Nike’s “renewed push to boost its direct-to-consumer sales" has "smaller athletic retailers feeling squeezed,” according to Sara Germano of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Many "mom-and-pop sneaker shops find little reason to cheer” with reports of Nike's booming business, as they are “already struggling with the expansion of online sales and industry consolidation." These independent sportswear companies "now worry that they may not be able to compete toe-to-toe with vendors, such as Nike.” Business on Nike.com rose 50% for the quarter that ended Nov. 30, while all direct sales jumped 26%. It is “part of a larger endeavor by the company for direct sales to grow faster than wholesale.” Nike “projects the segment will more than double” by '20 to $16B and “account for a third of revenue, up from roughly a fifth today.” DC-based Potomac River Running co-Owner Ray Pugsley said that as Nike "ramps up its direct-sales business, he is seeing other brands in the sportswear industry, like Brooks and Saucony, attempt to follow suit.” Pugsley: “They’ll tell us with a straight face that online sales really (don't) do that much volume and it is to increase awareness of the brand, that we shouldn’t be afraid." Pugsley added, "Time will tell whether that is a good story to put us at ease, or whether it could be the truth” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 12/28).
