The current Coronavirus pandemic is affecting businesses of all sizes, and Nike are certainly no exception. But despite this, the Swoosh has beaten its sales estimates for the disrupted period thanks to a rise in online shoppers, as revealed in the brand’s Fiscal 2020 third quarter results.
Despite the need to close stores worldwide, Nike has announced that its digital sales grew by 36 percent in the third quarter leading up to February 29, which equates to almost a tenth of all revenue made during the brand’s 2019 fiscal period. This increase was felt initially in the Greater China area, where digital sales climbed by more than 30 percent following the outbreak of the virus, while physical sales dropped by five percent in the same quarter due to store closures – the first China sales drop in nearly six years.
With the early onset of the pandemic, Nike will have taken a somewhat pessimistic approach to their estimated earnings for the Q3 period, but this report shows that sales have been better than expected, beating those estimates. "At a time when people were confined to their homes, we moved swiftly to leverage our digital app ecosystem and Nike Expert Trainer network,” said John Donahoe, President and CEO, NIKE, Inc.
“In an extraordinarily dynamic time, NIKE’s strong results are testament to our deep consumer connections, compelling product innovation and agile teams around the world. We know it’s in times like these that strong brands get even stronger.”
See how Nike are fighting back against the Coronavirus here.
