Aug 7 (Reuters) - The summer Olympics is turning out to

be a rare win for Nike ( NKE ) as the global sporting event has

helped boost demand for the sportswear giant's new launches and

edge out competition, website searches from research firm

Similarweb showed.

In the opening week of the Olympics, from July 26 to August

1, Nike ( NKE ) and Puma managed to increase visits to their

direct-to-consumer sites, while Adidas, Hoka and On all saw

their visits decline compared to the week before, according to

Similarweb.

The visits peaked on July 31 to 2 million, following U.S.

gymnast Simone Biles clinching her seventh Olympic gold medal

after the United States earned their third gold in the women's

team event.

Out of those visits to Nike.com, 86,900 included a sale,

while Adidas had a total of 532,500 visits with only 3,600

likely converted into product purchases, the data showed.

"If the athletes and teams sponsored by Nike ( NKE ) carry on

winning, that's likely going to boost their popularity and

therefore they'll probably still see those conversions remain

strong through the rest of the Olympics," Similarweb's Senior

Insights Analyst Daniel Reid said.

Nike ( NKE ) had said it was spending more on this Olympics than any

previous games, as it hopes to revive sales and compete with

upstart rivals. CFO Matthew Friend said in June that Nike ( NKE ) was

reinvesting nearly $1 billion in consumer-facing activities in

fiscal 2025, which includes product launches and deepening its

sports marketing portfolio through campaigns during the Paris

Olympics.

The world's largest sportswear maker and official sponsor

for the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic team, launched a slew of

products ranging from Jordan 4 Retro SE shoes to an Olympic

Electric Pack consisting of 55 shoes, including new designs of

Alphafly 3 and Pegasus that have intrigued consumers.

On the resale platform StockX, the Jordan 4 Retro SE Paris

Olympics Wet Cement, which retails for $225, were traded over

8,373 times as of July end, making it the highest-selling

Olympic product on its site.

Still Nike's ( NKE ) performance so far this year has lagged brands

such as Roger Federer-backed On, Deckers Outdoor's ( DECK )

Hoka and Adidas in the running, performance

and casual shoe category with the sportswear giant struggling to

bring innovative designs and some strategy missteps.

"(Nike ( NKE ) is) still a struggling brand overall. But the

Olympics, it definitely drives interest in these things ... Nike ( NKE )

is the one that's really winning there," said Drew Haines, the

merchandising director at StockX.