Earnings Labs

NIKE, Inc. (NKE)

Q1 2018 Earnings Call· Wed, Sep 27, 2017

$44.96

-0.43%

Key Takeaways · AI generated
AI summary not yet generated for this transcript. Generation in progress for older transcripts; check back soon, or browse the full transcript below.

Same-Day

-0.08%

1 Week

-1.12%

1 Month

+6.25%

vs S&P

+3.18%

Transcript

Operator

Operator

Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to NIKE, Inc.’s Fiscal 2018 First Quarter Conference Call. For those who need to reference today’s press release, you’ll find it at investors.nike.com. Leading today’s call is Nitesh Sharan, Vice President, Investor Relations and Treasurer. Before I turn the call over to Mr. Sharan, let me remind you that participants on this call will make forward-looking statements based on current expectations and those statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties are detailed in the reports filed with the SEC, including the Annual Report filed on Form 10-K. Some forward-looking statements may contain – may concern expectations of future revenue growth or gross margin. In addition, participants may discuss non-GAAP financial measures, including references to wholesale equivalent sales and constant dollar revenue. References to wholesale equivalent sales are only intended to provide context as to the overall current market footprint of the brands owned by NIKE, Inc. and should not be relied upon as a financial measure of actual results. Similarly, references to constant dollar revenue are intended to provide context as to the performance of the business eliminating foreign exchange fluctuations. Participants may also make references to other non-public financial and statistical information and non-GAAP financial measures. To the extent non-public financial and statistical information is discussed, presentations of comparable GAAP measures and quantitative reconciliations will be made available on NIKE’s website, investors.nike.com. Now, I would like to turn the call over to Nitesh Sharan, Vice President, Investor Relations and Treasurer.

Nitesh Sharan

Management

Thank you, operator. Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining us today to discuss NIKE, Inc.’s fiscal 2018 first quarter results. As the operator indicated, participants on today’s call may discuss non-GAAP financial measures. You will find the appropriate reconciliations in our press release, which was issued about an hour ago or in our website, investors.nike.com. Joining us on today’s call will be NIKE, Inc’s Chairman, President and CEO, Mark Parker; followed by Trevor Edwards, President of the NIKE Brand; and finally, you will hear from our Chief Financial Officer, Andy Campion, who will give you an in-depth review of our financial results. Following their prepared remarks, we will take your question. We would like to allow as many of you to ask questions as possible in our allotted time. So we would appreciate you limiting your initial questions to two. In the event, you have additional questions that are not covered by others, please feel free to requeue and we will do our best to come back to you. Thanks for your cooperation on this. I’ll now turn the call over to NIKE, Inc. Chairman, President and CEO, Mark Parker.

Mark Parker

Management

Thanks, Nitesh, and good afternoon, everyone. Last quarter, we began our conversation with three consumer insights that are driving today’s marketplace shifts: the appetite for a constant flow of fresh and innovative product, the expectation of superior service and the demand for real-time delivery. To stay ahead of these needs, we’ve done what successful companies do, evolve and lead through a time of change. We’ve aligned into a new formation that Consumer Direct Offense, just focused on reinventing our business and the industry. And while changing your approach is never easy, NIKE has proven before that when we do, it’s always ignited the next phase of growth for our company. We’ve had to make some tough choices with our teams. We’ve tested and learned and we got better. Looking back to the creation of the category offense in 2007, we went from being organized against footwear, apparel and equipment to realigning through the eyes of consumers by sport. With the new Consumer Direct Offense, we’re taking that consumer connection one step further. We’re going deeper. We’re connecting more personally to help each individual make the right choice for them. That’s incredibly powerful for a brand that motivates people to do more. And to make that vision a reality at scale, we’re taking some bold steps. We’re breaking old models and we’re fully realigning our teams to be more personal by adding resources to our fastest-growing cities, editing our lines to create more choice on top-selling products, investing in better data and analytics to sense market shifts faster, activating new product creation teams focused only on speed to market and we’re leading with mobile. In the last 90 days, we have moved through the final stages of this realignment. Before reviewing what we’ve accomplished, let’s look at the numbers. NIKE, Inc.…

