STRYDE

This project was part of my Advanced Operations Management module in Year 3, a Level 7, 40-credit unit built around a live industry brief.

The brief asked us to respond to the real strategic challenges facing a major global retailer, develop a new product range for them, outlining our research findings and identifying overall business strategy needed to sustain the range.  That retailer was Nike. Chris Tyler, VP/GM Kids EMEA at Nike, opened the module by sharing those challenges directly with us.

Working in a team of three, we built STRYDE. We ran it through the Edmundo retail simulation across five competitive rounds, making live decisions on pricing, inventory, marketing and expansion under conditions of limited information and active competition.

What we found:

The UK sneaker market is mature, premium and worth $4.76bn - but growth has been inflated by price rather than demand. Challenger brands like On Running and Hoka are outpacing incumbents at a combined growth rate of 26.8%, while Nike and Adidas have declined by an average of 5.9%.

As one of its consumer-shift themes, The State of Fashion 2026 identifies the emergence of a “Wellbeing Era”. Wellbeing has become central to how consumers “live, spend and define themselves”. With around 60% prioritising “healthy ageing”, a key dimension of this shift is the growing focus on longevity. 

The barefoot and minimal footwear segment, projected to grow from £360m to £603m by 2031, sits at the centre of that shift. And despite its history with the Nike Free, Nike has no clear barefoot proposition in the UK market.

That gap is where STRYDE belongs.

What we built:

STRYDE is a barefoot-inspired footwear concept, proposed as a Nike Strategic Business Unit, with a mission to make natural movement feel accessible, progressive and culturally desirable. Not as a destination to reach, but as a journey to embark on. Built around the belief that movement is not a feature of life, but its foundation, STRYDE sets out to create the right product for the right person for the right activity.

That philosophy is grounded in a real problem. Research shows that transitioning abruptly from conventional to barefoot footwear increases the risk of discomfort and injury - because the foot muscles responsible for arch support and stability need time to adapt. A successful transition is gradual, personalised and progressive. STRYDE is built around that insight. The range moves consumers through three stages - Entry, Transition and Barefoot - across Run, Train and Lifestyle, gradually increasing load, flexibility and ground feel at each step.

But because the benefits of barefoot footwear emerge over time rather than at the point of purchase, experience becomes the core of how STRYDE creates value. STRYDE Movement Studios allow consumers to feel the progression before committing to it.

The product is the experience. The experience sells the product.

What went into it:

• Ran a demo round to familiarise ourselves with the simulation followed by five live competitive rounds on Edumundo.

• Made real-time decisions each week on pricing, supplier and distributor selection, marketing spend across online and offline channels, management priorities and inventory.

• Took the initiative to understand its underlying dynamics - analysed demand patterns, built and applied an R,S inventory policy, modelled marketing effectiveness and stress-tested decisions round by round - so we played with precision, not guesswork.

• Dissected the full cost structure of the business, mapped how every decision impacted expenses, so we could anticipate the financial implications of expansion, staffing and investment before committing to them.

• Built STRYDE's concept, range architecture and brand strategy in parallel with the simulation, developing the product and business case.

• Researched the biomechanics of barefoot transition and developed the technical specifications for each of STRYDE's seven SKUs, defining progressive stages of heel drop, stack height, flexibility and ground feel.

• Developed STRYDE's look book and marketing mockups, including studio-style product imagery created with detailed AI prompting and creative direction.

• Stress-tested financial viability through a forecasted income statement, Altman Z'-score analysis and a pricing architecture (£100–£130), alongside a reinvestment framework tied to clear strategic objectives.

• Made the strategic case for STRYDE within Nike's portfolio.

• Presented STRYDE formally to Chris Tyler at the end of the module. In his closing summary, Chris recalled STRYDE by name - noting that we had identified the right gap with the Nike Free model and the barefoot segment. Of all the concepts presented, ours was the one he chose to name.

Negotiations:

The second element of the module shifted the brief from building a business to defending one. Representing Nike's senior team in a live landlord-tenant negotiation with ‘Liberman & Rose’ our task was to agree terms across four key DTC sites: Leeds Trinity, Birmingham, Manchester and Milton Keynes.

I came into the negotiation as note-taker, but the role was far from passive. I updated myself on UK business rates, lease structures and key retail property metrics - occupancy cost ratios, sales density benchmarks, break clauses - and worked out the financials live in the room as discussions progressed, translating numbers into negotiating positions in real time.

My most significant contributions were strategic. For Milton Keynes - a new site with three format options - I developed the entry strategy, arguing for a staged rent structure that protected Nike's position in an unproven market while giving the landlord confidence in a long-term commitment. For Leeds Trinity, whose lease was expiring, I proposed a counter to the landlord's initial ask of a 55% rent increase. We settled at 30%. Birmingham was the standout outcome - we agreed terms on a new flagship site at £1,000,000 in rent.

It was the first time I had negotiated commercially at this level - and what it taught me was that preparation is the negotiation. Knowing the numbers before you walk in is what gives you the confidence to push back when it matters.

What I took away:

STRYDE began as a concept. What I didn't expect was that building it would hold up a mirror.

I came in naturally curious about how things work, why systems behave the way they do. That curiosity paid dividends in the simulation. It revealed that I like to start early, absorb the work, and continue updating till the timer runs to submit the best possible output. But what it also showed me is that doing the work and enabling others are not the same skill. The latter is harder, and given that this was the first time I worked in a group project, it is one I intend to develop.

The simulation also delivered its sharpest lesson in the final round. My instinct was to raise prices and it was consistent with where we were steering STRYDE. But it crossed a threshold we wasn’t explicit, and first place slipped away. Running a business means holding your conviction and staying open to being wrong at the same time.

It was the first time I had negotiated commercially at this level and what it taught me was that preparation is the negotiation. Knowing the numbers before you walk in is what gives you the confidence to push back when it matters. We met the brief and reached agreements that worked for both sides. But stepping out of the room, I knew there was more we could have done. Sharper positions, tighter arguments, moments where we could have pushed harder. That's the honest reflection. Not dissatisfaction, just the awareness that there is a version of that negotiation we hadn't quite reached yet.