When one of Wendy’s largest franchisees filed for bankruptcy last week, rising beef prices grabbed the headlines, but the franchisee&#8217;s own numbers suggest the popular chain’s problems go well beyond the cost of a hamburger.
Just four months earlier, the franchisee Meritage Hospitality Group was telling shareholders that a turnaround was within reach.
“Outlook: Better,” <a href="https://meritagehospitality.com/documents/71/2026_Annual_Meeting_CEO_Report.pdf">read</a> its 2026 CEO report, presented at the company’s annual meeting. Meritage said it had resumed full interest payments under a lender forbearance agreement, increased its cash balance from $11.5 million in December to $19.3 million in March, and planned to refinance its debt within three to nine months.
But beneath that optimism, the report documented a business struggling to stay afloat.
Store-level earnings at Meritage’s Wendy’s restaurants fell 48%, from $69.2 million in 2024 to $36.2 million in 2025. Total debt stood at $168.6 million. 
Meritage placed much of the blame on Wendy’s management, saying beef inflation, deep discounting, and marketing misses had pushed franchisee store-level margins to a 30-year low. A small burger chain operator told The Daily Wire, “The high price of beef, the commodities, and labor are through the roof. That’s what happened to them. We used to pay people $10. Now it’s $16.”
Meritage’s numbers illustrate the squeeze. In March, food, paper, and labor consumed 62.66% of sales at Wendy&#8217;s restaurants, which posted an operating margin of 8%. The single Bojangles restaurant Meritage operates posted a 21.6% margin that month. 
But expensive beef alone does not explain why Wendy’s is losing ground while other burger chains are growing. According to Meritage’s report, McDonald’s sales rose 3.9%, Burger King’s sales rose 5.5%, Taco Bell’s 8%, but Wendy’s sales fell 7.8% in the first quarter. The report also showed a widening divide for shareholders: over five years, McDonald’s stock rose 24%, while Wendy’s fell 71%, and Meritage’s dropped 89%.
The small burger chain operator told The Daily Wire, “Wendy’s discounts may be bringing their own costs.” 
“I think you’re selling food too cheap,” he added. “It’s not the quality. It’s not the things it used to be.”
Wendy’s CEO Bob Wright acknowledged the problem, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/business/hospitality/wendys-ceo-aims-for-chain-to-get-back-in-the-burger-fight-7f43054b?eafs_enabled=false">telling</a> The Wall Street Journal that the company had cut corners on quality to save money. Meritage’s report noted that Wendy’s had cut $86 million in general and administrative spending, including franchisee field support and new product development. Wright inherited those challenges in May, becoming the chain’s fourth chief executive in three years. 
Wright’s plans have not resulted in any relief. Wendy’s U.S. same-restaurant sales fell 7% in the second quarter as traffic dropped 12.5%, and the company withdrew its 2026 financial outlook.
For Meritage, the immediate question is how much of its business can survive. Lower beef prices would help, but getting customers back through the doors is another problem entirely.

Wendy’s Jumps After Reporting A Steady Recovery In Sales

Wendy’s Is In A Pickle, And The Beef Is Only Part Of It

bankruptcy

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With a costly October 1 deadline days away, Paramount Skydance’s threat to leave Los Angeles may be tabled for now. 
The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/business/media/paramount-discussed-1-5-billion-california-investment-to-clear-merger-hurdle-ebe9f59b">reported late Sunday</a> that the studio made a series of concessions to the coalition of blue states suing to stop the $110 billion merger that could at last bring their volatile negotiations to an end. Among Paramount’s offers are a $1.5 billion investment in California production, the sale of several cable channels, the establishment of an oversight board to protect CNN&#8217;s editorial independence, and an agreement to pay penalties if Paramount fails to make 30 movies a year.
The parties appeared close to reaching an agreement late last week after the studio reportedly told California officials that a deposit had already been put down on moving trucks. According to <a href="https://variety.com/2026/film/news/paramount-karen-bass-leaving-california-1236864828/">Variety</a>, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who had spent weeks accusing Paramount of trying to “blackmail” regulators with the relocation threat, softened his stance at the urging of Mayor Karen Bass and Governor Gavin Newsom. On September 20, however, the alliance of 12 states divided into competing camps when New York Attorney General Letitia James demanded further concessions.
James received <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/09/19/business/mark-ruffalo-urges-california-ag-rob-bonta-to-reject-paramount-warner-merger-settlement/">outside support</a> from celebrities like Mark Ruffalo, whose involvement also comes amid his separate feud with Paramount over his <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-mark-ruffalo-swapped-the-avengers-for-antisemitism">antisemitic remarks</a>. As one of the most prominent voices in a group calling itself the “Block the Merger Coalition,” the actor posted multiple social media statements urging Bonta not to “cave” and called on supporters to protest outside Bonta’s office. If a deal is not reached by October 1, Paramount will have to pay Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders a $7 million daily ticking fee for every day the transaction remains incomplete, further incentivizing a move.
The sticking point comes down to CBS, CNN, HBO, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., and rights to NFL games coming under one corporate roof. In July, after the Trump administration approved the deal, Bonta and 11 other states filed suit to block it, arguing that the combined company would have enough market power to raise prices and weaken competition in the entertainment industry. The Writers Guild of America also sued, claiming further consolidation would reduce pay and worsen working conditions for writers. CEO David Ellison has argued that the merger is necessary to build a company capable of competing with other streaming giants like Netflix and Disney as traditional television continues to lose audience share.
According to <a href="https://www.politico.com/newsletters/california-playbook/2026/09/17/paramounts-nashville-overture-01081617">Politico</a> and <a href="https://pagesix.com/2026/08/12/hollywood/how-paramount-has-been-building-roadmap-for-seismic-move-from-calif-for-years-larry-ellison-has-one-foot-out-the-door/">Page Six</a>, many Paramount staffers are privately enthusiastic about the prospect of relocation, citing lower housing costs, cheaper gas, and the absence of state income taxes in Tennessee and Texas. One executive estimated that relocating would allow him to keep another $133,000 of a $1 million annual salary, and former Los Angeles news anchor Jeff Vaughn <a href="https://x.com/JeffVaughn/status/2099368903038394613">said</a> several employees have told Paramount execs, “Take us with you.”
Though Paramount has not formally announced it will abandon the Hollywood lot that has been its home for nearly a century, Texas, Georgia, and Tennessee have all been mentioned as possible new headquarters. And the company has reportedly been spotted exploring roughly 400,000 square feet of office space in Nashville. If one of the industry’s biggest studios does follow through on its relocation threat, it will be another blow to a state already contending with empty soundstages, shrinking production, higher operating costs, and aggressive incentive packages from rival states.
Leaked analysis commissioned by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation estimated that a full Paramount departure could cost California nearly 58,000 jobs, up to $21 billion in annual economic output, and as much as $1.17 billion in state and local tax revenue. A separate estimate forecast about 4,500 Los Angeles job cuts over three years.
If the parties do not reach an agreement, the case will go to trial in March 2027.

