With Kipyegon Nike hopes to break a record and win back women runners

NEW YORK/LONDON - Nike is betting its endeavor to help Kenyan athlete Faith Kipyegon run a mile in under four minutes will recapture the attention of women consumers who have been looking elsewhere for running shoes and clothes.

Industry experts and women runners say it will take more than a bold spectacle to draw women back to the brand.

Kipyegons attempt, branded Breaking4, set for Thursday at the Stade Charléty in Paris, is part of new CEO Elliott Hills efforts to pull Nike out of a sales slump and improve its image.

From 2021 to 2024, Nikes share of the global sports footwear market dropped from 28.8% to 26.3%, according to Euromonitor International, with consumers defecting to smaller, newer brands like On and Hoka.

Nikes popularity has slipped with women in particular. Sales of Nike Women products grew just 4.4% over that three-year period, while Nike Men sales grew 13.5%.

Nike has been obsessed with getting women back since at least 2021, said a former Nike manager who requested anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Understanding its female consumer base and how to draw in more women has been a key internal priority as Lululemon and others have eaten into its market share among women, the person added.

Beaverton, Oregon-based Nike declined to comment on those details. But Chief Innovation Officer John Hoke told Reuters the company is doubling its investment in research on women athletes anatomy and biodynamics versus 18 months ago.

Hoke declined to disclose the amount of that investment, but said in an interview that the companys Sports Research Lab historically had over-indexed on males, so what we are doing is were now right-sizing.

Kipyegon will wear new track spikes that are lighter than those she wore to win 1,500-meter gold at the Olympics