You’re reading the DealBook newsletter.  The most crucial business and policy news you need to know from Andrew Ross Sorkin and team. Get it sent to your inbox.ImageImageNike’s stock has jumped on news that its beleaguered C.E.O., John Donahoe, will step down next month.Credit...David Dee Delgado for The New York TimesA new spring in Nike’s step?

Investors, and apparently some employees, breathed a sigh of relief after Nike said John Donahoe would step down next month as C.E.O. It ends a rocky four-year tenure during which the company lost market share, strained relations with key retail partners and — perhaps most worrisome — lost its cool factor.

Now, Nike is hoping that bringing Elliott Hill, a company veteran, out of retirement will reverse its fortunes. But competitors have the wind in their sails, and Nike has a lot to do to regain momentum.

Donahoe was meant to be a tech-savvy change agent. A former C.E.O. of eBay and Bain and Company, he was hired to upgrade the company’s digital sales. Among his key backers was Phil Knight, Nike’s co-founder and chairman emeritus, who had befriended Donahoe in his Bain days.

Donahoe focused on building out Nike’s direct-to-consumer sales, slashing the number of retailers who carried its shoes and cutting costs. And when decades-old shoes like Dunks became fashionable again, he pumped out countless iterations to meet demand.

Advertisement

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

But critics said he was a bad fit. Despite leading the sportswear giant known for innovation and cool, Donahoe wasn’t a sneakerhead and let Nike’s R.&D. slip. That became especially problematic when Dunks fever began to fade last year — and the company didn’t have new products to meet emerging trends.

Meanwhile, Nike’s giving up shelf space at major shoe retailers presented an opportunity for upstart rivals, including On and Hoka.

Subscribe to The Times to read as many articles as you like.pop party online casino

• pop party online casino
• Did
• Just
• Nike