“While we are very mindful of the macroeconomic volatility in China; our brand has never been stronger and our marketplace has never been more healthy”, Nike’s chief financial officer, Andy Campion, said.
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The rise comes despite the slowdown in China’s economy, which is heading towards its weakest growth in 25 years.
A lot of global retailers were hit hard because of the slowing economic growth in the second-largest economy in the world, but the footwear company claimed that their sales in the China were wonderful, BBC learned.
During its fiscal first quarter, the company reported earnings per share of $1.34 – beating consensus estimates by 15 cents – and revenue that rose 5.4% to $8.41 billion – beating analyst estimates by $190 million.
“In Japan and in China, a lot of these (consumer goods brands) are talking about decelerating”, Yarbrough said, “and these guys are accelerating”. This reportedly marked the company’s 9th straight quarter where the result surpassed the expected profit.
Elsewhere, excluding currency impacts, Nike brand sales rose 14% in Western Europe, 26% in Central Europe and 30% in Greater China.
New footwear launches in the popular basketball, running and sports categories are helping Nike migrate customers toward higher-priced products and its direct-to-consumer (DTC) channel, while the “athleisure” trend is driving sales of athletic apparel.
Here is what the experts and analysts said… And its footwear, long a reason for Nike’s dominance, is being challenged by Under Armour – which has increasingly attracted big-name athletes and teams, and has demonstrated a fair amount of swagger about its ambitions.
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Shares of the company, which also posted a surprise rise in growth of “futures orders”, were up 6 percent in extended trading on Thursday.
