Interview with Gareth Pope (Nike)

05 May 2008

Get ready snowboarding, here comes The Swoosh. Just as in skateboarding, there’s a chance that within a couple of years their percentage of shelf space will surprise more than a few. The man in charge on this side of the pond is Gareth Pope and Source caught up with him just before he left for a few days of shreddin’ in Chamonix to find out more about what to expect in both snow and skate. Interview by Trey Cook.

What is your background?
I was born in Australia so I hold that love for surfing. I had one parent Australian and one British so I was back and forth between Australia and the UK, educated in the UK. I worked in finance for a while, followed by consulting - didn’t really like either so I came to Nike by following my passion for sports. I pretty much play anything! So I came to Nike five years ago and this [GM Outdoor & Action Sports] is my third job here.

Do you represent Nike and ACG?
Yeah, ACG and Action Sports for Europe. ACG is the outdoor brand and we are building a number of brands under a division called Action Sports. Within Action Sports, Nike SB is the pinnacle skate brand, and Nike 6.0 is the multi action sport brand.

So what is ACG’s commitment to snowboarding?
ACG is definitely an outdoor brand so we talk about the trail business being a 12-month business and in autumn/holiday we focus on snow and in spring/summer we focus on water. For us, ‘snow’ is not snowboard per se, it’s snow. We have the same philosophy as any of our sports, we’re not trying to deliver pure, pure snowboard product. Basically, our point of view is a fresh take on ‘snow’ that is meant to be crossover product that can be used for skiing and snowboarding.

So what does Nike give back to snowboarding?
Nike ACG has been around for almost 20 years and over that time we have supported snowboarding through event sponsorship, teams (and riders) and magazines. In terms of riders and our commitment to the industry we will be focusing on a team that will focus be more and more on that backcountry/freeskiing/freeride mentality with the idea that the brands that we build in action sports will move towards the park. In this way we can really focus on and support the different aspects of the industry.

I’ve heard Nike is launching snowboard product in the States but not in Europe?
Coming autumn/holiday ’08 (this upcoming winter), we’ll be launching boots and apparel under a separate brand, Nike Snowboard. Right now it’s a small package similar to Nike SB with a similar philosophy; really tight, limited assortment, one boot at this point, four or five pieces of apparel in men’s and women’s, directed at the core snowboarder. It will be launching in the US with the idea it will come to Europe, we just don’t know the exact date yet.

So if a European retailer really wants to get their hands on it, will that be possible?
They can go buy it in the US. It will definitely come, it’s just a question of time. It’s definitely not going to be this autmunall/holiday, but some time in the not too distant future.

Can we expect boards as well?
Right now it’s purely boots and apparel, no boards or bindings. There will be some bags and so forth but at this point there’s no hardware. Nike snowboard will always be limited in the same sense that Nike SB is. That sort of premium, limited brand that doesn’t have huge reach, that’s really meant to be core, park-focused, high-quality premium product.

Who’s behind Nike Snowboard?
The same guys who have developed Nike SB and Nike 6.0 have worked on Nike Snowboard. In addition, we’ve got quite a few pro-riders who have come in and worked with us as well as a few people from the Burtons and Volcoms of the world.

I think many people were amazed at how Nike SB came in and swept up so many retailers’ shelf space.
Yeah, it’s done very well for us and we’re very happy about the way SB has developed. Our learnings from the past have been, if you’re going to do something, commit to it and do it right. Don’t do it halfway or it’s a recipe for disaster. That’s why we’re sort of holding back on Nike Snowboard – we want to do it, we know people want it but let’s make sure we’re ready and do it right rather than do it too early and miss the ball.

Based on that do you think Nike Snowboard will take snowboarding like SB did skateboarding?
I guess that would be the goal to some extent. We’ve been in Europe with Nike SB for five years already and we’ve purposely done it slowly in Nike terms. I don’t feel like we want to come in and say to our competition, ‘see you later, we’re the new kids on the block.’ It’s very much an idea that we’re going to start slowly and build it organically. I’d say it’s more of a slow burn.

What’s new at ACG and Action Sports?
There’s definitely more shoes. In outdoor, you look around and all the brands are very, very technical and that’s the ticket to play in that game. What we’re trying to do in ACG is bring Nike style and Nike DNA to a technical category. On the flip side, action sports is all about style, credibility and the look. We are trying to bring that into a performance and technical piece, because in footwear that’s certainly our heritage. That’s what we’re trying to do with Nike SB for example, to take that a step further in terms of performance and innovation and that’s what we can do and where a lot of our competition struggles. In Spring for example, you’ll see the Tre AD shoe which builds on the success of the Zoom Tre and takes another step in solving the age old durability problem for skaters.

