월스트리트저널 읽기 - Nike, Housing, American Express

<MONDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2023>

 

◈ Nike Is Trying to Catch Up After Falling Behind in Innovation Race (혁신 경쟁에서 뒤진 나이키, 따라잡으려 노력 중)

 

 

Nike made a swift comeback earlier this month in the super-shoe fight when marathon runner Kelvin Kiptum set a world record while wearing a new iteration of the company’s Alphafly 3. But the sneaker maker is losing steam in other races.

 

Competitors such as Hoka and On are gaining a foothold among runners and with people who are looking for something comfortable to wear to work or school. Adidas and New Balance also are making headway in the market for streetwear by bringing back old models in dozens of colorways, moves similar to those from Nike’s own playbook.

 

Nike said sales of footwear in North America—its largest market— fell 2% in the latest quarter. Higher prices for Nike shoes weren’t enough to offset a 10% decline in sales volume, the first drop in over a year.

 

The footwear maker and other consumer-goods companies have been hurt by rising prices that are causing consumers to rethink their spending plans. Nike remains the world’s largest seller of athletic footwear and apparel, generating $48.7 billion in revenue from its namesake brand in the year ended May 31.

 

Still, Nike executives have said they are working to improve product marketing and assortments and also drive more meaningful connections with everyday runners.

 

◈ Housing Affordability Remains an Economic Burden (주택 구입 능력은 여전히 경제적 부담으로 남아있다)

 

The Commerce Department’s report on gross domestic product coming on Thursday will probably show that housing helped boost economic growth in the third quarter. That shouldn’t mask the fact that what is happening in the housing market is utterly and horribly bad and that the economy is worse off for it.

 

This past Thursday, the National Association of Realtors said 3.96 million previously owned, or existing, homes were sold in September at a seasonally adjusted annual rate. That was down from 4.68 million a year earlier, and even lower than the levels plumbed right after the pandemic hit.

 

It is a symptom of the rapid rise in mortgage rates which, in addition to making it much harder to afford a home, has made people who own homes reluctant to sell since that would entail their financing the purchase of their next home at much higher rates. The report showed that there were just 1.13 million homes on the market last month, which is the fewest for a September on record.

 

◈ For American Express, Rewards Get a Little Less Costly (아메리칸 익스프레스의 경우 보상 비용이 조금 더 저렴해집니다)

 

 

The cost of credit-card rewards has risen a lot since the pandemic, as card companies looked to find ways to encourage people to keep swiping. That threatened to become a problem for card issuers, especially because people haven’t been borrowing quite as much as they used to.

 

But things are improving on this front for American Express.

 

Variable customer-engagement expenses—which include rewards and other perks—represented about 40% of revenue in the third quarter, Amex reported on Friday. That is down from 41% a year before.

 

While 1 point might not seem like much, it can translate into hundreds of millions of dollars in additional profit annually. The company said on Friday that it expects those expenses to represent 42% of revenue overall this year, versus its guidance of 43% at the beginning of the year.

 

Amex said Friday that as it adds new points-redemption partners, this is changing the weighted average cost per point. In plain English, this means that retailers or other merchants that want to be a place where people can spend their points are willing to do it on terms that are a bit more favorable to Amex.

 

오늘도 경제신문으로 세상을 봅니다.

 

2023.10.22 - [경제신문 읽기] - 월스트리트저널 읽기 - U.S., Heating Bills, Hong Kong's Market

월스트리트저널 읽기 - U.S., Heating Bills, Hong Kong's Market