Several States Are Preparing Lawsuit To Challenge Paramount’s Purchase Of Warner Bros. Discovery

Paramount May Not Leave California After All

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Physical toy stores are making a comeback.
After closing all its U.S. locations, the famed toy megastore Toys “R” Us announced plans to move forward with its biggest expansion in years, with 120 additional standalone stores set to open across the country by the holiday season, per a company <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/toysrus-announces-major-us-expansion-with-120-new-standalone-stores-opening-this-holiday-season-302882103.html">press release</a>. This growth is due in part to adults purchasing trading cards and collectibles.
“Kidults,” as they’ve been nicknamed, &#8220;have become an important part of the category,” Jamie Uitdenhowen, Executive Vice President of Toys &#8220;R&#8221; Us at WHP Global, <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/09/17/business/toys-r-us-to-open-120-stores-biggest-expansion-in-years-thanks-to-adults-who-didnt-wanna-grow-up/">told</a> the New York Post.
The new stores include locations at existing malls, including Woodbury Common Premium Outlets in Central Valley, New York, The Westchester in White Plains, New York, and The Mall at Short Hills in New Jersey. Mall operators are said to appreciate toy stores, “so shoppers don’t feel like they have to leave the mall and go to Walmart or Target,” according to former Toys “R” Us chief executive Gerald Storch.
There are currently about 40 stores, per the Post, including 20,000-square-foot flagships in the American Dream mall in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and the Mall of America in Minnesota. There are also smaller branded shopping pop-ups located inside Macy’s department stores nationwide.
&#8220;This is a major moment for Toys &#8216;R&#8217; Us as we significantly expand our presence across the United States,&#8221; Uitdenhowen said. &#8220;Together with our incredible partners, we are growing Toys &#8216;R&#8217; Us in unique ways to meet customers wherever they are, whether that&#8217;s at a standalone store in their hometown, inside Macy&#8217;s, at the airport or at a Navy Exchange. Toys &#8216;R&#8217; Us has always been a place for discovery, and we&#8217;re building on that legacy by bringing customers the hottest toys, biggest trends and experiences that make the brand unlike any other.&#8221;
The stores will offer popular toy brands including LEGO, Barbie, Hot Wheels, Pokémon, KPop Demon Hunters, and more. 
The company said select locations will &#8220;introduce new experiences at the intersection of play, entertainment and content creation, including Creator Studios, dedicated spaces where influencers, creators and toy brands can create content, unveil new products and host toy reveals, launches and special events.&#8221; Some stores will also include candy shops and cafés.
Charles Lazarus started the business in 1948 as a baby furniture store in Washington, D.C., and turned it into Toys &#8220;R&#8221; Us in 1957. Babies &#8220;R&#8221; Us followed in 1996. The chain hit its height in the 1980s and &#8217;90s, and by early 2017 it reported operating <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/toys-r-us-opening-120-new-stores-rcna598543">nearly 1,700 stores worldwide</a>, counting its Babies &#8220;R&#8221; Us locations.
As consumer habits changed, the retailer — weighed down by roughly $5 billion in debt from a 2005 leveraged buyout and squeezed by Walmart, Target, and Amazon — filed for bankruptcy in 2017 and closed all its U.S. stores in 2018.

