Many of you are surprised to see Nike
$NKE stock perform terribly, but I'm not.
I'm saying this as a recruiter, not some financial analyst.
They shifted from trying to hire the best talent around to being purely performative in the market with too much emphasis on DEI.
I know a few folks I'm close with at competitors of mine who had Nike as a client, and anyone who's recruited for them knows hiring the best people wasn't the priority for a long time.
Nike lost their way, which is depressing because they were my favorite brand growing up, especially since Kobe Bryant was so influential in my life.
Brands don't fall off overnight. It starts years earlier with who they decide to hire.