Nike Inc. marked its 50th anniversary and its largest revenue year to date in its fiscal fourth quarter. The fiscal year, which ended May 31, 2022, saw a 6% increase to $46.7 billion in revenue despite supply constraints.
However, the quarter saw a slight dip compared to the year-ago period. Nike’s fiscal fourth quarter earnings were down 1% to $12.2 billion compared with the prior fourth quarter.
President and CEO John Donahue said on an earnings call that the company’s app ecosystem grew to a 24% share of total digital demand.
Omnichannel and digital presence
“We know that consumers expect us to know who they are online or offline and across the full array of mono-brand stores, Nike Digital and our wholesale partners,” Donahue said. “Within our Nike-owned stores, higher levels of connectivity across physical and digital are simply driving a better consumer experience. Online to offline services, such as buy online, pick up in store, and ship from store are driving growth with 100% of our North America stores now offering at least one element of O2O.”
That omnichannel presence is not surprising for leading retailers in the United States. Nike Inc. is No. 10 in the Top 500, Digital Commerce 360’s rankings of online retailers in North America by web sales. So far this year, nearly 80% of the 136 retail chains in the Top 500 offer BOPIS and 61.8% offer curbside pickup, according to data from the recent Top 500 report.
Donahue said consumers don’t think about different channels.
“They just want a seamless and premium and consistent experience,” he said. “And so, everything we’re doing is to offer that to them and to make us indifferent, frankly, about where they transacted.”
Nike’s digital business represents more than $10 billion in revenue, which is more than double its pre-pandemic size, according to Chief Financial Officer Matthew Friend. Nike Digital now represents 24% of total brand revenue, he said. Nike Digital refers to the company’s series of websites and applications, including Nike.com and Converse.com.
“We are accelerating the pace and scale of Nike’s direct consumer connections,” Friend said.
Fourth-quarter performance
Friend said despite the 1% decrease in Q4 revenue compared with the prior-year period, Nike Direct grew 11%. Nike Direct refers to the company’s direct-to-consumer channels like its stores and digital platforms, which include its website and apps. Nike Digital grew 18% compared with the previous fiscal fourth quarter. However, those increases were slightly offset, as the company experienced a 3% decline in wholesale sales.
The company’s inventories increased 23% compared with the previous fiscal Q4. This year’s fourth-quarter inventories were valued at $8.4 billion.
“This was driven by elevated in-transit inventories due to extended lead times from ongoing supply chain disruptions, partially offset by strong consumer demand,” Friend said.
North America by the numbers
Nike fiscal fourth-quarter revenue in North America declined 5% compared with Q4 2021. Friend said this was in line with expectations as the company navigated supply shifts and elevated ocean freight and logistics costs.
In the region, Nike-owned inventory grew 30% from the prior year, he said. Extended lead times caused “in-transit inventory to be 65% of our total inventory at the end of the quarter,” he added.
Nike Direct’s North American sales grew 5% versus the previous year, delivering its highest quarterly revenue ever for the region, he said. And 11% Nike Digital growth led marketplace channel growth, “with another quarter of historically low markdown rates and lower available inventory supply.”
In North America, Nike Digital’s total penetration reached 27%, according to Friend. He attributed this to growth in the Nike app’s usage.
Greater China, Asia Pacific and Latina America
Fiscal fourth-quarter revenue in Greater China declined 20%, Friend said.
“This follows the region’s most widespread COVID disruption since 2020, impacting over 100 cities and over 60% of our business,” he said. He added that Nike Digital ended the quarter with low single-digit growth, but he did not elaborate or specify the percentage.
Conversely, the quarter’s revenue in Asia Pacific and Latin America grew 24%, Friend said. Nike Digital grew 59% in the region in the fiscal Q4. Friend attributed this to membership, saying it fueled double-digit growth across all territories. Nike’s sneakers app had its best-ever quarter in Japan, South Korea and Mexico, he said.
For the fourth fiscal quarter ended May 31, 2022, Nike Inc. reported:
- Revenues decreased 1% to $12.2 billion compared with the prior year’s fiscal Q4.
- Revenues for the Nike brand, specifically, were down 1% from the prior Q4 as well, to $11.7 billion.
- Nike Direct revenues were $4.8 billion, up 7% compared with the previous fiscal fourth quarter.
- Nike Digital grew 18% compared with the Q4 FY 2021.
For the fiscal year ended May 31, 2022, Nike Inc. reported:
- Revenues increased 5% to $46.7 billion compared with the previous fiscal year.
- Revenues for the Nike brand, specifically, were also up 5% from FY 2021. They totaled $44.4 billion.
- Nike Direct revenues were up 14% from the prior fiscal year, totaling $18.7 billion.
- Nike Digital now represents 24% of total brand revenue.
Percentage changes may not align exactly with dollar figures due to rounding.
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