Nike President and CEO Elliott Hill Speaks with CNBC’s Sara Eisen on "Squawk on the Street"
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- Category: Haute This Issue
- Published on Friday, 10 October 2025 15:25
- Written by CNBC Squawk on the Street
This week CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" Sara Eisen, in an exclusive interview, talked with President & Nike CEO Elliott Hill from Nike’s headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon for his first TV interview since taking the CEO role.
The interview aired on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" (M-F, 9AM-11AM ET) & "Money Movers" (M-F, 11AM-12PM) Monday, October 6.
Following are links to video on CNBC.com: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2025/10/06/nike-ceo-were-putting-the-athlete-back-at-the-center-of-everything-that-we-do.html and https://www.cnbc.com/video/2025/10/06/nike-ceo-sport-offense-will-help-make-us-more-competitive.html.
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PART I
ELLIOTT HILL: I was here for 32 years, and when I came here I came for sports, athletes, teams, and product and making. And I ended up staying for so long, for the 32 years because I fell in love with my teammates around me that pushed me, made me better. And then also for the culture of this place. And you know, there was a point after 32 years when I felt like it was time to step aside and let another group of leaders take, you know, take charge and move forward. And I retired. Was gone for four and a half years, moved back home, where I grew up in Austin, Texas. And anyway, I was enjoying life, I was investing and advising. And—
SARA EISEN: And you got a call?
HILL: And I got a call. And, you know, it was one of those things that—
EISEN: Who called? Tim Cook?
HILL: Yeah. I've talked to Tim, and Mark, and Phil, and all of the above. And the answer was yes immediately that I would absolutely come back. And I came back because it's a place that, that feels like home to me, it feels like family. And when you get those phone calls, you say yes. Or at least I did. I've always been a hand raiser versus a finger pointer. And so here we are.
EISEN: So here you are. It's been almost a year. And you've had a year to really dig in and sift through the issues. Because you came to turn it around. So, what's your diagnosis of what went wrong?
HILL: Well, I try not to look backwards. I've tried to snap the chalk line and move forward. But if I had to, I think I'm going to oversimplify it. I think when COVID hit, supply got constrained, demand goes up. And I think I, the team did what I think anybody would do. You shift product over to digital commerce. And all of a sudden, that takes off. Double revenue, double margins. And it's a winning strategy. And then of course everything normalized. Physical retail started to open back up. And we continued on with that strategy. And so, continue to invest in Nike direct digital commerce. And I think over time it ended up hurting the brand. Because there's a certain set of consumers that want to shop choice, and they want to shop across each of the different channels of distribution. And so, when I came back I that was one thing, and then the other one was also maybe spending too much focus on three sportswear styles that I think we ended up putting too much too much revenue behind those three sportswear styles.
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EISEN: So now you're fixing it, you're cleaning it up. You, we've also talked about culture and the unique culture of Nike and what you're doing to sort of bring things in a different direction—
HILL: Yeah, my first day on the job which was October 14th, I stood up on stage, and my first slide had two images and two statements. We're a sport company, and we're a growth company. And we're not, you know, they're not mutually exclusive. When we grow sport we grow the overall marketplace, and when we grow the overall marketplace, I like our chances of growing. And you would have, I got, it was a loud clap because hey, we're going back to sport. We're going to put the athlete back in the center of everything that we do. And I think that's really helped from a cultural perspective, anchoring and centering us back on sport. But in addition to that, I started really spending time on our mission statement. Our sense of purpose. Why do we come to the office every single day? It's this idea of inspiration and innovation for every athlete in the world. And then I also started, we reintroduced our maxims, what we, what we believe in, and how we behave. And I think all of those coupled together have really helped to lift and accelerate the culture moving forward.
EISEN: What does that mean, that you're going to put sport at the forefront of everything you do. Because people think of Nike that that that's how it's always been. So, what are you doing differently there?
HILL: Well, let me so I think the easiest way to think about it, we have three brands: Nike, Jordan, and Converse. And we're reorganized the just early September we reorganized each brand by sport. So, think Nike running, Nike basketball, Nike training, etc. We have small cross-functional teams in each of those segments, if you will, of business. And the idea is that the consumers in each of those segments and the competition in each of those segments is different. And so, by having these small cross-functional teams, they come to work every single day, the Nike running team does, and they're there to serve the running athlete. And every decision they make, whether it's an innovation story or whether it's a distribution decision, or if it's a marketing story, it all anchors on what do we need to do to serve.
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EISEN: And that used to be separate?