You talk about performance but there’s no question that our market is heavily driven by marketing. Any new marketing initiatives?
We definitely play SB and 6.0 side by side. SB is premium and limited, 6.0 is for broader access. The goal of SB is still to keep things very core, very premium and not go too broad. In terms of the marketing focus, it will still be to support our riders, make sure we’re involved in local events and work with our retail partners. Nike 6.0 is a little broader and that’s the brand we’ll be building across Europe. We have a team of riders in most countries, next generation kids so 10-to-18 years olds, BMX, surf, snowboard, wakeboard - these multi action sports kids are the focus of the brand across Europe. We treat this youth team like other brands treat their pro team so it will be fascinating to see what these kids go on to achieve.

How do you think the marketing of SB and 6.0 has differed from your
competitors?
Good question. I guess coming out as Nike we have a huge heritage in marketing our brands and products, so the team we’ve used is a fusion of skate industry veterans and Nike veterans, the two together has resulted in a slightly different take on how you market. I think one thing we do perhaps better than most is consistency of our messaging. We have a very strong sense of what 6.0 is or SB is and every communication we do whether it’s retail, riders, branding or product all fits together and that’s what I sometimes see missing from other brands. You see one ad and you see another ad and you sometimes question whether it’s the same brand.

With the skate and snow markets a little flat right now do you have any ideas for retailers to help their businesses?
Buy more Nike stuff (laughs). That will solve their problems over night.

From the boardsports retail you’ve seen...
There’s definitely better and worse executions and again it may sound like typical marketing drivel but the key for retail success is similar to that for us to be successful -knowing everything you can about your consumer. So for us, that surfer, that skater, the person who plays outdoors;you have to know that person inside out – what they are, what they want, where they want to go, what they want to do, etc. Then make product that speaks to them. The biggest trouble I have with some retail is when you walk in and you get the sense they don’t have any idea who their consumer is and they’re trying to appeal to too big a cross section of consumers. As a retailer, you should have a laser sharp focus of who your customer is and do everything with that in mind. A lot (of (retailers) are trying to capture a bit of everything and are doing nothing particularly well.

Couldn’t it be said that Nike’s success has come from speaking to many different consumers?
No, I’d say it’s the opposite. I’d say Nike’s success has come from understanding the myriad of consumers who are out there and identifying the core ones and speaking directly to those. You don’t have to be a core football player to enjoy a Ronaldinho spot but it’s done with a 16-year-old, football-crazy kid in mind because that’s the core consumer and it’s 100% what he wants. And although it may appeal to younger and older, it starts and ends with that core consumer.

So the key is to look at a broad group, athletes, and be able to break that down into subsets.
Exactly. A lot of skaters will surf and that’s the point of Nike 6.0 but Nike SB will only ever speak to skaters and you have to be a core, core skater to be able to really get it on an emotional level. That guy that skates once a week kinda gets it and sees it’s good product but we don’t worry too much about that because if that core skater thinks it’s cool and it’s the best product for him, then everyone else will probably think that too. It’s very much the Nike way of doing things. Begin with the end in mind, start with the consumer, and that’s kind of the bedrock for everything. Another key aspect we talk about is ‘product being king’ and that’s ultimately what we are. If you take away everything, what we’re doing is selling a product and if that product is not the best in the market then you should question why you develop it.

If you had €10,000 to invest in action sports what would you do?
Buy a lot of Nike SBs and resell them. (Laughs). Good question. I’d probably take a play on a niche brand that’s got legs. If you had a bit more money, say €100,000, I do think there’s an opportunity for a true pan-European action sports retailer or at least a national chain. There are no pan-European retailers, like a Zumiez or a Pac-Sun, there’s no real category killer like that in Europe. I think it hasn’t happened because it’s still a relatively small business and I think also this challenge of being too generalist, being everything to everyone. Appealing to a surfer, a snowboarder and a skater is a hard formula to get right but I think there is a huge opportunity if someone does get it right.

What is Nike’s retail strategy?
We have thought about our own retail as a lot of brands have done but right now we don’t plan to go with our own retail in outdoor or action sports.

What’s important?
From a philosophical point of view, the thing is to be happy in whatever you do whether it’s personal life or work - you’ve got to be happy in whatever you’re doing. From a business point of view, importance, I think, is doing
something right. Again, if you decide to do something do it correctly, don’t
mess around. If you’re going to do something, do it well.