Nike CEO Mark Parker spoke to CNBC this morning live via satellite from Madrid, where the company was launching its "complete line" of soccer products. Parker: "We're seeing our (soccer) category continue to grow. We are the No. 1 (soccer) company in the world. … We feel that with the innovation that we're introducing around this World Cup that that's only going to get stronger and stronger." Parker noted Nike will have “more teams than anyone” in Brazil this summer, and "there is a price attached to that." He declined to put a dollar figure on the investment, but said, "It's significant."
Parker also addressed reports that Nike will shutter its wearable-hardware efforts. He said there has been "a lot of speculation" about the possibility of Nike and Apple bringing to market a collaborative device, but he would neither confirm nor deny that notion. Parker said Nike is "focusing more on the software side of the experience." Parker: “I think we will be part of wearables going forward. It will be integrated into other products that we create and then we'll look at expanding our partnerships to create more reach for the Nike Fuel and Fuel System that we have. It's really about actually expanding the reach of Nike Fuel and the best way to do that, we think, is through the best partnerships that we can find" ("Squawk on the Street," CNBC, 4/25).
