To play devil's advocate, Apple products tend to live or die based on how good they are, not the brand. Apple has produced plenty of duds over the years.
Whereas for Nike they could make the ugliest shoe in the world and people would still buy it.
They're "duds" by Apple's own standards. Their margins and sheer volume means that virtually every Apple product in the Steve Jobs era has been financially successful - excluding maybe the things like the G4 Cube
Whereas for Nike they could make the ugliest shoe in the world and people would still buy it.