Since Nike CEO John Donahoe started, the company’s shares are up 46%, creating more than $75 billion in shareholder wealth. But to some, the success has come at a cost as current and former insiders are worried about an exodus of Nike veterans.👇
On March 15, 2020, Nike closed stores across Western Europe and the United States as the pandemic raged across the globe. The company’s sweeping response included philanthropic donations, continuing to pay retail workers, and more.
In mid-2020, as the #BlackLivesMatter movement gained prominence, Donahoe and Nike announced a $40 million commitment to Black communities, and the company’s Jordan brand promised a separate $100 million investment.
In response to ongoing criticism about a lack of internal opportunities for employees of color, Donahoe ramped up the hiring and promotion of diverse candidates.
Also in June 2020, Nike reported a $790 million quarterly loss, the second largest in company history. In response, Donahoe announced the Consumer Direct Acceleration, which was a sweeping reorganization to promote direct and digital sales.
But its greatest impact fell to the employee level.
It’s unclear how many employees Nike laid off, but in a massive-layoff notice filed with its home state of Oregon in 2020, Nike said it parted ways with 700 of its 12,800 workers at its headquarters.
Donahoe’s defenders also said criticism of the organization’s execution misses the bigger point: The new strategy is a winner.
In North America, digital sales increased 40% in the company’s most recent quarter, a staggering number for a Fortune 100 company.
As Donahoe’s second anniversary neared, he once again faced challenges, starting with China. Nike reported a 24% quarterly sales drop in China in December.
While Donahoe has been bullish on earnings calls about the company’s product pipeline, insiders worried the talent drain will affect product development.
A former designer said the loss of footwear talent won’t be visible on store shelves for at least a year.
What Donahoe does next will be crucial, Nike watchers say.
Inflation is running at 7% right now, the highest level since the early 1980s.
When left unchecked, inflation can create an economically ruinous and socially destabilizing spiral, and most people agree on the need to prevent that.
The Fed really wants you to know that it has all the tools it needs to curb inflation.
And that’s true, technically. But these tools could create a disaster — one that would be even more catastrophic due to the Fed’s own policies over the past 12 years.
Back in the 1800s, people didn't work because they enjoyed it, or because it helped them achieve their unique potential, or because it gave meaning and purpose to their lives.
Jump forward to the end of the 20th century and thanks to widespread economic growth and massive gains in productivity, spurred by everything from assembly lines to computers, people were working less and earning more.
Peloton stock soared in 2020 as the world adjusted to lockdowns, and those with $1,500 to drop on an exercise bike looked for a safe way to get their fitness fix.
But as vaccine shots went into arms, Peloton's stock started to sag.
Many employees, disillusioned with the way their companies are mishandling the new realities of work, no longer feel able or motivated to devote themselves to their jobs the way they did before the pandemic.
Moon Juice has become an international wellness brand with their products — like the $38 “Sex Dust” — being sold everywhere from Sephora to Nordstrom. But ex-employees said founder Amanda Chantal Bacon put the brand’s image before their well-being.
Since launching Moon Juice as a single juice shop in January 2012, Bacon has turned the Los Angeles-based company into a brand with upward of $20 million in annual sales.
But part of the allure isn’t just the products, it’s Bacon herself.
Employees bought into Bacon’s dream of $12 cold-pressed juices and love and light.
But many of the 20 ex-employees interviewed said they soon realized the quirks that made her a wellness influencer could be frustrating to deal with in real life.
Kentucky's quit rate has been especially high compared to most other states during the pandemic, but it was higher than the national average long before.
"The truth is that something has been amiss for a long time," wrote @KyChamberFdn.
Look at Kentucky's minimum wage workers, who have kept earning $7.25 for the past 12 years while the federal minimum hasn't increased and most other states and localities have moved to raise it.