- Sports apparel company Nike confirmed that it is no longer selling products on Amazon
Sports apparel company Nike has confirmed that it is no longer selling its products on Amazon. This ends a two year deal between the two companies.
Why did Nike decide to end the partnership with Amazon? Amazon reportedly did not meet Nike’s expectations for third-party sellers. And a Nike spokesperson told Bloomberg that it is planning to focus more on its direct-to-consumer operations. Incoming Nike CEO John Donahoe — who was previously the CEO of eBay — will oversee this strategy over the next few years.
“As part of Nike’s focus on elevating consumer experiences through more direct, personal relationships, we have made the decision to complete our current pilot with Amazon Retail,” said a Nike spokesperson in a statement to Bloomberg. “We will continue to invest in strong, distinctive partnerships for Nike with other retailers and platforms to seamlessly serve our consumers globally.”
And A spokesperson told CNBC that Nike will continue using Amazon Web Services to run its website and some of its mobile apps like SNKRS.
In the original Amazon “pilot” deal, Nike was going to sell its products directly to Amazon. And Amazon would prevent unauthorized third-party sellers from listing Nike items on its platform. Plus Amazon would ensure that fake Nike products would be removed from the platform as well. So the ending of the partnership will make it harder for consumers to tell whether a Nike product they buy on Amazon will be authentic.
Nike currently sees about 30% of its annual sales from the direct-to-consumer operations. Specifically, Nike’s direct-to-consumer sales hit $11.8 billion for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2019. This was due to a 35% jump in online sales and same-store sales growth. In terms of total fiscal 2019 revenue, Nike hit $39.1 billion.
Nike’s wholesale customer business grew 10% during the same period. Some of Nike’s largest wholesale partners include Foot Locker and Dick’s Sporting Goods.
Featured photo credit: Nike
