Nike’s NFT sales make it one of the most profitable fashion brands in the digital world

When non-perishable tokens (pronounced NFTs) – essentially certificates for digital or physical assets – were first introduced, the big brands stayed away. They didn’t start their own, buck the current trend (which is now a full-blown industry), or rush to retool what’s already been released with crypto benefits. People knew that one day Nike would become an NFT, but when Nike initially showed hesitation, many wondered if the brand and others of similar size would eventually all go in.

Then Nike started a lot of acquisitions – NFT technology companies, other NFT makers and so on. And although real-life apparel and shoes are still the behemoth’s main focus, NFTs are paying off, even if most consumers (including me) seem to remain skeptical.

Nike has invested $185.33 million in NFTs so far. Noah Levine Ranking the top earners of a place. Dolce & Gabbana ($25.65 million) took second; Tiffany ($12.62 million) finished third; And Gucci ($11.56 million) and Adidas ($10.95 million) claimed fourth and fifth, respectively.

But these brands aren’t doing NFTs for money… even though it would make them a hell of a lot.

Dune analysis

Remember, $185.33 million is only 0.3% of Nike’s total annual revenue. So, for example, the money Nike makes is not the main incentive to continue making or at least promoting NFTs (usually digital sneakers or apparel). Samuel Van Dezsays director of marketing strategy for Europe, Middle East and Asia markets at Oracle. “I’d argue it’s not the most important metric…the impact on overall brand awareness, engagement, loyalty and customer lifetime revenue are probably the biggest reasons brands invest here.”

Nike, Tiffany, Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana are technically not only early adopters now, especially if the NFT/crypto market starts to grow again like it was in 2021, but they are seeing incredible growth in NFTs as a trading tool. Nike recorded approximately 68,000 secondary transactions from NFTs, totaling more than $1.2 billion in secondary transactions. Here, that means someone went shopping with the intention of buying Nike NFT but wound up with Nike socks or a Nike T-shirt instead. For scale, Adidas, which is second only to Nike, does not even reach the size of second-tier Nike made from NFTs.

So far, even as we move from real life to the digital world, Nike seems to remain one of the biggest brands of all time. But it remains to be seen if it can keep the IP.