Nike Enters Metaverse With Virtual Shoe Company Acquisition

By way of expanding its metaverse footprint, sports apparel giant Nike has announced the acquisition of RTFKT Studios, a digital art studio focusing on sneaker-themed non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and collectibles on the Ethereum blockchain.

Nike Steps into the Metaverse

According to Nike CEO and president John Donahoe, “This acquisition is another step that accelerates Nike’s digital transformation and allows us to serve athletes and creators at the intersection of sport, creativity, gaming and culture.” He added: “We’re acquiring a very talented team of creators with an authentic and connected brand. Our plan is to invest in the RTFKT brand, serve and grow their innovative and creative community, and extend Nike’s digital footprint and capabilities.”

The move by Nike serves to cement its position in the metaverse and blockchain-based branding. Last month, the company launched NIKELAND in a collaboration with Roblox for an immersive 3D world. During that time, Nike had also submitted four filing requests to trademark virtual goods with the US Patent and Trademark Office.

Feels like the majority of the NFT influencers I follow have an RTFKT avatar this morning. Took Nike a couple years (and attempts) to take over the skate industry. They came in and swept the metaverse overnight.
— bobbyhundreds.eth (@bobbyhundreds) December 14, 2021

Founded in 2020, RTFKT is a pioneering and innovative brand that redefines the boundaries of physical and digital value to serve its broad community of creators. Co-founder Chris Le has said that “when we first started, we had fun designing sneakers inspired by video games and making dope content and always trying to innovate”.

Nike has always been our inspiration. This is the start of a new chapter in the RTFKT story.
Chris Le, co-founder, RTFKT

The current NFT craze is really helping me to understand the wackadoo stories you sometimes hear about the late days of the dot-com bubble in the 90s.
“Nike just bought a virtual shoe company that makes NFTs and sneakers ‘for the metaverse’” https://t.co/2T8y8CsnHE
— 𝙅𝘼𝙈𝙀𝙎 𝙈𝘾𝙇𝙀𝙊𝘿 (@jamespmcleod) December 14, 2021

Adidas and Asics Beat Nike in Race to the Metaverse

Although now officially part of the metaverse, Nike won’t be the only sports apparel company occupying the space. Earlier this month, Adidas announced it would be collaborating with Bored Ape creators and Yuga Labs to enter the metaverse. Adidas had made a show of good faith by purchasing a Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT for 46 ETH, or US$156,000 at the time.

Japanese multinational Asics had already made its move into the metaverse by launching a digital footwear collection in July, placing it well ahead of Nike, its major rival and global market leader.