Nike boss John Donahoe blames WFH for first sales slump in two years saying: 'Turns out it's really hard to develop a boldly disruptive shoe on Zoom'

The boss of Nike has slammed remote working and blamed the shoemaker's first sales slump in over two years on staff not being in the office.

Nike, along with many corporations, continued with a work from home policy long after Covid restrictions were lifted and lockdown had ended. 

John Donahoe has admitted it is 'really hard to do bold, disruptive innovation, to develop a boldly disruptive shoe, on Zoom'.

He said the company, which has experienced its first quarterly revenue decline in nearly two years, realized innovation had been lacking at the firm after teams returned to in-person work some 18 months ago.

The CEO's remarks come after boss of JD Sports, Regis Schultz, last month blamed Nike's lack of product innovation for weaker sales.

Nike has experienced its first quarterly revenue decline in nearly two years, which CEO John Donahoe blamed on the firm's former work from home policy

John Donahoe, pictured Friday on CNBC, has admitted that it is 'really hard to do bold, disruptive innovation, to develop a boldly disruptive shoe, on Zoom'

Donahoe, speaking to CNBC on Friday, said the firm was missing the 'bold, disruptive innovation that Nike's known for' and that a review of the situation revealed the reason for the creative decline was 'fairly straightforward'.

'We realigned our company, and over the last year we have been ruthlessly focused on rebuilding our disruptive innovation pipeline along with our iterative innovation pipeline,' Donahoe, 63, said. 

'So the pipeline is as strong as ever.'

He said Nike is hoping to showcase its new approach this summer when top athletes will be sporting its shoes and apparel during the Olympics in Paris. 

'We've done more to advance running than any brand in the world over the last 50 years and we continue to lead with elite runners,' he said, noting that there will be a range within the new kit that athletes can choose to wear during the games. 

However, Nike's kits have already faced public backlash with some alleging the designs are a little too bold. 

At least one competitor has voiced concerns that they are too skimpy to protect the modesty of female athletes. 

Nike is hoping to showcase its new approach to innovation this summer when top athletes will be sporting its shoes and apparel during the Olympics in Paris. Pictured is the Nike Alphafly 3 running shoe during the Olympics products launch last week

However, Nike's Olympics kits (pictured) have already faced public backlash with some alleging the designs are a little too bold. At least one competitor has voiced concerns that they are too skimpy to protect the modesty of female athletes

Nike last month posted a near 1 per cent decline in its third-quarter revenue, marking the first sales slump in seven quarters.

The company's Nike's revenues were virtually flat over the three months to February 29, rising from $12.39billion to $12.43billion year on year.

The sluggish performance has led to a drop in shares which are down by some 26 percent over the past year.

Working from home has emerged as a prominent culture war since the pandemic forced millions of employees to shift their office set-ups overnight. 

Now, as corporations have called employees back into the office, executives are criticizing the work from home phenomenon.

Wall Street stalwart Jamie Dimon has been one of the biggest critics of remote work. 

Last year, he told The Economist he did not see how managers could work from home, adding: 'I don't know how you can be a leader and not be completely accessible to your people.'

Pictured: Anna Cockrell at the Nike Air Innovation Summit held at the Palais Brongniart on April 11, 2024 in Paris, France

Elon Musk condemned remote working as being 'morally wrong', while Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle said it made people 'lazy'. 

In April, a memo circulated JPMorgan Chase ordering all senior bankers to return to the office five days a week.

Other bank CEOs have been similarly disparaging about the trend.

Morgan Stanley CEO James Gormon said remote work is 'not an employee choice' while Goldman Sachs boss David Solomon called it an 'aberration.'