Nike has sold one of its subsidiaries, but it’s not the one on the minds of some analysts and industry watchers.
The company last month quietly sold RTFKT, pronounced “Artifact,” the digital products company that it shut down about a year ago.
The move happened as second-year CEO Elliott Hill continues to refocus the company on sports and rebuilding partnerships with wholesale partners like Dick’s Sporting Goods and Foot Locker.
It also comes as speculation persists about the future of Nike’s Converse brand, which in December reported a 30% drop in quarterly sales, leading a BNP Paribas investment analyst to wonder whether Nike will sell the brand.
RTFKT was acquired by Nike in 2021 under then-CEO John Donahoe, who was more focused on direct and digital sales.
In a short statement, Nike said the RTFKT sale was effective Dec. 16, “launching a new chapter for the company and its community.”
“Nike continues to invest in delivering innovative products and experiences across physical, digital and virtual environments,” Nike said in the statement.
Terms of the RTFKT sale, including the buyer, weren’t announced.
Before it announced plans to shutter RTFKT, Nike said in a post on Medium, that while it was at least temporarily halting the production of non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, the sort of digital collectible made by RTFKT, it would continue partnerships with video game companies to build virtual products, including in-game wearables.
In late 2024, Nike announced its latest partnership with the video game Fortnite. In 2023, it announced a partnership with EA Sports, which makes video games.
An investor filed a lawsuit against Nike after it announced plans to shutter RTFKT, alleging the company caused “the rug to be pulled out from under” the value of the company’s virtual sneakers.
Nike filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit in December.