HILL: And well, we were organized by men's, women's, kids', so by and we've lost the sharpness of sport with men being the primary, women's being the primary, kids being the primary. So, we flipped it so it's Nike running, Nike basketball, etc. And then Jordan, the same thing. Jordan basketball, Jordan golf. And so, these small cross-functional teams focused on a different consumer segment. And that's really helped us get sharp in a couple of areas. Number one, innovative product. I think we had lost some of that—
EISEN: Which was lacking, yeah.
HILL: So, we're getting sharper on product. And I'm wearing some here. So—
EISEN: From Air Premiums. And you had a good quarter with running, I—
HILL: Yeah, we had a great quarter with running. And so, we're getting sharper on innovative product. Emotionally inspiring storytelling. And we're paying it off in an integrate, elevated marketplace. Not just Nike direct but also wholesale digital and physical as well. So, it's, and all each of those teams, that's what they come to work every single day: product, storytelling, marketplace.
EISEN: So, there's the internal culture. But there's also the society, the cultural relevance of Nike. Which also feels like it's been lacking in the last few years. How do you restore something like that?
HILL: Yeah. I think, so first of all, I, what I what we did do and there's the fifth component of the when, now action, is this ground game. That means that we have teams, teammates down into the key cities around the world where influence happens. Whether it is culture or sport, and we lost those, the people so we're reinstituting and allocating resources to the key cities around the world to make those connections with influencers. And to help be the pulse of where culture is, and where sport is. And how do we influence that? And so, that is a big part of our strategy moving forward. Here's what I would say. I think we've got to make sport cool. And it's our opportunity to invite eight billion consumers into the world of sport, fitness, and the lifestyle of sport. And when we do that, we grow the overall marketplace.
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EISEN: Has the competition gotten tougher since the last time you were here and trying to do that?
HILL: No question that the competition is strong today. I think part of it is, is because we opened up shelf space and opened to buy in the wholesale business. And so, we're having to earn that back. And we understand the responsibility and what's ahead of us in that wholesale business. But the teams are working hard. And I do believe moving to the sport offense, that sharpness by sport will not only help us be better with the consumer in terms of product and storytelling, but it will also make us more competitive.
EISEN: That's the new structure.
HILL: That's the new structure. So, you become more competitive because if you think about the competition in running, it's very different than the competition in basketball.
EISEN: So, I'm glad you brought up wholesale because that was actually another bright spot in the quarter. And it's been a strategic and you said it was one of the places that you wanted to fix. It's strategic imperative. So, what's driving that growth now?
HILL: So, the three areas in the quarter that we pointed to was North America running, and then the wholesale as sort of proof points that strategy's working. In terms of wholesale, I think everything again, it's across the board. But the team's done a really nice job going back into existing distribution. And being, again, this piece coming back to consumer, consumer, consumer, what consumer shops Dick's versus what consumer shops JD versus what consumer shops Foot Locker. They're all very different consumers. And getting sharper about the assortments we put in there. And then the presentation of those assortments. And that's what's helped drive the sell-through of our product.
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EISEN: And you've also opened it up. Amazon, Aritzia.
HILL: We do have some new distribution. The teams stepped back and say, hey, where are those consumers today that we're not serving? In the United States as an example, we opened up Aritzia and Urban Outfitters and had some good success there to go after a younger female consumer. And then of course Amazon, as you pointed out. We had, had a really good launch with our Nike shop on Amazon as well.
EISEN: So, what ultimately is the right balance that you're trying to achieve between wholesale and direct-to-consumer? Because for so long it was all about direct to consumer. That's where the profitable growth was. That was a big pivot.
HILL: Yeah, I, so here's what I'd say. You know, we do business in almost 190 countries, and every country has a little bit different structure. And what we do is we give a framework to our country teams. And the whole idea is around making certain that we show up wherever consumers choose to show up and shop. Digital, physical, owned, and wholesale. And we need to make certain that we are thoughtful about that consumer in that country and where they shop and make certain we have the right assortments in those retail formats, digital or physical. And that when they, when we do have them, we elevate the presentation of our brand and that's how we drive the sell-through. And so, I'm not going to sit here today and say, hey, ultimately it's this percent—
EISEN: There's no magic number?
HILL: There's, but there is a certain consumer that will never shop Nike direct. They want to shop choice, and we need to be there in a thoughtful, meaningful way.
EISEN: How do you turn around Nike direct and digital? Because you did call that out as one of the, one of the lagging categories.
