MEDIA COMMENTARY
5 Oct 2026
DJM Consulting CEO examines Nike, Adidas and the changing rules of brand relevance in China
Campaign Asia-Pacific featured Deric Wong, CEO of DJM Consulting, in its latest Brand Health Check exploring whether Nike can stage an Adidas-style comeback in China.
The article examines Nike’s efforts to rebuild its Greater China business as stronger domestic competitors, changing consumer expectations and a more demanding retail environment reshape the sportswear market.
Can Nike recover in China?
Rather than measuring Nike against its former market dominance, Deric reframed the question around the operating model and consumer proposition required to regain relevance.
“Former dominance is the wrong benchmark; earned relevance is the new one.”
Nike remains one of the world’s most recognised sports brands, but recognition alone no longer guarantees consumer preference in China. The deeper challenge is not whether Chinese consumers can find Nike, but whether they continue to see the brand as distinctive, desirable and worth paying full price for.
Nike is reducing its exposure to partner-operated online stores as part of a wider effort to address discounting, restore pricing discipline and rebuild its premium positioning. A cleaner marketplace may help, but fewer consumer touchpoints will not automatically generate stronger demand.
“Adidas became special again. Nike is trying to become cleaner. Cleaner is not the same as special,” Deric noted. Restricting availability can support premiumisation only when the product itself justifies the premium: “Scarcity only creates value when the product creates desire.”
Nike can recover, but its future China business may be smaller and more focused—built around category authority rather than the breadth it enjoyed during its period of market dominance.
What did Adidas change in China?
Adidas’s recovery was not driven by localisation as a marketing message alone. It gave its China operation greater influence over product development, commercial decisions, partnerships, pace and routes to market.
“Adidas changed who decides, not just what gets designed.”
This authority enabled the China business to respond more quickly to consumer behaviour and cultural trends while maintaining a broad presence across the platforms and retail environments where Chinese consumers shop.
Nike is following a different path. It is investing in local product creation and regional talent while simultaneously centralising control over distribution. This creates a tension between adapting what the company sells and retaining global control over how and where it is sold.
“The risk is that Nike localises the product but not the commercial model.”
The Adidas experience suggests that succeeding in China may require international companies to accept that their local operations will not always look or behave like those in other markets. Localisation becomes meaningful when market teams have the authority to make decisions, rather than simply the responsibility to execute them.
Can Nike localise without losing its global identity?
Operational autonomy is only part of the equation. Adidas also demonstrated that stronger cultural relevance does not require a global brand to surrender its identity.
Its China-inspired products retain recognisable Adidas design codes while expressing Chinese cultural references through local creativity and storytelling.
“Adidas did not become a Chinese brand; it became an Adidas that understands China.”
The same test now confronts Nike. China-specific products must reinforce the qualities that make Nike distinctive rather than position it as a more expensive version of a domestic competitor.
The rise of Guochao—the national trend movement—does not mean Chinese consumers automatically reject international brands. It means those brands must now compete against domestic companies that have improved rapidly in technology, product quality, pricing, cultural understanding and speed to market.
For Nike, the opportunity lies in protecting its global authority in performance, particularly across basketball, running and tennis, while expressing that authority through Chinese athletes and sporting communities.
“The real test is not whether localisation can save Nike, but whether it can localise without diluting its core assets.”
Local relevance should demonstrate that Nike understands Chinese consumers while ensuring the brand remains recognisably Nike.
What can global brands learn from Nike and Adidas in China?
Taken together, the experiences of Nike and Adidas reveal several broader considerations for international brands seeking to build long-term relevance in China:
Global reputation no longer guarantees local relevance.
Localisation must extend beyond communications into product and commercial decision-making.
Premium positioning must be supported by products and experiences that justify the premium.
Local teams need meaningful authority to respond to changing market conditions.
Cultural relevance should strengthen—not dilute—a brand’s distinctive global assets.
Distribution strategy must reflect how and where Chinese consumers actually shop.
These considerations sit at the intersection of China market strategy, corporate positioning, strategic communications and cross-border growth.
The Campaign Asia-Pacific feature was written by Matthew Keegan, with contributions from Marielle Descalsota, and includes perspectives from marketing and brand experts across China and Asia Pacific.
Read the full article on Campaign Asia-Pacific (subscription required).
Sources and further reading
Deric’s commentary drew on recent company disclosures and reporting concerning Nike’s Greater China performance, local product strategy and online distribution:
China Daily: Nike Bets on Local Innovation for China Comeback
Citi Analysis of Nike’s Online Distribution Changes in China
Related commentary
Deric previously contributed to Campaign Asia’s Brand Health Check on Adidas’s resurgence in China, examining how local autonomy, operational flexibility, cultural relevance and community-led marketing contributed to the brand’s recovery.
Read DJM Consulting’s summary of Deric’s Adidas China commentary
Original Campaign Asia's coverage: English edition | 中文版本