Despite some early backlash and a slight dip in sales, Nike's online sales increased by 31 percent from Sunday through Tuesday of this week, the San Jose Mercury News reported.
The company introduced controversial quarterback Colin Kaepernick as the face of its 30th anniversary "Just Do It" advertising campaign. President Donald Trump, police officers and many football fans objected to the choice, arguing that Kaepernick taking a knee to protest police brutality and racial injustice was out of line.
The ad, released Monday and featured on television for the first time during Thursday's NFL opener between the Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons, featured a close-up, black-and-white image of Kaepernick with the words, "Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything."
On Friday, San Francisco-based Edison Trends revealed that after an initial drop in sales, Nike recovered strongly. Its 31 percent rise is nearly double its 17 percent gain over the same time period in 2017.
“There was speculation that the Nike/Kaepernick campaign would lead to a drop in sales,” Edison Trends co-founder Hetal Pandya said in a statement. “The data does not support that theory.”
But after Nike's stock fell 3.9 percent to touch a low of $79 per share on Tuesday, it rebounded to end the week at $80.30 per share, The New York Post reported.
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