For a brand that is synonymous with the phrase, “Just Do It,” we are not shocked that Nike keeps pushing the nature of footwear. Amid all of the reduced revenues and intense competition, Nike’s design chief, Phil McCartney, is currently spearheading a reinvention that will change the sneaker industry.
The popular footwear brand is currently working on launching motorised shoes that could fundamentally change how we walk, run and think about athletes’ gear.
Nike’s motorized footwear system will help casual athletes and mobility-impaired people move quicker.
After several years of focusing more on lifestyle retro releases and less on breakthrough performance tech, the company’s revenue has continued to decline, spanning six quarters and a share value drop of almost 9% this year.
This led to Phil McCartney’s appointment as chief innovation, design and product officer in May to “fix one of Nike’s stalled development engines.”
Nike’s watchword has gone from “Just Do It” to “Create Epic Sh-t,” and Phi has overseen memorable innovations, with “Project Amplify” standing out. This project will deliver a powered footwear system that will help propel the wearer forward at each step, making walking or running become augmented. The prototypes presently look like “robot legs,” but the design is still evolving.
The company is not expecting “Project Amplify” to hit stores until 2028, but its potential impact is already the talk of the town.
Just imagine shoes that sense your gait, dynamically add power or assistance, decrease fatigue and aid longer distances? This is definitely a major shift from foam-based technology that the world is already used to.
“Make athletes better … If it’s not, we shouldn’t do it,” Phil said.
Poonam Goyal of Bloomberg Intelligence noted that shoppers have to resonate with a product to be interested in buying it.
“Innovation and product development are everything; they need products to resonate to get shoppers interested. Should they fail, the turnaround fails,” he added.
With a reduction in revenue and pressure from competitors like On and Hoka in running categories, Nike must fight to maintain its relevance on the track and in the marketplace.
