Nike To Focus On Womens Ranges

Nike is to look at new strategies for selling and marketing its product to women. The company has started mailing catalogs for its female clothing line, called Nikewomen, to some 600,000 residences. It has also begun to overhaul the nikewomen.com Web site to feature the clothing as well as highlight new workout trends.

Darcy Winslow, general manager for women's fitness sports at Nike, said the new strategy acknowledged that fitness classes have as much appeal as, say, basketball, and that many women want to wear athletic clothing outside the gym, as men have for years. "Few people today, especially women, look at fitness and sports as this regimented portion of their life. Women see working out as melding into the rest of their lives," she said, adding "We used to look at the gym through one lens."

Women consumers say they are less drawn to advertising campaigns built around hero worship, despite the growth of women's sports and expensive contracts to athletes like Mia Hamm and Serena Williams. Nike is not alone in this venture. Adidas Salomon recently signed up the fashion designer Stella McCartney to create a line of workout wear that includes running singlets that would work as streetwear. Reebok International has signed the actress Christina Ricci to be a model for them as many companies merge sports, fashion and entertainment.

"Nike has a tougher time than Reebok or Adidas because of their heritage," he said. "The perception of most consumers and retailers is that Nike is all about performance and sports." "Certainly, it has to look fabulous, but it also has to have a performance capability," said Mindy F. Grossman, vice president of global apparel. The Nikewomen line also arises from the growing importance of apparel to Nike's business.

For the fiscal year that ended May 31, 2004, sales of apparel - for both men and women - increased 6 percent in the United States, to $1.4 billion, while footwear sales rose only 2 percent, to $3.07 billion, according to company reports.