Trevor Edwards

Management

Thank you, Mark. Let’s start with the financials. As always, my comments are on a constant currency basis. For the quarter, NIKE Brand revenue grew 2% and revenue in our NIKE Direct business was up a 11%, driven by online growth of 19%, new stores and comp store growth of 5%. Mark mentioned how NIKE evolves and leads through times of change. By leveraging the power of sport, time and again, we authentically connect with consumers through premium innovative product and elevated services led by digital and mobile. Our Consumer Direct Offense accelerates that work through a more personal lens. And by infusing digital in how we bring our brand to life for consumers, we invent new ways to connect more closely with them. It all comes down to serving the consumer completely. Our ability to connect breakthrough technologies to our brand-defining energy and emotion has us incredibly excited about the future. It’s with this focus that we take the sports industry into the next era of digital. Now, let’s talk about how that work comes to life through our key categories. First, NIKE basketball. The NBA partnership is now in full force, and we are confident about what it means for us and our consumers. First of all, of course, we are elevating performance through innovation with the lightest and most breathable NBA Jersey ever. At the same time, the NIKE NBA connected jersey is much more than a uniform. It’s a digitally-enabled jersey that drives a new level of service for fans to tap into the game they love and get insider access to their favorite teams, players and special products. Above all, it’s a premium and personal membership experience that fuels a direct emotional connection and allows us to serve them better. The jersey experience will unlock…

Andy Campion

Management

Thanks, Mark and Trevor, and hello, everyone, on the call. In the first quarter of fiscal year 2018, we delivered revenue and profitability in line with the expectations that we set for ourselves 90 days ago, despite an increasingly dynamic environment in the U.S. However more important than our financial results in any individual quarter are the actions we’re taking to accelerate our Consumer Direct Offense and how those actions are igniting NIKE’s next horizon of long-term growth. First, the Consumer Direct Offense is fueling strong momentum in our international geographies, which as Mark noted, now represent over 55% of our total revenue. In many of our developing markets, current marketplace structures are well suited to NIKE serving consumers more personally at scale through our new Offence, China is the best example. Today, over 90% of our business in China is already transacted through a NIKE branded experiences, digital and physical, both owned and operated through partners. We’re also leveraging close to market manufacturing to enable our Express Lane in China and in other markets across Asia. That is a tremendous platform upon which to accelerate, both our speed and our NIKE Direct initiatives. In many of our international markets where we are executing this new offence with tailwinds from strong growth in consumer spending, an emerging middle class and increasing participation in sport. While the current platform in a market like China is a great foundation, we nonetheless see tremendous opportunity to accelerate growth by expanding the reach of NIKE branded experiences across key cities and increasingly leveraging digital to better serve consumers across all touch points. As Trevor highlighted, in Q1, we launched new digital platforms across many of our international markets, including a curated Jordan flagship experience on Tmall, which is China’s largest digital commerce platform and…

Operator

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Your first question is from Bob Drbul from Guggenheim.

Robert Drbul

Analyst

Hi, guys, good afternoon.

Mark Parker

Management

Hey, Rob.

Robert Drbul

Analyst

I guess, the question that I had just to start is, when you look at the – like just the revenue expectation for the remainder of the year, what’s giving you guys the confidence in the acceleration throughout the next few quarters to get to that mid single-digit full-year reported revenue growth projection for this year?

Mark Parker

Management

Well, I’m going to jump in first here. First of all, I think it’s the product that we’ve got in the pipeline, what’s coming. I mean, bottom line is consumer votes through the innovation and the product that we create. And I’m very bullish, we’re very bullish on what’s coming down the pipeline. So we think that will give us opportunity obviously for – to reenergize some of the growth here in the U.S. market, North America, as well as continue to drop some of the success and momentum that we’re seeing internationally. I think, there’s a lot of good brand energy moments also in the works. And when you boil it down, having energy around products and the brand is the foundation. The obsession we have with the consumer with this new offence that we have in play, I think, you’ll see that come to light in some new and quite dramatic ways.

Trevor Edwards

Management

Yes, and Bob I’ll just add that, as I mentioned, we continue to expect mid single-digit reported revenue growth for the full-year. And the three primary drivers of that are continued very strong international momentum. Two, we see strong growth and some acceleration on our NIKE Direct businesses. And at the same time, we are seeing a bit of a favorable impact on our real dollar growth from the recent dollar weakening.

Robert Drbul

Analyst

Got it. And then you talked about North American, your North American inventory is down 2%. On the Jordan business, can you break that out for us, and can you just talk about where you think inventories are at the retail partners that you have product at?

