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Nike stock is surging following the news
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late last week that CEO John donaho is
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stepping down donoho's four-year tenure
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was a Rocky one with Nike losing market
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share breaking off relations with key
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retailers and according to some critics
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losing its cool Factor Elliot Hill a
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Nike veteran is coming out of retirement
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who you apparently know Scott Galloway
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to be the new CEO you had talked about
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Nike's woses back in July you predicted
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that Dono had 12 months to figur it out
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or he'd be removed that's a lot sooner
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uh what he Nike shares Rose 8% and after
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hours trading on Thursday following the
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news he also predicted that an activist
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investor was going to come in and make
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some moves um Bill amman's persing
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Square uh PCH purchased three million
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shares of Nike back in the second
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quarter according recent filings um what
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do you think let me let me hear your
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thoughts on him Elliot Hill he's a
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career Nike man um started as an intern
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Nike was one of my biggest clients at L2
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and I love this company I mean it's
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super smart people I love the brand I
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love the unapology the apologetic brand
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positioning of you didn't win silver you
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lost gold I think of Nike is intrinsic
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to an American ideal of individual
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performance and running so hard you
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throw up I just I just love the I love
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the brand they've done an amazing job
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now bringing in a guy who didn't have a
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background in merchandising didn't have
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a background in apparel didn't have a
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background in sports he was basically a
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consultant very impressive guy and then
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ran a tech platform was a decision for
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them to go all in on Tech and I want to
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be clear I would have made the same
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decision and I basically advocated when
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I was working with Nike for them to go
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more direct to Consumer what they
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weren't expecting and I wouldn't have
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predicted and it's easy to Monday
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Morning Quarterback so let me say I
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would have gotten this wrong is that
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retail came surging back much faster
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post pandemic than people had expected
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and their enormous bet on direct to
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Consumer at the cost of managing and
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supporting their third- party retail
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back fired on them in addition we talked
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about this the China chill has affected
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infected a lot of these companies uh
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including Nike and then what people will
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say that he has to take responsibility
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for is their product development hasn't
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been nearly as Innovative as Adidas with
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their vintage line or Hoka or responded
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to Hoka or on running that they've
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basically been out merchandised this guy
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I didn't spend a lot of time with him
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but he's hugely respected and it just
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feels like the right move from a morale
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standpoint he's a product guy he just he
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kind of he's out a Central Casting he's
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one of these guys when I was in meeting
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with him he was just sort of would was a
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great listener and then when he spoke
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everybody sort of waited to hear what
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this guy would say so I think it's great
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they brought back somebody from Nike and
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Nike alumni but the Nike brand and the
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relationships they have and the
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resonance they have and the
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distribution I mean you just do not not
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want to bet against this company I think
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it's a I think it's actually a really
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good buy right now right interesting you
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had talked about that and you know the
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the um Phil Knight is the player here
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like he liked John I think he was that's
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what I understand I like John I've know
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him over the years but you know I think
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he had an audience of one which was Phil
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Knight which was keeping him in power
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but at at some point you have to you
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know there's a lot more competition in
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the space there's a lot more innovation
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in the space um and you you know to just
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like Intel it's like wow this company
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sort of lost a step um and it's
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certainly still I think the most
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important brand in sports it just is
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right it's not you know Intel's got a
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lot of competition Nike does too and
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there's all kind like whether like air
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like all the people who bought Nikes are
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now wearing hokas right because they're
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back hurts um or or some there's a bunch
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of other brands that younger people on
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stock is like D I mean honestly it is
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that's the one zindia is is advertising
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with um you know there's a lot of people
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moving into the space but you know to
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unseat Nike it's it's a mistake on
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Nike's part right not to continue to be
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cool I think it all kind of reverse
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Engineers to a 17-year-old is spending
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more time on Tik Tok than watching
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broadcast television Nike's weapon uh
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their sword if you will for for for
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fighting their Wars was broadcast they
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were the best broadcast Advertiser in
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history but now you have the majority of
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the customer is now learning about
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brands from more longtail sour forces
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influencers Instagram and Sport they're
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still really strong in sport but I think
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their
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product uh just got a little a little
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bit stale I think this is more a product
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story and maybe supply chain around
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being faster to Market with new product
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ideas and maybe reinvesting and showing
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some more love for their Retail Partners
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I don't think it's a they wandered
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around with the with the watch stuff
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remember the exercise the fuel band yeah
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they wandered around over in digital for
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a while which makes sense but they
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wander a little too bad they didn't do a
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good job but my kids yeah I'm sorry go
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ahead but I'm just saying I I think they
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wandered in areas that weren't didn't
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weren't really big and made a big deal
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of them and the stores they you know
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they're huge stores but they've closed a
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bunch of them actually they have a big
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one in San Francisco big couple big ones
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in New York but they closed the DC one
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here for example um but the thing is you
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know what I'm wearing right now like at
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least four pieces of Nike right now
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shoes well that's the problem with the
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brand car I mean no offense but when
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62-year-old podcast there weing Nike
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that means it's all over Alex liked it
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for a while but now he's you know he's
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he's a he still loves Nike I have to say
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he was a Nike man and he still is I have
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a lot my kids I have two teenage boys
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who are basically their market and one
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wears New Balance and the other wears uh
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the other where is Nike and adidos and
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it used to be just all Nike all the time
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and New Balance has made a come back
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which no one was predicting yeah um but
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this is a it's almost like a bit of a
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fashion Market if you will yeah yeah
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absolutely but you know what I am cool
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Scott so I don't know what you
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understand that that's what you focused
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on right I'm super that's what you
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focused on I'm I love I do like Nike
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clothes I they were better but um
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although I just bought unicow some some
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joggers that were fantastic in shirts
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they were fantastic unigo makes really
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great stuff I'm wearing unigo underwear
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right now just in case you're interested
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um and they're they're lovely they're
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very refreshing I like them and there
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goes our uniglow sponsorship