Toys R Us

Adults Who Refuse To Grow Up Are Bringing Toys ‘R’ Us Back To Your Mall

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retail industry

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Warren Buffett announced on Friday that he is stepping down as Berkshire Hathaway’s chairman.
Buffett tapped his son Howard Buffett, 71, to replace him effective immediately. Warren Buffett will become chairman emeritus.
“Serving as your Chairman has been the privilege of a lifetime, and I have never taken your trust for granted,” Buffett <a href="https://www.berkshirehathaway.com/news/sep1826.pdf">said</a> in a letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, adding, “Father Time always wins. He has, however, been generous with me. He has given me the opportunity to see Berkshire reach a point where I am more confident than ever about what lies ahead.”
Buffett’s move to chairman emeritus is the latest step in a carefully planned transition designed to move the company under new leadership after his extraordinarily long tenure. Buffett nodded to his age in the letter, telling shareholders he recently celebrated his 96th birthday surrounded by family, friends, and great-grandchildren. Buffett joked that his 1-year-old great-grandson was moving “a bit faster” than he is these days.
Buffett served as Berkshire Hathaway’s CEO for 60 years before stepping down on January 1 and handing the reins to longtime Vice Chairman Greg Abel. Buffett said Abel’s success as CEO helped give him the confidence to take this final step back.
“Part of the reason is Greg,” Buffett said. “My expectations for him were sky high from the start, and he has exceeded them. He has taken hold of the Chief Executive Officer job in every respect. He has been making the decisions that matter for some time now, and I have not had to think twice about any of them. So the timing is right to complete the transition.”
Abel had similar praise for Buffett. 
“Warren’s impact on Berkshire and its owners is without parallel in the history of American business. The culture Warren built and the values he championed will remain at the heart of Berkshire, and Howard will be their guardian,” Abel said Friday.
Under Buffett’s leadership, Berkshire Hathaway was transformed from a struggling textile mill into a sprawling conglomerate worth more than $1 trillion. Buffett built his reputation by buying undervalued companies rather than chasing the market’s latest trends. He purchased his first stock at just 11 years old and was teaching investing and money management by age 22.
Buffett spent decades building Berkshire alongside his longtime business partner, Charlie Munger, who remained active in the company until his death in 2023, just weeks shy of his 100th birthday. In his farewell message as chairman, Buffett thanked Berkshire’s shareholders for sharing the long-term outlook that guided him and Munger throughout their partnership.
“From the beginning, Charlie and I looked for owners who thought in decades rather than quarters, and we were fortunate to find a great many of you,” Buffett said. Now, after more than six decades at Berkshire’s helm, Buffett is asking those shareholders to place the same long-term trust in the company’s next generation of leadership.

Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett Steps Down, Says ‘Father Time Always Wins’

berkshire hathaway

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Amazon announced Wednesday that it is giving U.S. employees a way to save on groceries and everyday essentials as part of a broader package of pay and benefit increases.
Beginning October 1, every Amazon employee in the United States will have access to an uncapped grocery discount, including employees working in fulfillment centers, Whole Foods Market stores, corporate offices, and other parts of the company, the corporate announcement <a href="https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/workplace/amazon-raises-minimum-starting-pay-adds-grocery-banking-benefits">says</a>. 
The new benefit will give employees “10% off eligible fresh groceries and everyday essentials on Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market Online.” Employees shopping in person at Whole Foods Market will receive 20% off eligible purchases, including on prepared foods and at the salad bar.
The discount takes effect on an employee&#8217;s first day on the job and has no minimum purchase requirement or annual savings cap. It can also be combined with existing Prime discounts, coupons, Lightning Deals, and other eligible promotions.
The discount isn&#8217;t limited to food. It also applies to everyday essentials such as diapers, baby formula, cleaning supplies, pet food, and toiletries.
Amazon said the new benefit is designed to help employees with one of their most frequent household expenses.
“Groceries are one of the most frequent purchases people make,” Jason Buechel, Amazon’s vice president of Worldwide Grocery Stores and CEO of Whole Foods Market, said in a company announcement. “It’s the bill that comes due every week, and it adds up.”
The grocery discount is part of a larger investment in Amazon’s U.S. workforce. The company said it is spending more than $1.5 billion to increase pay for full-time core operations employees, raising the minimum starting wage by $1 up to $20 per hour. Average hourly pay for those employees will reach nearly $24, while average total compensation, including benefits, will exceed $32 per hour.
Amazon is also introducing a banking benefit that gives employees access to banking services without overdraft or maintenance fees, plus doesn’t require a credit history to open an account. This service will become available early next year. 
Existing employee benefits at Amazon include free Prime membership for eligible workers, health care options, a 401(k) with company match, paid parental leave, and Amazon’s Career Choice education program.
This news comes on the heels of the company&#8217;s announcement that it will dramatically expand its Prime Air drone service to nearly 500 U.S. cities and towns by the end of the year.
The expansion would bring Amazon’s “ultrafast drone delivery” to communities with tens of millions of customers nationwide, the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/your-next-amazon-package-could-come-from-the-sky?author=Jacob+Wheeler&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Your+Next+Amazon+Package+Could+Come+From+The+Sky">announcement</a> said in August.