Trevor Edwards

Management

Yes, I’ll certainly about the Jordan brand and maybe just give some context there. One thing, I think, the Jordan brand has been incredibly strong over so many years. And it’s certainly been the leading edge of performance, street style and culture. And it’s really inspiring consumers all over the world to really have covet those premium products. What we’re seeing is, we’re seeing this clear growth in China, which is exceeding 30%, as we connect to a new generation of consumers there. And at the same time in North America, we’re certainly going to continue to manage the cadence of launches, while bringing some fresher stories into the marketplace. And this is where we’re going to really manage in the balance between scarcity and scale at the same time. So we’re taking all the right steps to make sure that Jordan remains a special and coveted brand, and I’m confident with the areas that we’re – that what we’re doing. What I’m most excited about with the Jordan brand is, is how strong the brand is with consumers, and it continues to be a great driver of energy and we’ve seen some great product lineups coming through. And with the Jordan 32, that’s coming through, the Jordan 1 Flyknit and the upcoming footwear, we continue to be really excited. So a lot more is coming there, and I hope that gives you a good context of where the Jordan is.

Andy Campion

Management

And Bob, I’ll just add on inventory. Globally, we’re very pleased with our positioning. There are different dynamics across each region, of course. In the U.S., we have been vigilant and will remain vigilant managing supply and demand. And as you noted that led to a decline of 2% in inventories. Frankly, that is in part driven by our anticipation of some of this disruption in the retail marketplace, which again we began to note several quarters ago and managed prudently as a result. But we again are very pleased with the inventory position that we have in North America.

Robert Drbul

Analyst

Got it. If I could just ask one more quick one. With all the focus on the NBA, can you talk a little bit about if you’re more excited to have Kyrie in Boston, or you have Carmelo in OKC with Russell and Paul George?

Andy Campion

Management

Bob, I’m from Cleveland, so I’m going to miss Kyrie. All right. Thanks, Bob. We’ll take our next question.

Robert Drbul

Analyst

All right.

Operator

Operator

Your next question is from Lindsay Drucker Mann from Goldman Sachs.

Lindsay Drucker Mann

Analyst

Thanks. Good afternoon, everyone. I was hoping to ask my first question on North America. Andy, last quarter your guidance you talked about North America being down slight for the first-half of the year with an improving cadence to finish off the year up. Could you talk about how you’re in light of the industry disruptions you talked about in your new perspective on the North American market? How we should be thinking about the cadence for North America in 2Q and exiting the year?

Andy Campion

Management

Sure. We do anticipate continued marketplace disruption in North America. And so in the short-term, there are implications of that disruption that will likely be beyond our control, for instance, how certain retailers may be responding to some of these challenges, door closures and the precise timing of those potential discontinuities. That said, over the course of this year, you’re going to see us embracing as we have been and accelerating the shifts in the marketplace, because our focus has been and always will be on responding to what we’re seeing from the consumer. We see the consumer shifting to digital and to deeper brand connections. And we believe that’s a tremendous growth opportunity over the medium to longer-term and actually will fuel some of our growth in the short-term. So our measure of success in North America in fiscal year 2018 will primarily center around accelerating our direct-to-consumer businesses, and also accelerating the work that we’re doing with our strategic partners to reshape the broader marketplace. But given all of these dynamics just one quarter into the year, it’s unclear and I wouldn’t say precisely where North America will end for the full fiscal year.

Trevor Edwards

Management

Yes, and I’d just probably add that, one area that we know that we’re very confident about is that, it really all starts and ends with a great product. And we continue to feel great about the product launches that are coming up and the brand energy that we create around that. So we’re really focused on scaling those innovations that we’ve currently seeded, whether that’s the Air VaporMax or the ZoomX and React, which clearly has other opportunities across other categories. We’re also going to continue to elevate the brand to bring the brand to a higher level, so the consumers will absolutely feel the impact of our brands for the remainder of the year. So you’re going to see that kind of come through pretty strong. The other area, I would say is that, we are going to continue to sort of attack in season opportunities using our Express Lane, and that’s why we’ve been focused to create that capability, so that we can respond with great items like the Air Force 1 or the VaporMax and even on the apparel side. So while it might not be as easy for you to see all of the momentum that’s in the marketplace, I can certainly say, when you dive in deeper, we can see the momentum when you really – when we really focus on that direct connection that we have with consumers whether that’s in our direct retail or when that you’re coming to one of our partners. So that’s how we, let’s say, a better read on the underlying momentum that’s actually going on in North America.

