The Silver Heel Tab and the Swoosh: Alexandre Arnault Joins Nike’s Board

KEY FINDINGS

• Alexandre Arnault, a son of LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault and deputy chief executive of Moët Hennessy, joined Nike’s board of directors on 15 September 2026.
• At Tiffany & Co., Arnault oversaw the 2023 Air Force 1 with a Tiffany Blue Swoosh and sterling silver heel tabs.
• Nike left the S&P 100 on 21 September 2026, while it moves its sneakers back into the shops of its retail partners.

Alexandre Arnault joined Nike’s board of directors on 15 September 2026. The LVMH executive previously helped reposition Rimowa and oversaw product and communications at Tiffany & Co., including its 2023 Air Force 1 collaboration with Nike. His appointment comes as Nike rebuilds wholesale distribution and tries to restore desirability to its sneakers.

The shoe was black, with a Swoosh in Tiffany Blue and a tab of .925 sterling silver on each heel. It went on sale on 7 March 2023 for 400 dollars. Anyone who wanted a pair entered a draw online and collected it from one of two Tiffany & Co. stores in New York.

Tiffany made the accessories to match. There was a silver shoe horn, a silver shoe brush and a silver whistle on a pendant, priced from 250 to 475 dollars. The man who announced it all, on Instagram and in an advertisement in The New York Times, was Alexandre Arnault, then an executive vice president at the jeweller.

Why Nike Puts Alexandre Arnault on Its Board

Alexandre Arnault, 34, a son of LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault and deputy chief executive of Moët Hennessy, joined Nike’s board of directors on 15 September 2026. Nike enlarged its board to twelve members to make room for him.

His record reads like a list of revivals:

• He led LVMH’s purchase of Rimowa in 2016 and ran the luggage house as co-chief executive from the age of 24.
• He spent four years at Tiffany & Co. as executive vice president of product, communications and industrial.
• He has been deputy chief executive of Moët Hennessy, the group’s champagne and cognac house, since February 2025.
• He has sat on the boards of Carrefour, Birkenstock and Moncler and is a trustee of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Mark Parker, Nike’s executive chairman, praised him for “helping iconic global brands evolve, innovate and grow.” Elliott Hill, the chief executive, said Arnault understands how influential brands “stay relevant, deepen consumer connections and drive long-term growth.”

Alexandre Arnault’s Rimowa Playbook Was Written on WhatsApp

At Rimowa, Alexandre Arnault revived a Cologne suitcase maker founded in 1898 through collaborations with Supreme and Virgil Abloh. When LVMH bought 80 percent of the company in 2016, its grooved aluminium cases sold for 300 to 600 euros, and Arnault ran the house alongside Dieter Morszeck, the founder’s grandson.

Supreme had already made a Rimowa case a talking point when Virgil Abloh, who had travelled with the brand for years, got in touch in 2018. The two designed a transparent polycarbonate cabin case, mostly over WhatsApp, and priced it at 850 euros. Everyone at the airport could see what was packed inside.

From Cologne, Arnault moved to New York and the four years at Tiffany. The silver Air Force 1 came out of those years.

Nike Sends Its Sneakers Back to the Shops

Nike is moving its sneakers back into the shops of its retail partners under Elliott Hill, who returned as chief executive in October 2024. During the pandemic, Nike pulled much of its stock into its own stores and apps, and in June Hill named the soft spots himself: Nike sportswear and Jordan streetwear, “where sell through remains challenged.”

The year to May 2026 shows the turn:

• Sales through retail partners rose 6 percent to 27.5 billion dollars.
• Nike’s own stores and apps sold 6 percent less, at 17.7 billion dollars.
• In the final quarter, sales in Greater China fell 17 percent on a currency-neutral basis.

Nike Leaves the S&P 100 After Almost Eighteen Years

Nike left the S&P 100 before trading opened on 21 September 2026, five days after Alexandre Arnault joined its board, ending a membership that began in December 2008. In early September Nike was worth about 57 billion dollars, against 264 billion at its peak in November 2021.

Its seat went to four technology companies, among them Dell and Sandisk. Nike stays in the S&P 500.

Nike and Luxury Chase the Same Customer

According to On, the Swiss running brand, sportswear and luxury now chase the same customer. At its investor day in Zurich on 22 September, the day after Nike’s exit from the index, On said luxury has lost roughly 80 million customers to lower price points. It called the ground between mass market and luxury open water, and it calls its own customers the Movement Class, people for whom sportswear is part of who they are.

Arnault has sat on the board of Moncler, a house that carried ski jackets into fashion. At its new store on Fifth Avenue, opened on 10 September, Stöckli skis share the upper floor with the down.

His first test in the boardroom comes on 1 October, when Nike reports its quarterly results after the market closes. There was one more Tiffany shoe in 2023, made entirely in Tiffany Blue leather with a white midsole, and it went only to friends and family. The box was orange.