Nike, Leaders Hit With Suit Over Skewed Marketing Predictions

NIKE Inc. faces a securities class action alleging its CEO and CFO deceived investors by exaggerating the success of its digital marketing strategy.

The Oregon shoe giant touted that its “Consumer Direct Offense” strategy could bolster its digital presence and boost profits with less reliance on wholesale partners. But the company’s quarterly results in the following years revealed repeated drops in sales revenue that caused its share price to fall as much as 13%, a complaint filed Thursday in a US district court in the District of Oregon said.

The plaintiffs, including the City Pension Fund for Firefighters and Police ...