How We're Reimagining the Marketplace in Greater China to Better Serve Athletes

For the past six months, I’ve been reunited with a country that helped shape my understanding of Nike’s potential to change lives, build an industry and grow through a deep connection to consumers and a passion for sport.

I’ve traveled extensively across Greater China in that time and witnessed the resilience of Nike and Jordan and our strong connection to athletes* across the country. I’ve felt it from the unmatched energy of 25,000 fans at a Shanghai Port v. Yunnan Yukan CSL game at Pudong Football Stadium. From the next generation competing in the China High School Basketball League, the Saturday morning pick-up basketball in Tianhe Sports Courts in Guangzhou, taking fencing lessons with Olympic champion Edgar Cheung Ka-long, and the truly epic ACG ChongLi 168K Trail Run where even the threat of a typhoon couldn’t stop our team or the 12,000 runners and the inspirational Yao Miao running alongside young girls in the youth race. 

Sport is a fuel in our cities. It shapes culture and reminds Chinese athletes, of all ages and abilities, that potential is unlimited. Nike and Jordan are alive and well here. Our foundation is strong, and our connection to athletes is authentic and powerful.

I’ve also spent hundreds of hours on the commercial streets of our cities, visiting malls, observing consumers, studying livestreams, meeting with partners and walking stores with our teammates. This is a fast-moving, deeply connected marketplace. I started my career on the sales floor of a Nike store and have since spent 25 years shaping Nike’s global marketplace and consumer experience, with an outsized share of time in Asia, so this opportunity is personal for me. I’ve seen the power of immersive retail experiences and connected digital to inspire consumers through access to the world’s greatest athletes and innovative product. I’ve witnessed that magical moment of lacing up a new pair of Nike running shoes for a new 5K goal. 

What all of this has reinforced is simple: Our connection with athletes remains strong, but the marketplace is not where it needs to be. Consumers expect authentic product, consistent storytelling and a seamless experience across every touchpoint. By creating a more consistent, premium and connected marketplace, we can reduce fragmentation, strengthen trust and deliver a better Nike and Jordan experience wherever consumers choose to engage.

Rather than keeping pace — or leading, as our history would suggest — our presence has become too fragmented. As consumer behavior shifted rapidly during and after COVID, some of the steps we took created an experience that is less consistent, less trusted and not delivering the growth we expect.

So, we are taking actions with a focused strategy to reimagine our marketplace end to end, starting with digital. Beginning in January 2027, Nike’s digital marketplace in China will be anchored by official Nike flagship experiences on Tmall, JD.com and Douyin, alongside Nike.com.cn and the Nike App. These new flagships will serve as the single, elevated destination for Nike within these ecosystems, with clearer product presentation, stronger storytelling and more connected consumer journeys. This is about strengthening the platforms where consumers already begin and end their shopping journey, making sure those experiences are direct, consistent and unmistakably Nike.

As part of this change, with some exceptions across licensee partners, partner-operated online storefronts will transition out of selling Nike product. This is not about reducing access. It is about reducing fragmentation and strengthening the consumer journey. When the experience is consistent, the brand becomes stronger.

This is not just a digital strategy. Nike and Jordan stores remain central to how athletes experience our brands. Our retail partners play a critical role in bringing sport to life across communities, and we are committed to growing together.

In the past six months, we’ve opened new concepts such as ACG Basecamp and Rookie Kids stores, elevated our existing fleet, including our flagship House of Innovation in Shanghai, and have seen strong consumer response through positive comps and returning traffic. We are also developing new locally-led retail concepts that will come to market in the next six months. The work I’ve seen is authentic, innovative and feels like the Nike we know and love.

We will continue working closely with partners to elevate product presentation, improve service, sharpen assortments and create more meaningful sport-led experiences in stores. When we make these improvements, consumers respond, and we see clear opportunity to further strengthen the marketplace while creating value for our partners.

Our partner relationships are built on the shared understanding that short-term change is sometimes necessary to build a healthier marketplace for the long term. Yu Wu, Chairman, CEO & Executive Director of Topsports International Holdings Ltd, whom I have come to know and deeply respect, recently described the opportunity this way to me:

“As Nike’s largest distributor in the Chinese mainland, Topsports has worked with Nike for 27 years based on the principle of mutual benefit and shared growth. This adjustment will bring some short-term pressure to our business. But we firmly believe that, over the medium– to long-term, this direction will help promote a healthier, more orderly, and more sustainable retail ecosystem in China, while further improving consumer experience and product appeal.

“Looking ahead, we will continue to work closely with Nike, leveraging our strengths in offline retail operations, local consumer service, and deep market development across city tiers. Through new concept sport stores and high-quality physical retail experiences, we will bring Chinese consumers richer and more meaningful sport experiences.”

I couldn’t agree more. This is about building a stronger, more sustainable marketplace — one that better serves consumers and supports long-term growth for both Nike and our partners.

We are also making broader changes to get closer to the consumer and support this transformation. We’ve named our first-ever Greater China Vice President of Local Product Creation, focused on building product designed, developed and made in China for Chinese consumers. That focus is essential to delivering the speed, relevance and precision this market demands.

At the same time, we are strengthening our connection to communities, expanding local activations, investing in regional teams and placing Nike teammates closer to where consumers live, shop and play sport. Because the strongest marketplace is one where product, storytelling, community, digital and retail work together seamlessly. It is where consumers can move from inspiration to purchase to participation without friction. And it is where every interaction reinforces what Nike stands for.

That is the strategy: a more premium digital marketplace, a stronger retail experience, more locally-created product and teams empowered closer to the consumer, all working together to deliver a consistent, elevated Nike experience.

We are making these changes with clarity and conviction because we believe deeply in this market and its long-term potential. That belief is shaping the actions we are taking now. This work will take focus and discipline. But the direction is clear. The marketplace has changed. So, we will too. 

And we have the right team in place to keep up this momentum. Our teammates across Greater China inspire me every day. They know this market, understand our consumers and are already doing the work to elevate our brands. Personally, I’m energized and optimistic. Nike’s future in Greater China is bright. We remain deeply committed to building that future, one grounded in a stronger, more connected, elevated marketplace, both online and in-store, and focused on serving athletes across Greater China better than ever before.

*If you have a body, you are an athlete.