When it comes to annual e-commerce growth, Nike Inc. still likes to “just do it.”
For the 2014 fiscal year ended May 31, Nike, No. 64 in the 2014 Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, reported another big year of growth in e-commerce revenue and promised more investment in online retailing and marketing.
For fiscal 2014 Nike reported:
- Global web sales increased 42%. Based on that metric and earlier web sales metrics disclosed by Nike, Internet Retailer estimates web sales to be about $767 million, up from $540 million in fiscal 2013.
- Total sales increased year over year 9.8% to $27.80 billion from $25.31 billion.
- Direct-to-consumer sales, which include e-commerce and company stores, increased 21.6% to $5.30 billion from $4.36 billion in fiscal 2013.
- Net income was $2.69 billion compared with $2.42 billion in the prior year.
- E-commerce accounted for 2.8% of all sales compared with 2.1% in fiscal 2013.
For the fourth quarter:
- Nike didn’t break out web sales or direct to consumer sales, but total sales increased 10.9% to $7.42 billion compared with $6.69 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013.
- Net income was $698 million compared with $662 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013.
In its recent year-end earnings call, CEO Mark Parker told Wall Street analysts that staying digitally connected to its global customer base is a corporate priority. “Our drive to innovate extends beyond product into areas such as digital,” Parker told analysts. “Our consumers expect us to be digitally connected as they are, making digital one of my top priorities for the company.”
Without providing details Parker also noted that Nike continues to work to tie together all its Internet, e-commerce and mobile commerce assets. “We are building an integrated system of digital services that will provide seamless access to our products, a full array of services and the most advanced digital tools to measure, motivate and inspire,” Parker told analysts. “Delivered with the soul of sport, this will be the digital platform for lifetime consumer relationships and our goal is to grow the Nike+ community from tens of millions to hundreds of millions of members.”
Nike also will continue to invest heavily in e-commerce, though Parker didn’t disclose details. “In e-commerce, we have made significant investments in infrastructure, capabilities and geographic expansion to provide a better experience,” Parker said. “We know that when consumers shop online, they want a seamless, premium experience, and that’s our goal for Nike.com.”
The online retail business was robust for Nike in fiscal 2014. “Our efforts are paying off. Our online business grew over 40% in fiscal ‘14, with the growth rate accelerating every quarter throughout the year,” Parker said.
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