How Nike lost its footing

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Welcome back to our Sunday edition. This is Matt Turner, back in your inbox after a fulfilling and exhausting period of parental leave.?

What a week to return to work: I started back just in time for a big RTO announcement from Amazon, a new crypto venture from former President Donald Trump, a jumbo rate cut from the Fed, a major shakeup at Nike, and a new iPhone launch. There’s now just 43 days until the US election.

You can keep up to date with all the latest business news (and get your Dan DeFrancesco fix) in our weekday edition, or check out our homepage or download our app.?

I’ll be here on the weekend to break down some of the biggest stories in business and help you get ahead.

This week’s dispatch

Nike’s airball

It’s been a rough few years for the home of the Swoosh.?

The sports giant has seen declining sales, cost cutting, and a stock price that’s down sharply from its 2021 highs. Attempts to go direct to consumers rather than via retailers showed mixed results, while it’s faced more competition in China.?

Arguably worse than that, Nike lost its role as chief purveyor of cool. Asics, New Balance, Hoka, On, and others have stolen a stride in the sneaker business. And Nike’s efforts to expand its lifestyle business have missed the mark.?

Now it’s hoping a new CEO can help get it back on track. The Oregon-based company last week announced Elliott Hill would return to the company as CEO, replacing John Donahue. One analyst said his appointment would drive an “immediate morale boost.”

Nike’s stock price popped on the news. Investors are hoping for a change in form.

RIP, remote work

Amazon officially put the kibosh on remote work, announcing that all corporate workers must return to the office five days a week starting in January. In a memo, CEO Andy Jassy said the company was returning to how "we were before the onset of COVID."?

An internal "Frequently Asked Questions" document, obtained by Business Insider, outlined how the RTO plan will work. According to the brief, Amazon also ended a policy that gave employees the option to work up to four weeks per year fully remote.

See all the details from the internal doc.

Also read:

• Amazon employees blast new RTO policy in internal messages: 'Can I negotiate my manager to PIP me?'
• Amazon's strict new RTO rule creates an awkward situation for One Medical
• I work at Amazon, and I plan on 'coffee badging' instead of working from the office 5 days a week

More of this week’s top reads:

• Inside Amazon's new AI-sales machine: More pressure, more pay, more speed.?
• Introducing the hottest new dating app: Instagram?
• How stretch limos went from cool to Craigslist junk.
• Silicon Valley is giving 2021 vibes, with AI startups raising back-to-back funding rounds.
• OpenAI and Anthropic AI bots wreak havoc and raise costs for websites.
• Trump's crypto allies boast lavish lifestyles amid a trail of debts.
• The illegal maneuvers the rich use to get richer.?
• Go behind the scenes with the reporter who uncovered the RFK Jr./Olivia Nuzzi story.

Curated by Matt Turner and edited by Jordan Parker Erb.

This is a shorter version of our flagship newsletter, which brings you in-depth analysis and summaries of the top stories from Wall Street to Silicon Valley.

Sign up here to get the full Insider Today in your inbox every day.