Lindsay Drucker Mann

Analyst

Got it. But to clarify, is there any, as we think about sort of 2Q for North America, are you looking for it to be consistent with what we saw in 1Q better or worse as far as revenue goes?

Andy Campion

Management

Yes, we – as we said on the last call, Lindsay, we expect – we expected and we continue to expect a slight contraction in the first part of the year. As Trevor noted, we have some things in store from a product innovation and from a marketplace perspective with our direct-to-consumer businesses and with our partners who are increasingly coming to us to help them also reshape the consumer experience recognizing our deep connection as a brand and leadership position with consumers. So we’ll update you on the outlook over the balance of the year. But again, as I said, it’s a little early in the year to be overly precise about where North America will land based on some of the dynamics.

Lindsay Drucker Mann

Analyst

Okay, got it. And then my second question is just on, you guys have talked about the significance of keeping the in line channel clean. And I think, Amazon Marketplace makes that challenging, because a lot of three key products from unlicensed dealers ends up there – can end up there are markdown. Do you expect your new partnership with Amazon will allow you to manage the visibility of unlicensed products on marketplace?

Mark Parker

Management

Well, I’m not going to go into that level of detail. I will say that pilot that we’ve been running with Amazon is still in the early stages. And what we’ve seen so far is progressing actually quite well, excited about the possibilities going forward. We’ve proven, I think, through our ability to create some real great success with other consumer-oriented digital partners like Tmall and Zalando that there isn’t a real opportunity here, and we’re excited about where that can go with Amazon. It’s still early yet, not much more I can share with you today, but look forward to, as Andy said, on another topic to sharing more at the investor meeting and as the pilot progresses.

Nitesh Sharan

Management

Thanks, Lindsay. Now we’ll take the next question, please. Operator?

Operator

Operator

Your next question is from Omar Saad from Evercore ISI.

Omar Saad

Analyst

Thanks. Good afternoon.

Mark Parker

Management

Yes, good afternoon, Omar.

Omar Saad

Analyst

I wanted to – thanks. Thanks for taking my question. I wanted to follow-up on some of Mark’s, I thought kind of interesting comments about around retail and the need to change and embrace change, and you alluded to some new commerce partners doing some innovation – innovative things there. And maybe you can expand on that and kind of some extent without pointing fingers talk about how you expect the landscape to change, and what NIKE’s role will be in the coming years?

Mark Parker

Management

Well, first of all, I think, it’s important to distinguish between some of the near-term dynamics, as compared to the longer-term shifts and consumer preferences. The good news from a backdrop standpoint is that consumers I think are really increasingly passionate about leading an active healthy lifestyle, and that’s obviously in North America, but around the world. And I think the rise of digital, mobile and social, that’s amplifying the influence of sport on culture. So that’s all good news and that continues to be the case. There’s always that shift that takes place back and forth naturally between sportswear and the performance side of the business. And we’re seeing a real symbiotic relationship between those two sides and trying to take advantage of that as best we can. And then there’s the shift with the market landscape and the digital influence is obviously having a profound effect on what that landscape looks like. We are with the new offense are trying to accelerate that change, not to catch up, but to move ahead of the consumer. And we realize that a really important ingredient there is the partnerships that we create. We mentioned Tmall in China and Zalando in Europe and Amazon is a possibility here, but there’s many others as well. The wholesale partners we’ve had are making the shift as well to the emphasis on digital as part of their retail profile. And NIKE Direct through our own efforts is becoming a bigger more important part of our overall profile, and I think that’s going to continue. We are with this new offense experimenting with a lot of new ideas at a small scale and looking at taking those ideas to scale as part of this new offense, and that’s creating a lot of energy and excitement within the company. And honestly, I’d say, that’s newer for NIKE to be pushing as aggressively as we are with experimenting with those concepts ourselves and then with partners. We’re definitely wired in the same way.

