eCommerce Helped Nike Mitigate Lost Sales In China

After the COVID-19 outbreak, business for Nike Inc. has bounced back in China. The brand was also able to help mitigate lost sales with eCommerce orders, which is a path management foresees taking in Europe as well as the U.S., The Wall Street Journal reported.

CEO John Donahoe said, according to the report, “We are seeing the other side of the crisis in China. We now have a playbook we can use elsewhere.” Donahoe pointed to the blueprint as an indicator of how the firm will salvage sales in other locations.

Donahoe noted that Nike shuttered its stores and focused on eCommerce sales as shoppers were stuck in their residences. The move aided Nike in growing sales via its website and apps. It has now reopened a majority of its 7,000 locations in the country and foot traffic has resumed. The company has even reopened one of its Wuhan locations again, and the firm is seeing early movement in Japan and South Korea.

“We expect the next several weeks to be a challenging period for those living in the U.S. and Europe,” Donahoe said. He noted that the firm’s experience in Asia “gives us confidence [that] we will see the other side of this crisis in the near future.”

In separate news, companies are providing heavy discounts to encourage consumers to spend as China begins to reopen for business. The discounts are aimed at getting consumers out of their residences, as some companies are concerned that the lockdown could have after-effects when it comes to spending.

A Pacific Coffee chain spokesperson said, per reports, “We’ve launched some discounted offers to consumers in recent days, hoping to help consumers get back to their normal life.”