"Selling fake shoes", Nike is serious

Now it seems that Nike is really not a small fight, it really has to wear "fake shoes" farther and farther.

In the past two months, Nike has ridden the waves in the meta-universe world, first building a virtual sports park Nikeland on Roblox, and this time directly acquiring a company that "sells fake shoes" - Rtfkt.

Rtfkt is a startup founded in 2020 that designs virtual sneakers and other exclusive collections as NFT castings.

After a funding round in May, Rtfkt was valued at $33.3 million, and the virtual sneakers it designed could sell for millions of dollars in just a few minutes.

Nike may also struggle to resist this huge attraction.

So now Nike has filed a new trademark application to allow RFKt to sell NFT goods with its swoosh logo, and the use scenario is similar to Nikeland on Roblox, where users can be equipped with Nike-specific equipment.

Nike has designed a number of shoes for players in Nikeland, such as the classic Air Force 1 and Nike Blazer, as well as the new Air Force 1 Fontanka and Air Max 2021, as well as many other Nike clothing, such as ACG and Nike Tech Pack.

According to Erinn Murphy, a senior analyst at investment bank Piper Sandler & Co, Nike's choice of metaversity as its next battleground fits well with the company's traditional approach to selling.

In the real world, "scarcity" has always been an important selling point for Nike, and the company promotes its uniqueness by selling a limited number of exclusive items.

So in the metaverse world, Nike is ready to stabilize its advantage "as always". In addition, there are many companies that also want to "ride the wind".

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Brands "Riding the Wind"

For example, Nike's old rival Adidas, and then such as the "Century King" Pepsi.

Adidas first released a limited edition of 3176 POAP (Proof of Attendance Protocol) on November 22, and the next day built an adiVerse in The Sandbox (a blockchain-based virtual game world).

Pepsico's approach to the metaverse is similar, such as the launch of its own digital collection (Pepsi Mic Drop genesis NFT).

In addition, Dolce & Gabbana and Jimmy Choo have launched NFT products. Balenciaga and Fortnite maker Epic Games Inc. In partnership, Gucci has also partnered with Roblox to create an immersive digital world.

In the end, the purpose of these brands entering the metaverse is to transfer the gameplay in the real world to the metaverse by issuing value-addable virtual products (emphasizing exclusivity), and to enhance interaction with users.

But apart from the reasons they officially give, there may be something else.

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One of the reasons for tight supply chains?

The Wall Street Journal pointed out that the reason why overseas brands chose to enter the meta-universe at this time may also be related to the tension in overseas supply chains this year.

Like many retail brands that rely on Asian manufacturing, Nike's production chain has always been rooted overseas, so the impact of supply chain tension on Nike should not be underestimated.

While analysts at Research Firm predict nike's revenue to reach $11.25 billion in the three months ended Nov. 30, it was essentially the same as the same period last year. But the Wall Street Journal mentioned that some analysts have said that Nike's profits may have fallen by 20% year-on-year in the second quarter of this year.

This is also reflected in Nike's stock price trend, which can basically be determined to outperform the market.

Nike's stock price is up about 12 percent this year, but the S&P 500 is up 25 percent.

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