Dive Brief:
- Nike is shifting its focus to the wellness space, with the launch of the “Well Collective.” The new effort emphasizes holistic fitness and is geared specifically toward women, according to a company blog post Tuesday.
- Nike is onboarding more than 1,000 new fitness trainers as part of the Well Collective, which focuses on five pillars: movement, mindfulness, nutrition, rest and connection. The retailer is also working with academics, researchers and medical professionals.
- The retailer is rebranding its Nike Live stores, which take a localized approach to a given community, as Nike Well Collective stores. Its @niketraining handle on Instagram will become @nikewellcollective and Nike is discontinuing its @nikeyoga handle.
Dive Insight:
Nike is moving purposefully toward a more holistic view of wellness that will include broadening its branded content and programming to include nutrition advice, mindfulness practices and methods of recovery, among other things.
The Nike Well Collective site currently features the ability to “shop by movement,” including yoga, HIIT and running, as well as content like “Multiply Your Motivation Tenfold” and “Turn a Setback into a Fast-Forward.” The retailer is also rebranding its digitally focused Nike Live stores as part of the shift. Nike developed these locations for loyalty members and has used them to connect with its women consumers in particular, but now they will also serve as a backdrop for Nike’s new wellness focus.
“Inspired by insights from our Nike Women’s consumer, Nike Well Collective is designed to support wellness journeys for everyone, however they define them,” Amy Montagne, vice president and general manager of Global Nike Women’s, said in a statement. “It celebrates all bodies and all forms of movement. Because we know holistic fitness is more than just sport, it’s focusing on body, mind and life.”
Montagne moved over to lead Nike’s women’s business in March, at the same time that the company brought on a new diversity chief. Women’s has been a growth focus for Nike for several years, and the retailer has sought to win over the demographic with women’s-focused product innovation and collections like its first maternity offering. That focus, however, has come alongside criticisms of the company’s corporate culture in the past few years, and its treatment of pregnant athletes.
Nike’s rebranding of its Nike Live stores comes as the retailer pursues a series of digitally focused store concepts as part of its DTC strategy, including Nike Rise stores — which feature digital storytelling and display local sports, city and athlete data — and Nike Style, which features gender agnostic clothing and a localized assortment.
At the same time, the retailer has been searching for ways to better connect its wholesale and DTC channels, and has recently returned to two wholesale partners it backed away from in 2021: Macy’s and DSW.
