New York
CNN
—
The eagerly anticipated collaboration between Kim Kardashian and Nike has delayed its launch.
NikeSkims, which was announced in February for a spring release, is pushing back its launch date because of production delays, according to a source familiar with the situation. A new date hasn’t been revealed.
The collection is an extension of Kardashian’s popular shapewear line and aimed at disrupting the “global fitness and activewear industry with best-in-class innovation in service of all women athletes,” according to a previous press release.
Few details about NikeSkims have been made available, including pricing and images. The webpage hasn’t been updated since the original announcement.
The Kardashian-backed collection with Skims is a first for Nike, which hasn’t partnered with an outside company before to create a new brand. Instead, it has relied on acquisitions or tapping popular athletes (i.e. Michael Jordan) for apparel.
Broadening the appeal of Nike is part of CEO Elliott Hill’s plan to revive the troubled company, whose stock has dropped 20% this year. In recent years, the company has lost its competitive edge in the activewear category against Lululemon, Alo and even Old Navy.
Nike recently announced hiked prices on some of its products, although it didn’t mention higher US tariffs as the reason. The company said in a previous statement that “we regularly evaluate our business and make pricing adjustments as part of our seasonal planning.”
The company is also trying to recover from strategy mistakes. It is scaling back the supply of its classic sneaker lines Air Force 1 and Pegasus to juice demand in order to sell the sneakers at full prices. Nike also wants to push shoppers to buy higher-priced Air Max shoes designed for running.
Nike (NKE) releases earnings next Thursday.
