Nike to Sell Sneakers on Amazon
Nike Inc. is starting to sell its shoes directly though a brand-registered program on Amazon.com. The program is designed to keep counterfeit Nike goods off the online marketplace. This move could help Nike clean up and better control the inventory that shows up on Amazon through third-party sellers, Goldman Sachs’ Lindsay Drucker Mann told Bloomberg. It would also allow Nike to better compete with Under Armour, which already sells via Amazon, and give it exposure to millennial shoppers, Drucker Mann said. Currently, Nike is available on Amazon’s Zappos site, but not directly through the parent company.
Total Retail’s Take: Nike’s strategy of selling directly on Amazon lets the athletic footwear and apparel retailer take greater control over how its products are sold, helping to ensure that knockoffs aren’t offered by third parties. Sneakers have been popular products to counterfeit, and Nike has been a target many times in the past. This new partnership with Amazon gives Nike the option to expand its product offering on the marketplace in the future, putting it in a better position to compete against its rival retailers — and in some cases retail partners, such as Dick's Sporting Goods.