HILL: Yeah. Physical we've already, I think we have a really good path forward on physical retail. House of Innovation in New York would be a really nice proof point, along with we have a smaller format that we did in South Congress in Austin. We have a store on South Congress Avenue focused on sport. And so, when you walk into consumer now shops, House of Innovation, and it's going to seem so simplistic, but there's a running zone. So, you walk into Nike running footwear, apparel, accessories, men's, women's, all it's collectively held together. Beautiful assortments, presentation. And oh, by the way, sort of service, runners serving runners. Basketball serving—
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EISEN: This is all new?
HILL: All new. And so proof points are there. We've had double-digits increases in revenue in those formats. So, I think from a physical perspective we're feeling really good about the direction that we're headed. And then on a digital side, I don't know if you've seen the user experience, but we're really elevating the experience and anchoring it on sport again. Sport moments and innovation and making certain that will be the recipe that drives traffic moving forward.
EISEN: So, any visibility into how long that's going to take to recover?
HILL: Yeah. Well, it because of the numbers of – it's going to take time to remodel. And then in terms of digital, we already are resetting right now, and you know, we did call that out as a quarter is one that we believe will sustain throughout the rest of the fiscal as a headwind that we're working through. But I do like the strategy that we have in place and where the team's headed.
EISEN: And inventory is, like, a key marker that investors are watching. You're doing a lot to try to clean inventory, get rid of the old styles that aren't working. I did; inventories are declining. But where are you in that process?
HILL: Again, I think an area that we'll probably have a quarter or two still to go but feeling good about the work that the team's doing around cleaning up the excess inventory. And the whole idea is you pull out the inventory to make room for the new product. And not only the new product allows the retailer to make more money, but it obviously the consumer, can inspire the consumer with newness and freshness. So, I think our team's been doing a nice job of moving out the excess inventory, moving through it in a thoughtful way. And then also replenishing with new, innovative products.
EISEN: At higher average selling prices.
HILL: At, right.
EISEN: Right. Ultimately—
HILL: It's not, it's not just about price either. It's about brand positioning too, right? The, you know, the, you want this innovative product, this beautiful product. Not only to sell through at a higher price, but the positioning of the brand is also elevated with the product as well, so.
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EISEN: You were, you told Wall Street that you're seeing signs of progress, wins under your belt, I think you said. But it's not going to be linear. And I'm just wondering what you mean by that.
HILL: Well, if you, so when we come to work we think about three brands, and then multiple sports under each brand. And then 190 countries that roll up to our four geographies. And each brand times sport, and each geo times country, they're at different stages of the evolution that we have to win now, strategy. And so that's what we mean by it's not linear. But it is a portfolio, and ultimately the goal is to have the entire portfolio all working together to drive the revenue and the profit that we that are that we hope to deliver for all of our investors.
EISEN: Where do, where do SKIMS Nike come in? I know you said early response has been very strong. How did that come together? Did you meet with Kim Kardashian?
HILL: Not me personally. But we had some, we had our team was looking at the consumer and again, I think this is a great example of our team going like, hey, there's a consumer out there that we're not servicing. And how do we leverage, and we could go out and do something like SKIMS doing, and vice versa. They could do something like we're doing. But why not combine the two brands and the and use our understanding of athletes, and movements, and athletic materials, and construction with their understanding of body shaping. And so, the two teams coming together makes a really powerful consumer proposition. And we, you, we offered it in their stores, our stores and online. And like I said, we had a great sell-through.
EISEN: How big can that get?
HILL: I think that the consumer's going to tell us that. We used to have; we used to have a maxim we used to have a maxim called the consumer decides. And ultimately, and I mean that. I think the consumer's going to tell us how good are we and is the product as innovative as it ultimately can be. Is it as stylish as it can be. I think it can be, it can be big.
EISEN: Are we going to see more collabs like that from you—
HILL: Well—
EISEN: Maybe outside the world of just straight sport?
HILL: You know, I think we have to keep our eyes open. You talked earlier or asked the question earlier about cultural relevance. I think it is our responsibility to not only leverage the world of sport and what's happening in sport, but also to understand what's happening in the world of culture and how do we maybe collide and mash the two together to create a conversation about our brands. And so, yeah, absolutely you'll see us look for opportunities with the right collaborators around the world.
EISEN: Speaking of sport, we're here on the basketball court, where so many athletes, I saw LeBron's name on the wall, have been here. They've tested in the research lab. They've practiced. You know, thinking ten years ago, the basketball business, you had all these stars, Kobe, LeBron, and Kevin Durant on the top of their game. And they were really selling out. These franchises were amazing on sneakers. Who makes you bullish like that right now?
