On a Friday afternoon in February, near the end of a two-week stretch of Super Bowl bliss that turned bitter for the city of Philadelphia, a packed house of sneakerheads were momentarily distracted. The crowd at Lapstone and Hammer, a jawny Center City retailer of tasteful fits, had been given a passcode, one that would enroll them in the future of the world’s largest sportswear brand, they were told.

It was a code to enroll in Nike’s latest and highly anticipated bet on Web3, Dot Swoosh.

Nike unveiled Dot Swoosh in November, describing it as a “new, inclusive digital community and experience and a home for Nike virtual creations.” Exactly what that means is a little unclear, and the company kept things mostly under wraps at first (including rebuffing Morning Brew’s repeated requests for an interview).

That began changing late last year, as Nike set out on tour across the country, holding small workshops and seminars in sneaker stores, seeking to educate the fanbase on its Web3 ambitions.

In Philadelphia, the pitch was fuzzy—representatives weren’t so much spreading the gospel of Web3 as they were emphasizing restraint. Panelists used phrases like “taking it easy,” “methodical and intentional,” and “slow things down” when asked what a roadmap might look like. The Taco Bell NFT, this was not, at least not yet.

Despite the lack of detail, the brand’s ambitions are stark. “Just as Nike has been the conduit to sport, Dot Swoosh is going to be the conduit to Web3,” Iris Yen, head of marketing and community at Nike, told the crowd. “When we think about our mission here, it is onboarding the next millions of users to Web3.”

Sure. But it’s a gamble on a category that’s received more eye rolls than excitement, a hype cycle that’s given way to AI and chatbots. It’s a wager that makes Nike, a blue-chip brand if there ever was one, somewhat of a bellwether for Web3. If a company of its size and status can’t make Web3 work, then who can?

Keep reading here.—MA, RB

These logos are imprinted in our minds. This series examines where they came from and why they work.

Brand: Lacoste

Designer: Robert George

Year: 1926

While France erupts in protests over President Emmanuel Macron’s proposal to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, at least one 90-year-old there’s still at work and raking it in: Lacoste.

In 2022, the brand, which is based in Paris, grew 26% to 2.5 billion euros.

Since it began in 1933, Lacoste has seen many fashion trends come and go and had plenty of changes among its design team, including naming Pelagia Kolotouros as creative design director in February. But one thing has remained constant: the brand’s iconic crocodile logo, which is older than the brand itself.

One-man brand: Paris-born René Lacoste was ranked the No. 1 tennis player in the world in 1926 and 1927; he won the French Open three times and both Wimbledon and the US Open twice.

Accounts vary on how he earned the nickname “Le Crocodile”: in one version, it was because a tennis team captain promised him a crocodile suitcase if he won a match; in another, it was because he played with the endurance of the creature; and in yet another, it was that his prominent nose was reminiscent of the reptile’s snout.

Around 1926, after an artist friend, Robert George, drew a crocodile for him, Lacoste had it embroidered on the pocket on the left side of the white blazer he wore to matches.

Lacoste also is credited with inventing the polo shirt as we know it. When he started playing professionally, players wore long-sleeved, button-down shirts, but he bucked the trend when, around 1927, he had short-sleeve shirts custom-made: They were inspired by short-sleeved oxford cloth shirts worn by polo players, but these were jersey-knit with only three buttons.

Keep reading here.—AAN

Today’s top retail reads.

A different game: A young and affluent population in Saudi Arabia, along with a shifting social climate, is luring international luxury retailers to the country. But to succeed, they’ll have to follow a few guidelines. (Vogue Business)

Buy now, pain later: Apple may be “a little late to the party,” but its latest BNPL offering could push cash-strapped consumers into the same trap: buying things they can’t afford. (the Washington Post)

Inside view: A bird flu that originated in 2022 led to the death of 58 million chickens and turkeys, and eventually, the tight supply of eggs and skyrocketing prices we see today. (Food Dive)

Three of the stories below are real...and one is most definitely not. Can you spot the fake?

1. Dog Haus is selling a pepperoni pizza sausage as part of its “Absolute Würst Sausage Series.”
2. An Australian cultivated-meat company debuted a gigantic meatball made from woolly mammoth meat as part of a museum exhibit in the Netherlands.
3. Cup Noodles has introduced a limited-edition birthday cake-flavored ramen for “celebratory occasions.”
4. Hawaii has opened its first carbon-neutral restaurant partly through feeding a seaweed diet to goats.

Keep reading for the answer.

Catch up on the Retail Brew stories you may have missed.

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• Retail supply chains are front-row seats for the impact of AI on jobs