Companies and Brands

Nike Unveils the Future of Sport

Chris Lange

Published: March 16, 2016 4:07 pm

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 11:51 am

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) is taking steps as the world’s largest and most innovative sports brand to pioneer new technology in all sports. A recent release from the company highlighted a groundbreaking “adaptive lacing” platform, as well as a football (soccer) technology that separates mud from cleats and transformations in celebrated innovations like Nike Air and Nike Flyknit that the company says reinvented modern footwear design.

These innovations were debuted with the new Nike+ app, the all-access pass for athletes “to reach their potential.” The app connects athletes with Nike’s most-coveted products and services in a simple, seamless way.

The new Nike+ delivers a personal store, on-demand coaching and the best of Nike. These features are accessed through a personal feed that recommends products tailored to consumers, coaching for all levels that adapts to users’ performance and schedule, and a connection to the endless motivation found in the world of Nike’s in-person experiences.

Mark Parker, president and CEO of Nike, commented:

Today showcases a breadth of innovation that only Nike can deliver. It represents a fundamental shift in how we serve the athlete. We’ve entered a new era of personalized performance. Athletes want more than a dashboard and data – they want a more personal relationship, one that gives them real solutions and total access to the best product and services.

Nike listed details of its new groundbreaking products as follows:

Nike HyperAdapt 1.0: Ushering in this new era of personalized performance, HyperAdapt is the first-ever step in the concept of “adaptive lacing.” … The Nike HyperAdapt 1.0 will be exclusively available to purchase through the new Nike+ app.

Nike Air VaporMax Flyknit: Since the advent of the Air platform 40 years ago, designers required foam and rubber to separate the Air and the foot for support and traction purposes. No longer. Today, thanks to years of research, these barriers can be removed to create maximum feel and efficiency for runners.

Nike Anti-Clog Traction: Mud is the opponent of speed. Nike Anti-Clog Traction helps prevent mud from sticking to the bottom of football boots (cleats) with a new adaptive polymer. This premium traction helps players avoid the slips and excess weight that can separate victory from defeat by offering no distractions in all conditions.

Nike Flyknit: The Nike Flyknit platform continues to accelerate its power as it rewrites the rules of performance engineering. Today, Nike Flyknit is available in all sports for all athletes in all conditions, a quantum leap forward for a technology which four years ago launched solely for marathoners. The combinations of yarns and digital knitting techniques that make up Flyknit now offer athletes stronger and more weatherproof options.

Shares of Nike closed Wednesday up 0.8% at $61.86, with a consensus analyst price target of $71.09 and a 52-week trading range of $47.25 to $68.19.