Amazon employee

How Amazon Plans To Make Groceries Cheaper For Its Employees

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employee benefits

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whole foods

Driscoll&#8217;s, the largest berry company in the United States, went to China nearly 15 years ago hoping to turn blueberries into the country’s next big food craze — and succeeded. Then Chinese competitors copied its techniques, illicitly propagated protected blueberry varieties, and flooded the market with berries, cratering prices.
Now Driscoll’s is fighting to protect the business it helped build. After the company invested in the country, Chinese production exploded. Among the new foreign blueberry growers, some began using legally protected varieties and growing techniques without authorization, according to court records and industry sources <a href="https://www.wsj.com/business/driscolls-berry-farms-china-competition-b0b49f04">reported</a> by The Wall Street Journal.
China became the world’s largest blueberry producer by 2021, with more than 77,000 hectares planted, according to the International Blueberry Organization. By 2025, industry estimates put Chinese blueberry acreage at more than 105,000 hectares and production at approximately 810,000 metric tons. The surge helped drive blueberry prices sharply lower. In one example, prices for 250-gram packages in Shenzhen fell from nearly 30 yuan, or about $4.36, to 19.9 yuan, or roughly $2.89, as supplies increased.
The development illustrates the risks American and other Western companies can face when they bring specialized technology, genetics, and production expertise into China. Driscoll’s initially entered Yunnan province because conventional farming presented major challenges. The company invested in greenhouse production, sophisticated irrigation, and other techniques designed to grow premium berries in conditions that were not naturally suited to the crop. The strategy worked. Chinese consumers embraced blueberries, and Driscoll’s expanded its operations with local growers. But the rapid growth also created an intellectual property problem.
In 2014, Australian blueberry breeder Mountain Blue Orchards exclusively licensed its varieties to Driscoll’s for production in China. The varieties received Plant Breeders’ Rights protection in China. However, Mountain Blue later discovered that Chinese nurseries had illegally propagated its varieties. The company says it began finding evidence of unauthorized propagation around 2018 and 2019. Eventually, the company took one nursery to court.
In December 2024, the Kunming Intermediate People’s Court ruled in Mountain Blue’s favor in a case involving the unauthorized reproduction, propagation, and sale of its Ridley 1602, also known as Eureka Sunrise, blueberry variety. The International Blueberry Organization described the case as the first successful Chinese court case brought by a non-Chinese company over illegal blueberry propagation.
However, the problem was not limited to genetics. The Journal reported that Chinese competitors copied aspects of Driscoll&#8217;s production methods, including greenhouse designs and irrigation techniques. As more growers entered the market, Chinese blueberry production rapidly expanded, eventually surpassing U.S. production.
The resulting glut has created a difficult market for growers. Industry publications have documented repeated episodes of oversupply and falling prices as production expands across provinces including Yunnan and Sichuan.
The phenomenon has become so pronounced that Chinese agricultural observers have used the term “involution” to describe the market: companies and farmers continue expanding production and competing aggressively even as returns deteriorate.
Driscoll&#8217;s has not abandoned China. It continues operating in the country, maintaining relationships with Chinese growers, while seeking to reinforce protection for its intellectual property. Mountain Blue has likewise continued operating in China, shifting in some cases from litigation toward licensing arrangements with growers.
Some signs indicate Chinese authorities and industry groups are taking the intellectual property issue more seriously. The China Blueberry Committee was established under the China Chamber of Commerce, with Driscoll’s Asia executive Jae Moon Chun serving as vice chairman. Industry members have committed to avoiding unauthorized production, reproduction, and sale of licensed breeding material.
Unfortunately, Driscoll’s remains burdened with an all-too-familiar business problem for American companies in the Chinese market. The company went to China with technology and expertise that helped establish a lucrative new market. The market expanded far beyond what it was when Driscoll’s arrived — but so did illicit competition, unauthorized propagation, and, as a result, supply.
Driscoll’s helped teach China how to grow blueberries. Now China has more blueberries than it knows what to do with.

CHINA-YUNNAN-KUNMING-MARKET

A Major American Farm Company Went To China, And It Didn’t End Well

agriculture

china

dan driscoll

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Drivers who typically opt for the driveway oil change to save a few bucks may soon find that the savings aren&#8217;t adding up the way they used to.
Club retailer Costco recently <a href="https://theautowire.com/2026/09/10/costco-synthetic-oil-price-jump-purchase-limit/">increased the price</a> of its generic synthetic motor oil blend — Kirkland Signature full-synthetic blend. The price jumped in recent months, from a little over $30 for a ten-quart case (enough for an oil change on a standard V6 or V8 engine) to $57.99 for the same two five-quart bottles. In addition, Costco is limiting members to one case per transaction and no more than two cases per week.
And it&#8217;s not just the store brand feeling the pinch: a six-quart case of Mobil 1 runs $44, and the retailer has introduced a five-per-member limit on that item as well.
The reasons for the price jump — and the limited stock — stem from a number of factors, not the least of which is the ongoing war between the United States and Iran and the dramatically slowed movement of oil through the Strait of Hormuz. In July, the price per barrel of Brent crude was around $72. Since then, the price has jumped to $109 as of Monday morning.
In addition to the increased prices, stock has also been <a href="https://abcnews.com/Business/wireStory/costco-raises-price-kirkland-motor-oil-sets-purchase-136426075">severely limited</a> as a result of the continued conflict in the region. Synthetic motor oil like the Kirkland blend and Mobil 1 rely on Group III base oils — and the United States typically relies on Middle Eastern sources for about 40% of those oils. Slower movement along that supply chain, caused by the ongoing war, has forced retailers like Costco to limit what customers can buy.
Limited stock has also been impacted by oil companies that have shifted production focus to diesel and gasoline in order to make the most of much higher profit margins and meet the much higher daily demands.
Further complicating matters, a <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/13/oil-price-iran-war-strait-hormuz-saudi-pipeline.html">major pipeline</a> in Saudi Arabia was shut down on Friday after a drone attack. Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates, said a pump station had sustained damage in the attack.
&#8220;The longer the shutdown, the higher the price. Judging from the online pictures, it will take months to repair,&#8221; he said.
The pipeline was being used as an alternate route to avoid shipping oil through the Strait of Hormuz, and it remains to be seen whether the pipeline will be able to reopen with a bypass around the damaged pump station.