Andy Campion

Management

And Omar, to add maybe a few examples, since we announced the strategy, a number of the examples of what Mark just spoke to are expanding our sneakers and Nike+ apps globally from North America to Europe and Asia, partnership with Nordstrom, dedicated NIKE in Nordstrom page for women on their app and in-store experience, the pilot with Amazon that Mark mentioned, new Sneaker Boutique in London. And then looking ahead to our Investor Day without going into too much detail in this call, but we’ll be sharing some new experiences relative to nike.com, as well as membership experiences that we believe are very much in line with where the consumer is headed and will accelerate growth in North America, but also beyond, as well as some physical experiences that we think could create compelling environments at retail, both owned and with our strategic partners. So stay tuned maybe for a little bit more tangible insight into these themes at Investor Day.

Omar Saad

Analyst

Great. And then one quick follow-up. You made a comment around the lifestyle kind of footwear opportunity going deeper, with – deeper selection within the certain – within the key styles. Where are we on that curve? It feels like that’s a big opportunity for the brand, given its heritage, and I’m not sure if it’s expressing itself in the inventory that’s at retail. How should we think about that side of the business? You just – you also just kind of mentioned that it’s really getting more tied – closely tied to the performance side as well?

Mark Parker

Management

Yes, there is a real, as I said, it’s kind of a symbiotic relationship between performance and sportswear. We don’t look at it quite as black and white as two separate categories. These are dimensions of the product that kind of intersect and overlap one influences the other. I think it’s clear that the consumer voting today is looking for authentic performance styles, but in styles that are maybe less overtly athletic and more acceptable from a street standpoint. And that doesn’t mean that performance and innovation is any less important, in fact, it creates distinction for us in the sportswear space. And that’s our unique strength of NIKE is that we have that authenticity and performance that we can then translate and express on the sportswear side of the business. And that’s where consumers are focusing and that’s a major shift for us as well and how we – even how we finish and how we detail our performance product.

Trevor Edwards

Management

I’d just add. Certainly, I think, a great example is the Air VaporMax. And I think what we have done with that is, we focused more on that particular style and we have constant variations of that product coming through. So that’s what with them. When we speak about the EDIT to AMPLIFY, that’s what we mean, which is to take a style, focus more, give the consumers more reasons to actually buy that product and certainly come in and give different consumers other dimensions, so they can connect. So we’re seeing that actually work really well. So we’re seeing that. We know that on the sportswear side and we know it on the performance side. For us, as Mark said, it really plays on both styles. So it’s really about creating an amazing product and then dimensionalize it, so that the consumer has more opportunity to connect with that. And when we do that and we storytell it, we see it drive incredible demand in the marketplace.

Nitesh Sharan

Management

Thanks, Omar.

Omar Saad

Analyst

Thanks. That’s it.

Nitesh Sharan

Management

Operator, we’ll take the next question please.

Operator

Operator

The next question is from Jim Duffy from Stifel.

Jim Duffy

Analyst

Thanks. Hello, everyone.

Mark Parker

Management

Hi, Jim.

Jim Duffy

Analyst

My question around the transition to the more Consumer Direct Offense, even as you push towards implementation of the strategy, we’ve seen direct-to-consumer and e-commerce growth rates flow some. Andy, I think, you mentioned expectations for accelerating growth in direct contemplated in the full-year expectations. Are there unique compares to call out in the first quarter? And then can you give us a preview of some of the key drivers to reaccelerate growth as the year unfolds?

Trevor Edwards

Management

Yes, I’ll hit that first, and I’d say that, we continue to see strong growth in our digital business, and it was up 19% for the quarter. As we pointed out, the international piece of that was actually growing at a faster rate, and so that’s what we are seeing. We think there’ll be continued expansion within the international business, so we’ll continue to see that level of growth, because we’re expanded things like our sneaker apps to get to more consumers and more countries in the marketplace. Domestically, one of the areas that we are focused on is allocating deeper assortments of our best products on our sites. So whether it’s on nike.com, or it’s on the X, we’re going to drive a greater focus like we just spoke about on the key styles that we know that the consumers love. And so that’s a clear focus. When we speak about Edit To Amplify, we’re going to apply that very directly to our own nike.com and on the apps. In addition, we are working to make sure that we can have great data where we’re leveraging and reading the marketplace at speed at the consumer speed. So we can bring even some more great items through our Express Lane. And so as we look at it all in all, you’re going to see much more about this at the Investor Day. But the point here is that, we continue to expect that digital will outpace the every other dimension of the marketplace. And we’re certainly putting the right focus and energy to ensure that we deliver that to our consumers.

