Colin Kaepernick became the face of Nike’s 30th anniversary Just Do It campaign in September. Many praised the move to highlight the quarterback despite the fact that he is still unable to find a job in the National Football League, while others were critical of Nike for employing Kaepernick after he started his campaign to raise awareness of oppression against people of color.
Worries and outrage about Nike supporting Kaepernick made headlines when the ad was announced, and stories about people burning Nike shoes or cutting the logo out of apparel made the rounds as well. But the apparent boycott critics of the quarterback said would come to Nike apparently haven’t hurt the company’s bottom line.
Just three months after that campaign, Nike reported record sales in all categories according to CNBC.
Nike said revenue grew in nearly every category, with footwear and apparel seeing growth in the double digits globally. Digital sales led growth across both the Nike and Converse brands.
The Jordan brand, which includes both footwear and apparel, saw sales return to growth during the quarter. Fresh designs and collaborations drove that growth for the iconic franchise, the company said.
CNBC noted that Nike didn’t mention the Kaepernick ad directly, but as the Daily Beast noted, many pundits were skeptical that the ad would help boost sales, and some predicted disaster for Nike taking a stand by supporting Kaepernick’s message. CNBC pointed out that Nike’s stock, while up 8 percent, is not outperforming other competitors like Under Armour and Lululemon, but its $110.5 billion market value is still much larger than those companies and the company seems thrilled with how the ad has performed.
