Digital wizards are dealing with tangible supply chain issues.

It has been 20 months since Donahoe took over the management of the sporting goods giant. The former Ebay CEO should have used his digital technology to push the scandal-ridden group forward. This is particularly effective during a pandemic. But now he must solve real production problems.

At the time of Nike’s setbacks, Donahoe has actually responded well to the pandemic. Investors also celebrated him: since he took office, the share of the most fierce competitors of German sports brands Adidas and Puma has increased by 50%. Just a few months after the beginning of January 2020, the coronavirus also reached the United States, and the manager had to hurriedly put his digital experience into practice: the store closed, and Donahoe had to switch almost entirely to e-commerce. Because of Ebay, he is very familiar with this field.

Without Corona, Donahoe already has enough construction sites for his new job: he finally replaced Mark Parker, the longtime CEO, who had to leave due to several scandals. Parker once caused negative news for Nike’s own training camp “Oregon Project”, because Nike-sponsored athletes face doping charges.

45% of women are at the vice president level

There are also a lot of troubles for women: after female employees complained about sexual harassment and wage disadvantages, several senior executives left the company. As we all know before, Nike has stipulated penalties for top athletes when they become pregnant in its sponsorship contract.

Black doesn’t look much better: Nike is considered a black brand, especially in the United States. Advertisements like the football player Colin Kaepernick ensured that he did not get up in the national anthem-to protest police violence against blacks. In doing so, Nike even aroused the anger of Donald Trump. But in management, you look for black faces in vain.

Donahoe wants to change this. He promised that by 2025, 45% of vice presidents will be women. In addition, 30% of the positions of directors and above should be held by ethnic minorities. In fact, he also announced a 100-day “listening” journey. But he must hold it virtually.

His management style has also brought innovation to Nike in other ways: two weeks ago, this meditation fan gave his office workers around the world a week of rest, allowing them to relax and recharge themselves.

After serving as the CEO of consulting firm Bain & Co., the Illinois-born manager not only served as the CEO of online auction house Ebay for many years, but also made more than 40 acquisitions there. Subsequently, he also led the cloud computer expert Servicenow.

Donahoe is not completely new to Nike: the manager is already on the board. This was more like a flaw when he took office. After all, he was an independent member during the scandal.

“brother“-Nike culture

Observers have long criticized the corporate culture of this sporting goods company. Alice Mann from Blue Wolf Capital, a financial investor, talked about a true “brother culture”-a male-dominated, immature corporate culture that can also be found in many start-ups in Silicon Valley.

Donahoe tried to exclude this part of Silicon Valley culture. On the occasion of the protests against black lives after George Floyd was killed by the police, he wrote to his staff: “We must clean up our own house!” In addition, out of solidarity, Nike put forward a famous slogan “Just do it” is in one place in the revised “Once, don’t do it”. Among them, Nike appeals to people not to pretend that there is no racism this time.

On the other hand, Donahoe will continue to maintain its digital direction: “Even if the store resumes original sales, we are actually growing digitally,” he is convinced.

In order to retain customers even in distant times, Nike has launched various membership programs that not only provide more favorable prices, but also exclusive access to new fashionable sneakers. He explained: “We see that customers who have exclusive rights to sports shoes will also buy more products from Nike.”

In view of the recent supply chain issues, Deutsche Bank analyst Gabriel Carborn wrote that Donahoe has already set a long-term position for the company, and the closure of the coronavirus factory is a temporary problem. “Although the company faces supply chain issues, demand for Nike products is still strong,” she said.

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