Nike recently had its investor meeting to outline all the successes, failures and future of the Swoosh going forward. In between all the numbers and figures, like the $50 billion in revenue by 2020 goal, were some interesting takeaways about how Nike is going to continue to, well, kill shit. Sole Collector went through it all to grab a few good ones, but one in particular stuck out. It's about how we perceive a particular item being better, worth more money or "more premium," as Nike would call it, than another. Nike is trying to figure out the science behind how it prices something in comparison with its competitors and how it can make the customer see its products as better. A big factor in all this? Thumbholes. Yeah, thumbholes. Jeanne Jackson, Nike's president of distribution and merchandising, said on the topic:
You have this belief, and you price it at what you believe the consumer will pay. We're getting a little bit more scientific about it. We're spending time doing deep analysis. We recently just did one on shorts, where we literally looked at every short in our competitive space, did price value equity studies with the consumers, had them tell us what do you think this one's worth versus this one, what details on the shorts -- make it worth more. An interesting one on tops is we suddenly discovered in tops that if a top has a thumbhole in it, the consumer perceives it is a premium top. So we're getting a little bit more scientific about what those features and benefits are that the consumer will perceive as worth more money.
Perhaps it's all connected to our inner desire to be a ninja, but it's pretty interesting that anything with a thumbhole seems like it should command more of your money.
