus Membership is that users tend to purchase 3X as much during their visits to Nike’s channels. Nike made sure during the Investor’s Day to establish that they would carry the App experience into brick and mortar in several ways:

Nike Connect (Augmented Reality) Snap n Buy (You will be able to use your phone to scan product and purchase it.

Nike App at Retail live this spring (AR) will instantly recognize you when you walk in store. You will be able to check out via the app.

Nike Hyperlive leverages Nike data for customers based on local analytics. Sneaker Bar (Nike’s going Apple!!)

Nike Experts on Demand provides one to one (Apple) service. One to One drives conversion. (Comparable to genius bar and one to one from Apple).

What wasn’t mentioned at this time was the concept of fitness centers by Nike and that’s what this Just Do It training experience is. Consider that Nike wants to reach 50 Billion in annual revenue. North America is still the most important place for the brand but growth here is flat. International growth is slow and will be challenged by both adidas and Puma. Reducing the number of wholesale accounts and opening more Nike doors will help, but when you consider the idea of Nike branded fitness centers complete with nutritionists and professional athletes doing drop ins in Key Cities… if that isn’t another opportunity for growth I don’t know what is. Especially if Nike decides to make a bid for Crossfit or if they decide to acquire Crossfit.

I make predictions and this is one of those times that I see an opportunity taking shape that could become a reality. It’s the same idea I presented for Under Armour in a post; maybe it’s time I begin to actually pitch these companies especially if my ideas tend to take shape within a year from me stating them, lol. Use the source link at the head of this post to read more.