HILL: Well, Ja Morant's doing a great job for us from a basketball perspective. We just launched his Ja 3 and had really good sell-throughs there, not just in the United States but around the world. In China, he was there, pulled through Sabrina in Asia. And then we're starting to conventionalize outside of just making men's shoes for or men's basketball shoes but also making women's basketball shoes. And we're excited about that as a new added dimension to the basketball portfolio.
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PART II
HILL: We remain confident in the long-term opportunity in China. There's 1.4 billion consumers in China. They are embracing sport, running and fitness, basketball, training. And, of course, we have a really strong position in those, in those sports. So, we see it as a long-term opportunity. I think the difference in the China market versus United States as an example is that it's a direct, it's a mono-brand store. Physical retail is Nike only. And that I think we went too sportswear oriented and not sport enough. And so now we're re-evaluating our, the concepts that we have in China. We have a running-led store that is starting to sell through really well, because it's anchored in sport, and has a point of view around sport. It's, there's 5,000 stores. It's just going to take time for us to roll those concepts out. But feel good about the consumer-led, sport-led concepts there. On the digital side, structurally and not just Nike, it is, it has turned digitally a bit more of an off-price, if you will, business. Think big consumer moments, 11/11 as an example. So, we're working through repositioning our online digital business also through sport, sport moments, innovation, and believe that that'll help and will respond, the consumer will respond to that.
EISEN: Is that how's the brand held in China?
HILL: I think, there's no question that us moving away from sport, not just Nike, but Jordan as well, had an impact. Now we're back and innovating in product, both brands. Jordan 40 shoe, I should have brought that out as an innovation that sold through really well in China. We're telling stories that are more sport-led, and then at each of those moments we're doing more local for local footwear and apparel designs, that's having a good impact in China. And then leveraging not only global athletes but also local athletes as well. So, this idea of global and local we're working through to find the right balance. We believe that'll be a big part of our success moving forward.
EISEN: I mean, it also gets to the macro question. How much tougher is it for you to pull off this turnaround right now, given what's happening in the macro-economic environment?
HILL: Yeah. I, it here's what I would say to our team. I think we get caught up in the noise, I think that becomes a distraction and so, I'm trying to keep our team here really focused in on what we can control. And what we can control is being focused on sport and the athlete and then making certain we're bringing the most beautiful coveted innovative product and emotional inspiring stories and also elevating the marketplace. And when we do all of those things together in the marketplace, the consumer responds. So that's my message to the to the team is stay focused on task at hand. There's a few of us that'll deal with those other things that whether it's, you know, we'll—
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EISEN: Just the small $1.5 billion tariff bill that you have to pay?
HILL: Yeah. Here, here, on tariffs, again, literally there's a few of us working on that. And we've asked our teams to stay focused on what we just talked about, product, storytelling, and marketplace. And good news is, we have a very expansive and diverse global supply chain that we've built over 50 years. And so, we're working through some of the levers that we have to offset those tariffs, country of origin into the United States being one. Working with our factory partners—
EISEN: That still has to get made overseas, right?
HILL: Still has to get made and our factory partners, our retail partners, and then us, the three of us working together to absorb some of those headwinds.
EISEN: So that, the $1.5 billion that you that you quantified, what happens, you eat that?
HILL: We are, we don't eat it, no. We've got to try to offset it and we're offsetting it across—
EISEN: Do you have, do you have—
HILL: We pull different levers to offset it. And like we said on the call, I think it's going take us, you know, time to offset it. But we're working through those different—
EISEN: Do you have the ability to pass any of it on to the consumer?
HILL: To the consumer?
EISEN: Yes.
HILL: We, price, pricing and our pricing architecture is what we do every single quarter. We've always done it. It's not something new because of tariffs. But the answer to your question is, every quarter, every country, because we do pricing at a country level, goes through a series of conversations. And we look at a number of things that are happening with consumer, macroeconomically, etc., etc., to set our pricing strategy for the season to come. And so, you know, we did talk about in the call that we were taking some targeted and selective price increases.
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EISEN: How, how dependent are you at this point on China for manufacturing?
HILL: Well, it's public, I think it is public information. I, we've diversified our portfolio, and it's continued to decrease over time.
EISEN: And you're continuing to decrease it. But, like, we're not going to make are we going to make the sportswear and the sneakers in this country ever?
HILL: Well, I would never say never, because I do think there will come a time when, you know, technology's going to line up where we could very well make product here. But it's going to take time. It's what is, the hurdle is not the ability to manufacture, to make, a factory.
EISEN: No, it's economics, though, right—
HILL: Well, it's the material sourcing. You think about how many materials that we use in our product lines throughout a year, it's in the tens of thousands of different materials. And we've got to source those, stage them to do the manufacturing. And so therein lies probably the biggest hurdle is material sourcing.
