Nike Steps Up Production, Increasing Vietnam Investments

Nike received good news from its Vietnamese subcontractors as it announced an increasingly rare retail partnership.

The subcontractors Nike and other leading shoe brands depend on have reopened in Vietnam. Around 70-80% of the factory workforce have returned in the country’s southern regions.

The Pou Chen Corp., a major Nike manufacturing partner, initially had only 20-30% of its workforce return when factories reopened in October, creating a shortage of around 40,000 workers. Pou Chen closed its Ho Chi Minh City factory in July due to rising COVID-19 cases.

Nike plans to invest further into production in Vietnam, according to a Vietnamese government website.

In the U.S., Nike continues to reconfigure how it sells its shoes and apparel.

• On Wednesday, the company announced a partnership with Dick’s Sporting Goods that will link their membership programs and put exclusive Nike shoes and apparel for sale on Dick’s website.
• Eventually, the two companies could team up to offer in-person workouts and allow customers to pick up and return Nike orders at Dick’s stores.
• Nike has been cutting off relationships with other third-party retailers to focus on direct-to-consumer sales.

Wholesale accounted for 61% of the Nike brand’s total sales of $42.3 billion in the fiscal year ending May 31, down from 65% the previous year.