A Nike and Athleta store.
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Gap Athlete caught the head of Nike The women’s company in North America as a following CEO, giving a blow to the company of sneakers when it tries to win back more buyers.
Maggie Gauger, who has spent more than 20 years in Nike, is the third CEO hired to direct athletics in the past two years while the drop in sales of the female athlerization brand. She will replace Chris Blakeslee, the former director of Alo Yoga who was hired to replace Mary Beth Laughton in 2023.
Under the direction of Blakeslee, athletics has teamed up with high -level athletes such as the swimmer Katie Ledecky and the star of the WNBA Kate Martin, and conquered new buyers with different types of products. However, the strategy has not resulted in the existing athlete clientele. For four in the last six quarters, brand income and comparable sales have dropped, which resulted in the drop in the overall performance of his parent company.
“Over the past two years, Chris has led the first stages of athletics reset, recenting the brand to be won with an innovative performance product and to refine the brand’s point of view, helping to position Athleta for the future,” said Gap CEO Richard Dickson, in a press release.
“We are delighted that Maggie Gauger joins as a CEO of athletics while we are looking to accelerate the brand’s reinvigoration. Maggie Blends proven commercial transformation capacities, a centricity of deep consumers, a mastery of products and a sincere commitment to allow women and girls of growth.”
Gauger’s decision to become the next athlete CEO is a big victory for a brand so squarely focused on buyers, but a major loss for Nike at a pivotal time for the sneakers.
Since Elliott Hill took the lead of Nike last fall, he made the company of women a central element of his strategy when he has been working to overthrow the business and put it up.
In his first announcement of the Super Bowl in decades, Nike has targeted female athletes in his “So Win” campaign. He later announced that he would be a partner with the active lines of Kim Kardashian, because he seemed to have an advantage over competitors such as Athlema, Alo Yoga and Vuori.
Nike previously said that around 40% of its customers are women, but most clothing brands prefer to have more consumers than men because they tend to buy more and spend more in clothes. In addition, the gap between the sexes gave the competitors of Nike a foot in the athletics clothing sector, which could be a field of growth for the company.
Gauger was responsible for filling this gap between the sexes on the most important market in Nike, but now this work will fall to a new leader, adding another transitional layer at a vulnerable moment for the company.
However, the company’s leadership bench is still well stacked. Amy Mountain, the current president of Nike, was previously at the head of the brand’s world division and has been part of the retailer for 20 years.
Gauger should assume the new role on August 1 and Blakeslee will remain as an advisor to “support a smooth transition,” the company said in a press release. Nike did not respond to the request for CNBC comments.