Erling Haaland shows all is not lost for Nike

Erling Haaland shows all is not lost for Nike as the sportswear brand faces a World Cup marketing setback despite strong sales momentum. Nike missed the final that it was expected to dominate, with Spain and Argentina wearing Adidas’ three-stripe kits. Nike leadership, including Camilo Andrade in a company memo, acknowledged the outcome was “not what we dreamed,” while Adidas is set to cite competitive advantages when it announces second-quarter earnings next week. Adidas expects World Cup-linked sales around €1.5 billion ($1.7 billion), up from roughly €1 billion, selling about four times as many jerseys as in 2022 and twice as many balls. In Launchmetrics data, Adidas generated $129.5 million in brand value versus Nike’s $119.3 million, though Nike sold twice as many national-team kits as in 2022.