Nike’s stock closed at a near-record high of $82 Wednesday, a little over a week after the apparel company chose Colin Kaepernick to be one of the faces in its 30th-anniversary ad campaign.
Shares for the company are up 45 percent year-over-year as consumers flex their buying power and return to the malls, due to a strong economy and rising wages, according to investing.com
Conservatives began boycotting Nike’s products when it was revealed that Kaepernick signed on for the campaign; many burned their shoes in protest.
.@Nike Due to your support of C.K. in your coming adds, I as an American can no longer support your company. #boycottNike #IStandForOurFlag pic.twitter.com/5JxSMD8SSO
— AlterAtYeshiva (@alteratyeshiva) September 4, 2018
Kenner, Louisiana Mayor Ben Zahn banned the city’s booster clubs and recreation department from purchasing Nike products, saying that he did not want taxpayers to foot the cost of the company’s “political agenda.”
Despite the protests, online sales for the company jumped 31 percent in the days following the ad’s unveiling.
Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything. #JustDoIt pic.twitter.com/x5TnU7Z51i
— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) September 5, 2018