Costco Wholesale in Folsom California

Costco Just Put A Limit On How Much Shoppers Can Buy Of Popular Item

costco

iran

motor oil

oil prices

strait of hormuz

After 18 years in the S&amp;P 100, Nike is out. The company will be removed from the index of the largest, most stable U.S. mega-caps before the market opens on September 21. The company is still large. It is no longer stable.
From its 2021 stock-price high, Nike has fallen about 78%. It lost close to 80% of its market capitalization in five years. In the Fortune 100, it has hung on by a thread: it entered at number 91 in 2016, peaked at 83 in 2022, and barely made it in this year at number 99.
Fiscal 2026 revenue landed at $46.4 billion — still the biggest athletic brand on earth by a long shot. Adidas is second at a little more than half that. Nike’s peak revenue was just two years ago at $51.36 billion in 2024. Nike has already shed about $5 billion, or 10%, since then.
The climb took decades. The fall has been swift.
It would be easy and pat to say the company went woke and went broke. That’s true. And it is both more complicated and less complicated than that. It’s hubris. Which manifested throughout the organization.
The warning signs were visible to anyone paying attention. Gross margin for fiscal 2024 ticked up to 44.6% but only because freight costs dropped, not because the brand was stronger or had more pricing power. That freight-cost luck masked, for a moment, the decline already underway.
Nike Direct to Consumer (their own stores and website) margins were already in a downswing. An inventory glut forced heavy discounting — the classic retail doom loop.
Leadership knew it. The panic was underway.
The deeper problem was product. For decades Nike’s edge was innovation. Then it over-indexed on financial engineering, digital metrics, and recycling old franchise products — Air Force 1s and Jordans — instead of creating new performance products and running shoes. They assumed product leadership was forever, but it requires constant attention. They took their eye off the ball.
And the Hoka and On Running brands start to eat Nike’s lunch with innovation.
Nike got boring, which is the kiss of death. They thought they could milk the customer for higher-priced goods without any newness. They were wrong.
By summer 2024, the cracks produced a disastrous earnings report and a 19% single-day stock crash that wiped out $28 billion in market cap. CEO John Donahoe, the eBay guy who preferred digital optimization and “adapting” versus innovating and brand-building, was out later that year. He was always the wrong choice for the iconic brand that created an entire category and lifestyle.
For decades, every apparel company envied Nike. Product, branding, athlete dominance — no one else could touch it. That era ended in a pile of unforced errors.
Nike pulled out of mainstream wholesale — Amazon, DSW, the places regular people actually buy sneakers — to chase a higher-margin direct-to-consumer business and a customer it preferred: richer, more “progressive,” less normie. It overproduced what used to be scarce “collabs” and wrecked the scarcity that made those drops feel special.
It leaned too hard on China and watched that market grind lower quarter after quarter.
And while the cultural piece is real – “Go woke, go broke” – it is not the whole story. It is reflective of the broader issue: being out of touch with their consumer, being elitist, and thinking they (the brand) always know best. Pulling out of mainstream distribution where regular folks buy shoes – because it wasn’t cool enough – is the manifestation of being out of touch.
The taint started earlier in a decidedly un-woke fashion: they fired Olympic champion Allyson Felix because she was pregnant, then Mary Cain came forward about mental and physical abuse when she trained in the running club Nike ran called the Oregon Project. The allegations led to the coach&#8217;s firing and the club being shut down. And ultimately were a major factor in former star CEO Mark Parker’s exit. Those were not “woke.” They were the opposite, in fact.
Then Nike went all-in on leftie politics: Colin Kaepernick, COVID advertising, “trans” influencer Dylan Mulvaney as brand ambassador for running bras. Founder Phil Knight retired as chairman emeritus in 2016. Maybe that was when common sense left the building. By 2020, Michael Jordan’s old warning — “Republicans buy sneakers too” — was treated as obsolete.
The brand wanted the rich woke-sters. Everyone else could get lost. Result: a smaller, angrier customer base and a stock price in the toilet.
They are trying to walk some of it back. But sorority rush-week sponsorships in the SEC and a quieter culture war are not a strategy.
Elliott Hill, the former Nike lifer, was pulled out of retirement and took over in October 2024. A new CEO cannot wave away a decade of distribution mistakes, inventory gluts, and core-customer alienation. He is already under pressure. Fortune magazine recently asked how much time a turnaround CEO should get. Typically, they get more than two years. He may not. The market’s impatience is palpable. I can’t imagine the board’s.
This is larger than “go woke, go broke.” It is what happens when an iconic company decides the people who built it are the wrong customers and that political ideology plus a narrower vision of the business matter more than the people who actually buy the product.
Nike will always exist and will always take significant market share. My prediction: it will never again be the dominant, untouchable brand it was for nearly 40 years.
Some declines you don’t reverse. You just live with a smaller version of what you used to be.
***
Jennifer Sey is the CEO of XX-XY Athletics. She is an author, filmmaker, and retired national champion gymnast.

2026 US Open – Day 1

Nike Falls Out Of The S&P 100. They Earned It.