Andy Campion

Management

And Jim, I’d just add. As I mentioned in my prepared remarks, this very straightforward three-pronged strategy is really driving focus within our investment agenda and not just focus, but acceleration. We still have quite a number of untapped opportunities leveraging data science and analytics, personalization. You can imagine what we would do with image recognition, as a NIKE Brand and the icons that we have. And we have been accelerating our investment in that regard. We’ve both built capabilities and acquired and will continue to do so. And then again, just to reiterate what Trevor said, we will give you some perspective into how some of that comes to life and in terms of membership and our overall digital experience at our Investor Day.

Jim Duffy

Analyst

Okay, very good. It seems a lot of good opportunity from segmentation as it relates to Direct specific to the North American marketplace and your transformation there, are you anticipating any proactive reduction in distribution in North America?

Trevor Edwards

Management

I think, as we’ve really spoken about, we’ve continued to say that the consumer is clearly moving to the distribution that is differentiated, that is providing them a clear reason for why they have to go whether that’s online or at a physical store. So the partners that don’t shift in that landscape, that don’t quite create a clear proposition for consumers to come with will clearly shift away from those as the consumer shifts away from those. And so, our intent is to make sure that we are serving the consumers in the best way that they would expect in the marketplace. And so that’s going to create some shifts and we’re going to make some decisive decisions to make sure that we’re meeting that demand where the consumer would expect it.

Andy Campion

Management

Yes, I’d just add that, while one of the primary shifts is the consumer shift to digital. The consumer is also telling us, as Trevor and both Trevor and Mark noted, that deeper connections with brands and translating that, that means a higher level of service expertise advice that only a brand like Nike could provide are what are really punching through. And we’ve had a number of partners both North America and globally come to us to join forces and thinking about what a vision for those types of experiences that really bring the NIKE Brand closer to the consumer through that distribution might look like. As for your question about dimensions of the market, that may contract or decline. We are very proactively thinking about those that translates into everything from how we manage risk from a credit perspective just also as well as in terms of how we manage growth with some of those more undifferentiated aspects of retail. We do anticipate a shift, again, we’ll talk more about this at our Investor Day. But what we’re really focused on is what the shift is toward more so than what the shift is away from.

Mark Parker

Management

But let me add, as we shift towards we will definitely shift away, though it’s not – everything is not equal here. I just want to close on that by saying that the obsession that we have in creating that distinction, that retail ourselves and with our partners is making us faster, it’s making us more personal. And that’s what we’re obsessed with right now, that’s our focus. So those are the partners that will definitely move forward with us as a company as a brand.

Nitesh Sharan

Management

Thanks, Jim.

Jim Duffy

Analyst

Thank you.

Nitesh Sharan

Management

Operator, we’ll take our next question please.

Operator

Operator

The next question is from Kate McShane from Citi.

Kate McShane

Analyst

Hi, thank you for taking my question. There seems to be a good degree of discounting on the market both in apparel and footwear. And I think even one of the major retailers is talking or mentioning the words price war. So I wondered how that pricing is being managed during this period of disruption? And how do you retrain the customer to accept higher ASPs once inventory is worked through and the disruption is stabilized?

Trevor Edwards

Management

Yes, obviously, for us investing in our brand and building relationship with athletes and consumers has always been our top priority. And it really goes without saying, we’re very mindful to make sure that we are protecting our brands and importantly strengthening the brand over the long-term. And one clear lever is map and we’re – and particularly in the backdrop that you have right now going on in the United States. And we – so we recently spent a lot of time with our partners and we’ve tightened up our map policy with our retailers and you’ll see that go live very shortly. And we expect it will have a positive impact on the brand and the businesses over the balance of the year and beyond. So that’s clearly a very important piece for us. But at the same time, we will continue to make sure, we’re investing energy in driving our brand at the highest levels and making sure that consumers can get access to the best products. So that’s a really important piece, because we believe that there is a great demand out there for full price.

Kate McShane

Analyst

Okay. Thank you. And if I could just follow-up with an unrelated question with regards to the supply chain. In terms of what progress you made during the quarter and finding more efficiencies and speeding up the supply chain? And it also sounds like maybe some of those investments now are benefiting the gross margin line?

