Nike Doubles Down on Its Consumer Direct Offense Strategy

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) is doubling down on its new strategy of “Consumer Direct Offense” quite literally, making its second acquisition in a month. The apparel giant announced that it has acquired Invertex, a leading computer vision firm based in Tel Aviv. The acquisition price was not disclosed.

The team will focus on building groundbreaking innovations to help Nike serve millions of members around the globe. The idea is for Nike to get a running start on computer vision and artificial intelligence.

Nike had previously acquired a consumer data analytics firm, Zodiac, back in late March for an undisclosed sum.

Adam Sussman, Nike’s chief digital officer, commented:

The acquisition of Invertex will deepen our bench of digital talent and further our capabilities in computer vision and artificial intelligence as we create the most compelling Nike Consumer Experience at every touchpoint.

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David Bleicher, CEO of Invertex, added:

Nike’s connection to and understanding of their consumer is unsurpassed and we look forward to joining their team to help drive the Consumer Direct Offense.

The Consumer Direct Offense plan came out in the summer of 2017, and essentially it is leveraging the power of digital to drive growth in Nike through accelerating innovation and product creation. This also came at a time when Nike was realigning its corporate structure.

Over the past 52 weeks, Nike stock has outperformed the broad markets, rising 22%. In just 2018 alone, the stock is up over 7%.

Shares of Nike were last seen at $66.75, with a consensus analyst price target of $71.27 and a 52-week range of $50.35 to $70.25.

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