colin kaepernick

elliott hill

john donahoe

nike

phil knight

This is republished with permission by the author. The original can be found at House of Strauss, “Nike’s Terrible NBA Jerseys Show They’re Still Fighting the Customer,” <a href="https://www.houseofstrauss.com/p/nikes-terrible-nba-jerseys-show-theyre">here</a>.
***
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1177325" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/09/07846dbe-cb82-4d05-88bd-beb8f9ad26f0_892x454.jpg" alt="" width="892" height="454" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/09/07846dbe-cb82-4d05-88bd-beb8f9ad26f0_892x454.jpg 892w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/09/07846dbe-cb82-4d05-88bd-beb8f9ad26f0_892x454-300x153.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/09/07846dbe-cb82-4d05-88bd-beb8f9ad26f0_892x454-768x391.jpg 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 892px) 100vw, 892px" /></div>
House of Strauss has followed the Fall of Nike <a href="https://www.houseofstrauss.com/p/nikes-end-of-men">since its inception</a>, and it’s a rich topic because there are so many components. The more politically-oriented tend to see this crash as cultural in nature (“wokeness,” according to some), whereas the more business-minded focus on Nike’s disastrous “direct-to-consumer” rejection of retailers.
The failed DTC bid is the more tangible wound for Nike and thus more directly explanatory. I think it can be too tempting for some financial pundits though, especially among the controversy-avoidant, to wholly lean on this functional mistake. It’s a huge reason for Nike’s fall, obviously, but there’s clearly something wrong with that company’s corporate culture beyond nuts and bolts strategic choices. This week’s release of Nike’s <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/nba/1127909/nba-new-jerseys-alternates-2026-2027-sesaon-specter-edition-lakers">widely panned Specter Edition NBA uniforms</a> is yet another indicator of the company’s cultural rot. The people running this place just refuse to accept that sports fans like what they like. They keep trying to appoint a new customer rather than bend to the customer’s preference.
Just look at these terrible uniforms, in a now long line of <a href="https://x.com/SacKings_Unis/status/2097844299547218422">terrible uniforms</a> foisted on NBA teams. I lack the aesthetic vocabulary to completely convey the appearance of these dark designs, but they remind me of this Fantasy Football league I played in years ago, on a now antiquated website, where our teams were given blandly unaffiliated uniforms. The best way I can describe the jerseys is that it’s like if a movie from three decades ago imagined what players would wear in some fictional future league. The team logos are so deemphasized that they almost convey the appearance of a filmmaker sidestepping copyright infringement concerns. Had Space Jam dressed Michael Jordan in this, it would have tracked, but also looked worse than what was actually chosen.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1177327" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/09/a08c8f0f-2aae-4368-ae07-78b58063cffd_872x890.jpg" alt="" width="872" height="890" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/09/a08c8f0f-2aae-4368-ae07-78b58063cffd_872x890.jpg 872w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/09/a08c8f0f-2aae-4368-ae07-78b58063cffd_872x890-294x300.jpg 294w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/09/a08c8f0f-2aae-4368-ae07-78b58063cffd_872x890-564x576.jpg 564w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/09/a08c8f0f-2aae-4368-ae07-78b58063cffd_872x890-768x784.jpg 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 872px) 100vw, 872px" /></div>
Nike’s Specter Edition uniforms for the 2026-27 season “reimagine team identity for the league’s oldest franchises through their history, culture and the energy of today’s game.” I don’t believe fans were necessarily clamoring for their team’s identity to get “reimagined.” Nike explains the origin of creation with:
<blockquote>
The collection was created to revolutionize the look of the NBA for the next generation, strengthening the connection between what athletes wear on court and how fans express their team devotion.
</blockquote>
“Revolutionize”? Why? This is the exact sort of situation for which the cliché phrase, “you don’t need to reinvent the wheel,” exists. The value proposition of uniforms is that they are uniform. Fans have an emotional, Pavlovian attachment to a team’s classic jerseys. The notion that “next generation” demands a change falls into my <a href="https://www.houseofstrauss.com/p/never-apologize-for-having-taste">Rule of Corporate Slop</a>:
<blockquote>
A trend is bad when even its defenders can’t defend it on merit, but instead only speculate that hypothetical kids must like it.
</blockquote>
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You can see what Nike’s going for in their photos of the apparel launch: Young, diverse models of varying hairstyles, glumly sporting this supposed garb of the future. There’s nothing wrong with the kids in the pictures, other than how they’re posed and what they’re wearing. This is not what actual sports fans at a sports corporation would produce. It’s giving supercilious Gen Z Zoolander. This isn’t clothing for happy jocks. This is attire for sullen fashionista catwalks.
As I’ve mentioned, anecdotally, the most commonly-worn uniform I see at my kid’s school is the classic, standard Steph Curry. Because why wouldn’t it be? The common blue and gold Warriors jersey is a minimalist beauty. They’re also the uniforms one envisions when thinking about “Steph Curry.” What’s with this concept that the kids instead cry out for this darkened shimmery nonsense, connected to nothing?
<blockquote>
I’m also skeptical that this overkill is all done to appease children, who just love novelty so much. Many parents in the Bay Area have had the experience of buying their child a Steph Curry jersey. Very few Bay Area parents have had the experience of a kid being disappointed that the uniform just so happens to be classic blue-and-yellow Warriors colors. To have a problem with this would be like being mad that daddy bought you a dapple-gray pony instead of a chestnut pony. But more to the point, blue and yellow are the colors Steph Curry is most associated with. Anecdotally, when you see kids wearing a Steph jersey, it’s almost always one of these two options.
</blockquote>
You might assume that the NBA teams are in league with Nike in this project, and that all parties are eager to sell newfangled products. This is incorrect. The team people I talk to are sick of Nike’s constant tinkering and demands that their teams sport increasingly bizarre designs. To be blunt, the sources I have are tired of Nike’s idiocy being transposed onto brands they’re trying to protect. They’re also weary of the confusing protocols involved in all this:
<blockquote>
In theory, Nike engages in a back-and-forth with NBA teams where design ideas are exchanged. In practice, from what teams tell me, the result is a lot of confusing Nike rules and dictation regarding which jerseys and when. NBA franchises must manage being managed by Nike. The league office doesn’t appear to care about the aggravations and brand issues so long as the sponsorship checks clear.
</blockquote>
As recently as April, I <a href="https://www.houseofstrauss.com/p/ubs-report-nba-decline-hurt-nike">wrote about a UBS report that theorized Nike had been hurt by a decline in NBA star power</a>. While that’s a plausible interpretation of the recent past, following a boffo NBA Finals, Adam Silver’s league looks to be in far better health than its major partner. It’s now dysfunctional Nike that’s arguably the millstone (literally?) around the NBA’s neck. The NBA can brag about currently commanding <a href="https://www.houseofstrauss.com/p/why-adam-silver-beat-roger-goodell">a TV rights price that embarrasses the NFL</a>. Nike can boast about <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/nike-loses-spot-p-100-120000497.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAANjSNeFm2pqs4f3r7sW0gyT4lkgq-fn3ZnvkbDJEO5h7EhnYosZS1DSJdMRWkrKRBBsAx5KIMMA9gGEN0t2XWykMo0ie9HWaHc-ZtCS_GBD-HQRQqLd5NPk1tQtPLZOx9_uCGP8MtjUA1r4d8Ea0U8CsRSjclEpYjLK4zPcIEkZ4">once having been listed in the S&amp;P 100</a>.
More to the point of this article, Nike’s DTC failure has arguably little to do with its struggles on this crazy NBA uniform front. This is a cultural disconnect that, if we’re being taboo, could be downstream from gender-informed shakeups at the company. Quoting me:
<blockquote>
In 2018, a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/28/business/nike-women.html">New York Times article</a> detailed the middle-up “revolt” within Nike, driven by women who had enough of an “environment that had turned toxic.” According to the report, the Nike company culture wasn’t so far from that of the locker room, which will run you into some problems when your locker room employs 75,000 people, with both sexes included. Even if Nike had thrived over the decades, its ways didn’t seem sustainable in the modern world. Finally, a concerted push from middle class female employees led to multiple high-profile male ousters, including the aforementioned Trevor Edwards.
</blockquote>
Trevor Edwards was CEO heir-apparent <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nike-president-resigns-amid-reports-of-inappropriate-behavior/">but got undone by his #MeToo transgressions</a>. I’m not defending whatever Edwards did. I’m instead observing that Nike, shocked by the scandal, made a guilt-ridden effort to change course with new management hires. The attempt to excise the bad appears to have been a botched surgery. Nike ceased to be a male-oriented sports company. They shifted into becoming a fashion company. Sports fans like sports. They don’t necessarily like “fashion” for its own sake.
***
Ethan Strauss is the creator of the Substack <a href="https://www.houseofstrauss.com/">House of Strauss</a>. He is a former NBA PR gopher, basketblogger, and NBA beat writer.

