Nike Raises Prices Across Core Categories As CEO Hill's Turnaround Plan Nears One-Year Mark

(RTTNews) - Over the course of the last year, Nike Inc. has raised prices for all of its footwear, clothing, and equipment lines as part of CEO Elliott Hill's turnaround plan and in response to growing international tariffs on goods manufactured in Asia.

Prices for footwear increased 17 percent, clothing increased 14%, and equipment and protection products increased 18 percent across roughly 3,300 SKUs between September 2024 and September 2025, according to DataWeave.

Price increases started to pick up speed in early 2025, with footwear seeing double-digit increases and accessories and protective gear rising more than 10 percent in January.

According to DataWeave CEO Karthik Bettadapura, "this consistent upward movement indicates Nike is relying on pricing power in its core performance categories, even as external pressures like tariffs and channel shifts compress margins."

In order to preserve brand value, the company's strategy seems to be centered on selectively promoting certain products while keeping pricing discipline for its strongest offerings.

Nike's most recent quarter revealed unexpected growth following a steep drop in sales in 2024, indicating early success in Hill's turnaround strategy.

Nike, however, issued a warning about the weak holiday demand and the estimated $1.5 billion in tariffs that would reduce the company's gross margin by 1.2 percentage points in fiscal 2026.

Nike has also been frontloading imports to mitigate the effects of tariffs; according to Panjiva data, the majority of its 2025 supply chain is made up of shipments from China, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

Price increases are seen by some analysts as a purposeful margin-protection tactic, while others, like former Walmart CEO Bill Simon, have questioned whether they accurately reflect tariff costs.