Andy Campion

Management

Yes, we will actually talk more about this at the Investor Day. But let me just say that the obsession or the fixation we’ve had on the opportunities around man rev continue to be a central point for us, but we are seeing the effect on the bottom line as well, product cost reductions, more efficiencies in manufacturing we’re taking that to scale, and then we’re seeing some of those really showing up in our cost reduction or product cost reductions as well. And then a lot of this has to do with our Speed initiative, our 2X Speed. So the investments we’re making in manufacturing revolution are really helping to support our Express Lane efforts. So there’s a cost benefit, but there’s also a speed to market benefit. And we’re looking at optimizing both directly and then obviously through our relationships with partners like Flex.

Nitesh Sharan

Management

Thanks, Kate.

Kate McShane

Analyst

Thank you.

Nitesh Sharan

Management

Operator, we’ll take our last questions please.

Operator

Operator

The last question is from Simeon Siegel from Nomura Instinet.

Simeon Siegel

Analyst

Thanks. Good afternoon and thanks for taking my question. Just given the comments on the retail disruption at the same time that you’re referencing the North American inventory control, can you just any color on how you view that off-price sales penetration heading over the year and maybe the impact on the margins?

Andy Campion

Management

Yes, similar to some of the remarks we made, I think that the most important thing to keep in mind is, as we look out over the next several years, we see a bigger and more stable premium marketplace in North America. The consumer trends are telling us that on many different dimensions folks leading a much more active lifestyle. The expansion in media, both social media and traditional media, coverage around sport and the energy around sport, and that’s translating into a full price, healthy business, and sell-through in many dimensions of our business. As Trevor noted, the Air VaporMax is a shoe well above $150, $160, up into the $180, $190 range. And as we continue to release that product in different colorways with different iterations, the sell-through is extraordinary. And so we really look at the promotional environment in the near-term as a discontinuity. And the result of the consumer-led disruption more so than a trend or something systemic relative to athletic footwear and apparel. As I mentioned, we can’t – I’m not sure anybody could predict with complete precision what some of those discontinuities will be. But as Trevor noted, what we’re really focused on is ensuring that we are not in that dynamic, the dynamic we’re creating is tremendous brand impact and energy around sport. And again, as we’ve all mentioned, you’re going to see us bring some new innovation that again the Air VaporMax and other styles proof consumers love when you bring it even in an environment like this. So I do believe that that promotional marketplace will put some pressure on pricing and off-price in the short-term. But we definitely believe that that is a short-term impact. And that as we work as our retailers and our industry work through that and we help them work through that with new experiences and energy will be back to a full price led marketplace in the medium and long-term.

Trevor Edwards

Management

Yes, and just to maybe give a couple of finer points to there, Andy spoke about certainly the VaporMax and the Air platform how that continues to really hold its price. What we’ve also understand is, we’re going to continue to focus on our NIKE React, which is clearly a new technology that has great opportunity across all the categories, so you’ll see us do that, and ZoomX, another example of technology. So what we’re seeing is that, the consumer will pay for when they see sort of great value in the product and for us it’s actually giving value through a great innovation. And so, we believe that is one of the, let’s say, counterbalances to a marketplace that seems to head down to a more promotional aspect. So our task is to continue to give the consumer greater value.

Trevor Edwards

Management

And to leverage the demand that we created at the premium price points through innovation by taking that down into broader platform opportunities at the same time, and that’s a big opportunity for Nike.

Simeon Siegel

Analyst

Can I just ask on that point, so given the savings this quarter about the demand creation, any thoughts on how that looks throughout the year?

Mark Parker

Management

Well, we certainly expect to continue to invest in the brand. I think, one of the greatest advantages we have is our brand. And it’s not on our balance sheet, it’s not in our P&L. What you do see in our P&L is the spending associated with creating energy around key sport moments, innovation launches. And I think, as Trevor noted, you will likely see a stark contrast from us, as compared to some of the dynamics in North America. And then internationally, again, where we have tremendous momentum, we’ll continue to invest to fuel that growth and equity in our brand.

Trevor Edwards

Management

Yes. And obviously, you’ve got great sporting events coming out. You’ve also got the World Cup coming up in the back-end of the year. So, you can expect that consumers will absolutely feel the impact of our brand, as the balance – as we go through the balance of the year and beyond.

Nitesh Sharan

Management

Thank you, Simeon. I think, that’s all the time we have today. Thank you all for joining us. We look forward to speaking to you again in another month at our Investor Day. Thank you.

Operator

Operator

This concludes today’s conference call. You may now disconnect.