image_f6f33e65

Nike Goes Full Gen Z Zoolander And Commits Cultural Suicide

corporate culture

direct to consumer

opinion

Clay Travis built one sports media powerhouse. Now he’s launching another and bringing it to The Daily Wire.
Just three weeks after launching <a href="https://sportandstate.com/">Sport &amp; State</a>, a digital sports and culture network, Travis is teaming up with Ben Shapiro’s conservative news site to put the new platform in front of the company’s massive audience of more than 25 million. 
And it’s not just the written content making the jump.
Under the partnership, Sport &amp; State’s sports coverage will be featured on <a href="http://dailywire.com/">DailyWire.com</a>, while “The Clay Travis &amp; Buck Sexton Show” will soon be available for subscribers to stream across Daily Wire platforms. Sport &amp; State will also receive featured placement throughout those platforms, and audiences can expect future collaborations and appearances involving talent from both companies.
The deal gives Sport &amp; State immediate national distribution while adding a daily sports franchise to The Daily Wire&#8217;s programming. Travis, who founded OutKick before Fox acquired the company, also co-hosts &#8220;The Clay Travis &amp; Buck Sexton Show,&#8221; which reaches 7 million listeners across 550 stations in all 50 states.
“Clay Travis is one of the most talented in the industry at capturing an audience and building a brand,” Daily Wire CEO Mike Richards said. “We are building a coalition of smart and interesting commentators at the Daily Wire that will bring our audience sophisticated sports, culture, and political commentary — Clay has blended all three at Sport &amp; State.”
“This was a natural fit and a partnership that we are really excited to bring to our audience at the Daily Wire,” Richards added.
Travis said the partnership will help Sport &amp; State expand its reach among conservative Americans.
“We are looking to rapidly expand Sport &amp; State and get our content in front of as many patriotic Americans as we can,” Travis said. “The guys over at Daily Wire have been friends of mine for a long time, and I think this new venture is a perfect fit for collaboration.”
“We have missionally aligned companies, so I am confident their audience is going to thoroughly enjoy what we are building at Sport &amp; State,” he added.
The Daily Wire plans to celebrate the partnership at its BaRNC event in Dallas during this week’s historic Republican National Convention.
The Sport &amp; State deal comes as The Daily Wire continues expanding its programming beyond the news. The company just launched its new Sunday show, “The District Club,” and will premiere “Run Hide Fight: Infidels” on September 16. The ’80s-style action thriller centers on radical Islamist terrorists who seize a college campus.

