Well I will never ever buy Nike anymore and support cheap haters. Nike is gonna work together with kimk (that tasteless not sportive woman). Read more here about the collab between these 2 brands(I don’t see the match). Nike thinks she gonna save the brand because she has influence on people, but she is no longer popular or trending. People are tired of them. They are so many nice people you can work with, like talented athetes, but okay future will tell.
To be honest I do not like Adidas and yeezy either. Both overrated people.
But I think Adidas is doing better these days than Nike.
Is Nike Or Adidas Now More Popular?
To be honest I think New Balance has the power in 2030 and takes over the youth. Nike and Adidas are both a bit oldskool, they had their days.
I never expected to be talking about the great Nike learning a lesson or two from anyone (even if the word ‘anyone’ includes another sneaker brand) but here it is, 2025, and the three stripes are dunking all over the swoosh like Jordan to Pippen, Magic to Kareem, or WMNS 5s to some poor guy that can’t get his Yeezys to hold a laces crease (too real). Why is Nike losing to Adidas? It’s the question everyone’s asking, and honestly, the answer is messier than my closet after a shopping spree.
The Numbers Don’t Lie (And They’re Brutal)
I would like to paint a picture that would simply drop your jaw. Last year Nike’s share of the global sportswear market fell to 14.1 per cent from 15.2 per cent in 2023, and Adidas’s market share rose to 8.9 per cent from 8.2 per cent, GlobalData said. There is still some tea to spill though.
There is financial carnage. With global consumer spending taking a hit in the year, total sales of Adidas’ were expected to inch up 6%, while that of Nike’s should shrivel 10%, expected to drop to $46.34 billion in fiscal 2025 from $51.36 billion in the previous year.
Also the stock market? Oh honey, Nike has only been hit by a bloodbath. Looking at Nike’s share price at the start of 2025, its shares are within shouting distance of 52 week lows while Adidas shares aren’t too far away from their highs. I call that a complete role reversal.
Digital Disaster: When Online Goes Offline
Now, it is getting spicy. Nike put all it chips on the digital sales and it’s backfired spectacularly. Nike brand digital sales declined 15 percent year over year in Q3 fiscal 2019 ended Feb. 28, the first year over year decline for its Nike brand digital sales since 2015.
Do you remember when everybody around loved Nike for going direct to consumer? It would seem that the strategy is Swiss cheese compared to holes. But if the latter quarter’s 10% sales drop recorded looks anything like it, digital sales tanked by an eye popping 20%. If that isn’t the most delicious irony – the company that basically changed sneaker culture online is now struggling to sell shoes online.
The Innovation Drought
Why is Nike losing to Adidas? Staleness, in one word. Though Adidas continues to dish out retro favourites like Samba and Gazelle that Gen Z can’t resist, Nike is has been rehashing the same old formulas. Stagnant innovation for the Air Jordan maker’s sneakers coupled with rising competition from newer brands such as On and Decker’s [Hoka] has hit the DTC plan, analysts said.
Imagine if it was your favorite artist re-releasing the same song for 5 years in row until people get bored and started listening to something new.
Adidas: The Comeback Kid
While Adidas is having its main character moment. In 2022, Adidas severed its links with rapper Ye, as well as its Yeezy sneaker line, and after that CEO Bjorn Gulden has wrestled the business back to health. That came just a month later and shares in Adidas have risen 160 percent since Gulden was announced as the new boss.
I am talking about a glow up! After Kanye West whole ordeal, everyone thought Adidas was in cahoots. Plot twist, however, is that instead of eating Nike’s lunch, they’ve gone and eaten it, and are asking for seconds.
The Battle for America’s Feet
This is what makes this story really interesting. In its own backyard though is when Adidas is starting to really steal Nike’s thunder. Late last year, Adidas was going after U.S. consumers with its ‘collegiate Americana’ inspired apparel and shoe line with Los Angeles based label Sporty & Rich; and a new Superstar 92 sneaker co created with American Musician and Designer Pharrell Williams.
Actually it was a smart move. They are not competing, they are speaking American consumers’ language.
China Crisis and Global Chaos
It is not just one markettime of woe for Nike. On Thursday, the company forecast a steeper than expected fall in fourth quarter revenue and third quarter revenue in China tumbled 17 per cent, as sales of discretionary items were hit in the country.
There’s nothing like seeing your ground being lost in China — a foothold that was supposed to prove to be the golden ticket. It’s the feeling of losing a good parking spot and find out it has been a person’s driveway.
The New Kids Stealing the Spotlight
However, there’s more. Adidas is not the only one eating Nike’s market share. Along with Under Armour, On makes up lesser than 3 percent of global market share while Nike and Adidas own a combined 58 percent, FactSet shows. However, in recent quarters it has grew earnings faster than both businesses.
Companies like On, Hoka, and New Balance are acting as David to that Goliath situation, right? It’s working. In fact, these companies soon realized that consumers just want new designs and new technology, not brand name.
The Price of Being Too Cool for School
On paper, Nike’s direct to consumer strategy was like genius, but in reality, it did more harm than good. Instead, the sportswear giant has opted to boost margins by putting more into its own sales channels such as its stores as well as its website rather than adding more inventory at wholesalers.
The problem? Now this is all okay as long as your products are absolutely irresistible, because when you cut out retailers and force people to buy from you directly, you better make sure they can’t walk away from you without buying. In more recent times Nike’s products have been about as exciting as watching paint dry.
What This Means for the Future
So, is Nike no longer trending? And the evidence says they’re definitely having a moment – and it’s not a good moment. Adidas is practically doing victory laps out around Nike as they are expected to post their steepest revenue decline since 2015.
However, fashion and am what follow suit are cyclical. Indeed, Nike still has tremendous brand equity, plenty of cash on hand and the ability to reinvent itself. The question is will they swallow their pride fast enough to make the changes that are necessary?
The Bottom Line
Why is Nike losing to Adidas? This adds up to a perfect storm of innovation drought, strategic missteps and competitors that, somewhere in the thick of it, actually listened to what consumers wanted. After their Yeezy debacle, they read the room and like Nike did, pivoted smartly, and rode the retro wave while Nike was still trying to figure out their digital strategy; the Nike app is not even close!
The game of sneaker has gone a notch higher and Adidas has it on lock, better than Nike. Whether Nike can comeback will depend on many factors however one thing is certain – with the three stripes finally experiencing their time in the spotlight they’re not letting go without a struggle.
What about the consumer, for us consumers? This very competition is quite amazing. In times when giants fight, we’re on the winning hands, competing with better products, more innovation and lower prices. Grab your popcorn and get ready to watch the show as this sneaker war is just beginning.
