Roger Federer believes his personal RF line will make a comeback as part of the Uniqlo collection.GETTY IMAGES
In the "cutthroat world of celebrity athlete endorsement," Nike has been "served the equivalent of an ace by Japanese fast-fashion retailer Uniqlo," according to Peter Wells of the FINANCIAL TIMES. Nike was "among the biggest decliners" in the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Monday as it "surrendered some of last week's strong share price gains" and investors "digested news" that Roger Federer ended his "longstanding relationship" with it in favor of an apparel deal with Uniqlo reportedly worth more than $300M. Plenty of air "had been pumped into Nike's share price," which leapt 11.1% on Friday to a record high after the Oregon-based group revealed sales in North America "turned positive in its fiscal fourth quarter." Uniqlo is "not best known for its sportswear offerings," but the signing of Federer, arguably one of the most recognizable faces in global sport, "could give the line a bigger boost than the company's previous signings." Edward Jones retail analyst Brian Yarbrough said that although Federer "might be a big name in sport," tennis apparel and footwear is a "drop in the bucket" for Nike. The company's "bread and butter are things like running, basketball and football" (FT, 7/2). USA TODAY's Sandra Harwitt reported Federer's personal -- "and popular with fans" -- RF monogrammed line is gone, "at least temporarily." However, Federer "believes the RF brand will make a powerful comeback as part of the Uniqlo collection." He said, "The RF logo is with Nike at the moment, but it will come to me at some point. I hope rather sooner than later, that Nike can be nice and helpful in the process to bring it over to me." On Monday, Federer "donned a simple white outfit," with "plans to up the clothing game in the pipeline." Federer: "Obviously we need to figure out with Uniqlo at what point we can start selling clothes for the public as well" (USA TODAY, 7/2). In N.Y., Perrotta & Germano reported Nike "sponsors hundreds of athletes around the world, but went to great lengths to honor" Federer's success, designing a sneaker in collaboration with Michael Jordan and "naming a walkway on Nike's campus in his honor" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 7/2).