clay and ben

‘Sport & State’: Clay Travis Brings His Playbook To The Daily Wire

clay travis

media

mike richards

sport and state

the daily wire

Japanese beer maker Sapporo Breweries Ltd. plans to move production of nonalcoholic beer for American consumers from Canada to the United States in response to the Trump administration&#8217;s “escalating” 50% tariff. 
“The tariff, and also escalating the 50% tariff, will impact us very much, particularly the next year,” Sapporo Chief Strategy Officer Rieko Shofu <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2026-09-07/sapporo-breweries-cso-on-tariffs-iran-war-video">told</a> Bloomberg. When pressed on how quickly the company would expand production in the United States, she replied, “Next year.” 
Sapporo expects to begin producing the nonalcoholic beer in the United States in the first half of 2027.
The Trump administration’s additional 50% tariffs on certain Canadian imports took effect August 22 after trade negotiations between the two countries collapsed. The White House <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/08/temporary-suspension-of-additional-duties-to-offset-canadian-discrimination-against-the-commerce-of-the-united-states-with-respect-to-alcoholic-beverages-dairy-and-motor-vehicles">said</a> the tariffs were imposed in response to Canada&#8217;s treatment of American exports, including cars, alcohol, and dairy products. 
Sapporo currently produces nonalcoholic beer destined for the American market in Canada. The company said it is considering acquiring or building a brewery on the West Coast or contracting with another manufacturer to produce it. Sapporo already operates a brewery on the East Coast, but Shofu said rising sales would soon push it to capacity. 
&#8220;Tariffs are something out of our control,&#8221; Shofu said. &#8220;We&#8217;re going to move ahead with local production.&#8221;
Sapporo operates production facilities in the United States, Canada, and Vietnam. It may not be the only foreign company pushed toward additional American manufacturing. 
On Monday night, President Donald Trump threatened to block Canadian aerospace company Bombardier from selling planes in the United States unless it manufactured them domestically.
“No more selling Bombardier in the United States,” President Trump posted on social media. “If they want our market, they must build here, and stop treating America like a &#8216;piggybank.'&#8221; 
At 12:01 am on Tuesday, Canada imposed retaliatory tariffs on roughly $20 billion worth of American goods. The duties range from 15% to 50% and cover hundreds of products, including steel, aluminum, cheese, appliances, clothing, cosmetics, farm equipment, and others.
Canada says its measures match the American tariffs dollar for dollar and rate for rate. RBC Economics, the research arm of the Royal Bank of Canada, <a href="https://www.wowt.com/2026/09/08/what-know-about-canadas-escalating-trade-war-with-us-carney-retaliates-with-tariffs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a> the Canadian tariffs were unlikely to significantly affect overall U.S. economic growth but could hit some American businesses extremely hard.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last week that Canada could not sustain a prolonged tit-for-tat trade war with its much larger neighbor. 
“Well, I don&#8217;t think you can be in a tit-for-tat with someone who&#8217;s 13 times larger than you are,” he <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/31/us/politics/canada-bessent-carney-trade.html">added</a>. “They say they&#8217;re doing OK. What else are they going to say?” 
In a national video address on Tuesday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8jdev0422jo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>, “We have everything we need to pivot and prosper,” but that pivot “will come at a cost.”
“There&#8217;s always a cost to action, but it doesn&#8217;t come close to the cost of standing still,” he added.
Carney has argued that accepting Trump’s demands could leave Canada even more dependent on the United States and <a href="https://spectrumlocalnews.com/mo/st-louis/politics/2026/09/08/u-s--canada-trade-war-tariffs-take-effect">devastate</a> Canadian manufacturing. Bessent has described the proposed agreement as “the best trade deal of any country on the globe.”

Beer

Beer Giant Makes A Very American Move After Trump Squeeze

bombardier

canada

donald trump

mark carney

sapporo breweries

tariffs

Hunter Biden appears to have found a new way to turn his most infamous scandal into a business opportunity: a meme coin based on the laptop that has followed him since the 2020 presidential campaign.
The former first son announced Monday that he will launch $LAPTOP on September 9, teasing the cryptocurrency with a video compilation of media figures, politicians, and Trump administration officials discussing his notorious computer. The token is set to launch on Base, the blockchain network developed by Coinbase.
The announcement comes after weeks of Hunter Biden attempting to rehabilitate his public image through an unlikely media blitz, including podcast appearances and interviews with figures from both the Left and Right. Now, rather than simply discussing the controversies that made him famous, Biden appears ready to monetize them.
The $LAPTOP token will have a supply of one billion coins, with Biden and other founders receiving 30% of the supply. Those tokens will be locked for six months and then vest over two years, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/finance/currencies/hunter-biden-and-his-laptop-enter-the-cryptosphere-with-new-meme-coin-4d46fc9c">according</a> to The Wall Street Journal. Another 20% will be distributed through airdrops, including to cryptocurrency users who lost money on President Donald Trump&#8217;s $TRUMP meme coin and to subscribers of <a href="https://substack.com/@hunterbiden">Biden&#8217;s Substack</a>.
The remaining supply includes allocations for liquidity and operations, charity, and a mechanism that could destroy as much as 30% of the tokens depending on certain events. Among the events tied to the potential token burn are: Bitcoin reaching another all-time high, $LAPTOP surpassing $TRUMP in market value, and a Democrat winning the 2028 presidential election. If the specified conditions are not met, the corresponding tokens would instead be donated to charity, according to the Journal.
Meme coins are generally speculative assets whose value is driven largely by attention, hype, and association with a recognizable person or cultural phenomenon rather than an underlying business or utility. Market analysts have repeatedly warned that they can experience enormous price swings and rapid collapses.
Crypto traders have <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/09/08/crypto-traders-turn-on-hunter-biden-s-laptop-memecoin-before-it-even-launches">publicly blasted</a> the project, with some accusing Biden of squandering the credibility he had gained through his recent appearances and commentary. The crypto exchange Kraken also deleted a promotional post for the token following backlash. Journalist Andrew Callaghan said neither he nor his Channel 5 media company —which hosted a controversial interview with Nick Fuentes and Biden— was involved with the project despite a mailing list associated with Callaghan being among the groups eligible for an airdrop.
The backlash is particularly notable because Biden has spent recent months attempting to establish himself as a serious voice on cryptocurrency. He has described decentralized digital currency as the “inevitable future” and has increasingly discussed crypto in his public appearances and writing. 
The laptop was abandoned at a Delaware repair shop in 2019, and its contents became a major political controversy during the 2020 presidential campaign. The material included evidence of Biden&#8217;s drug addiction and records relating to his foreign business dealings. Now, Biden is turning his signature debacle into a tradable asset.
The move also places him in the increasingly crowded world of celebrity and political meme coins, following similar ventures associated with Trump, first lady Melania Trump, and former New York City Mayor <a href="https://apnews.com/article/eric-adams-crypto-meme-coin-942bad447d2598b9cb7dbd6c98060a25">Eric Adams</a>. Trump&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-begins-presidency-as-a-crypto-billionaire-with-meme-coins">$TRUMP token</a> initially soared before losing most of its value, with the token now trading far below its peak.
For a man who has spent years trying to escape the shadow of the laptop, Hunter Biden has put it right back at the center of his public identity and put a price tag on it.

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