EISEN: So, have you lobbied the administration at all against tariffs in your business?
HILL: Here's what I'd say. Our team is a relationship-based business. Our teams are engaging with the administration. Our teams are engaging with Congress, and I think that's just part of doing business. What we are excited about with the administration is they love sports. The administration has talked about the importance of sport for kids and youth, college at the collegiate level, and then also professional level. And then, we also share a passion around two big global sport moments that are coming, right. The, we have the—
EISEN: To the U.S.
HILL: Yeah, to the U.S. We have a World Cup coming, and we also have the Olympics. And we think it's a tremendous opportunity to celebrate the United States of America and our brands here with those big moments—
EISEN: How are you gearing up for those moments, like, literally and figuratively?
HILL: We are literally and figuratively, so we launched and let's take World Cup, which will be next summer here in Mexico and then of course in Canada. We've already launched our product to our wholesale and our Nike direct teams. We had a big celebration down in June around the Club World Cup. And got a whole new innovation coming with three silos of football boots, new innovation on our football kits. It's an apparel innovation that we'll be able to leverage across multiple different sports. We're looking forward to that. We've got sportswear that's coming that will appeal to that cultural consumer. And then, of course, we'll be making a big brand statement around that as well, investing pretty heavily in terms of brand marketing. And we've got some of the great teams coming here, including United States. So—
EISEN: Yes. I mean, do you look at those moments as are they're big moments around sales, or is it about brand?
HILL: Oh, the sport moments we call them are big for the brand and over time it depends, I think they can be even bigger from a commercial perspective. But no question, they are huge moments. It's when all eyes of the world are on that particular sport. And how do we then leverage that moment when all eyes are there to really elevate how we show up? And I think U.S. Open, you think you, you're there in New York City.
EISEN: Yeah.
HILL: You got to see what we were doing there—
EISEN: The two Nike athletes?
HILL: Yeah. And not just the athletes but the way we were styling them, using them as a run. They were our models on the runway launching new shoes, beyond just tennis. So, I, we see those moments as really big brand and over time will be even bigger commercial opportunities—
EISEN: On the U.S. consumer, on the macro front, you know, what I hear a lot from retail CEOs is resilient consumer, but still choiceful and looking for value. How do you characterize what you're seeing right now?
HILL: Again, I think what we try to do with our teams is, I keep coming back to making certain that we're sharp on the consumer that shops every location, the format. And they're all different and be really thoughtful about the assortments that go in there. And then, ultimately the presentation. And then we're watching sell-through. So, we have teams of people that, that's what we're doing and that's how we get a read on how the brand's performing. And, you know, again, we had, as you saw on the call, we had a really good quarter in North America in our first quarter.
EISEN: Yes. I mean, I guess the question for Wall Street that I keep hearing is, show me story. Are you going to get back to, you know, the old days where it was mid-to-high single digit revenue growth, teen margins. That's the long-term algorithm, right?
HILL: Yeah.
EISEN: Is that your goal?
HILL: Absolutely. It'll take time. But we have the path—
EISEN: How long? What is timing?
HILL: You're going to put me on the spot and make me give you a time frame? We—
EISEN: Quarters?
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HILL: No. We, it's going to take a while. We have, you know, I feel really good about the Win Now actions. The more we got the culture, the product, etc. I feel really good, and the teams are excited about pivoting to this new offense. And it's going to take time for us to get the offense accelerated, not only here from a creation perspective, but in the other 190 countries in which we do business. But feel confident in the long-term stability to get back to that sort of mid, you know, mid--
EISEN: What are, what are, the those are the Wall Street metrics. What are your metrics? What are you, what are your barometers for—
HILL: Oh, revenue. I, hey, I, trust me. We share the same, you know. We go down to P&L, revenue margin, all the way down to profitability and EPS. That's a big part of what drives this place. But we also, from a brand perspective, take a lot of pride in how we show up in those important moments on those athletes. And do we have the most innovative, most coveted product? How our brand campaigns show up, how we show up down on the ground with when an activation like Super Bowl's going on or World Cup. Those are big moments for us as a brand, and we really celebrate every single quarter. In fact, we bring them all together in a big quarter-end video, it's two-and-a-half to three minutes, and we celebrate the team's work.
EISEN: So, what's going to be your biggest challenge in getting there, where you want to go?
HILL: My impatience. My, I have to keep telling myself to be patient, but it's, the confidence level is high in terms of that we've made the right moves. And now I'm, we have just got to go, and we've got to move and we've got to activate the organization. And the teams are motivated, they're inspired, they're ready to go, and now we've just got to execute.
