Nike to Sell Product Directly to Amazon
June 21 2017 - 2:17PM
Dow Jones News
By Sara Germano and Laura Stevens
Nike Inc. has agreed to sell some of its products directly to
Amazon.com Inc., a person familiar with the matter said, a
concession by the sneaker giant that it can no longer afford to
ignore the online retailing behemoth.
While Nike sells its shoes and sportswear through department
stores and specialty retailers, it has refused to sell directly to
Amazon, fearing it would undermine its brand. But with traffic to
traditional stores on the decline and chains like Sports Authority
disappearing, Nike has been ramping up efforts to sell directly to
consumers, especially its own e-commerce efforts.
Both of Nike's biggest rivals, Adidas AG and Under Armour Inc.,
sell some of their products directly to Amazon, which has been
working to add fashion brands and apparel to its inventory.
News of the Amazon deal punished shares of Nike retailers, with
Foot Locker Inc. falling 6.5% and Finish Line Inc. down 3.7%. The
companies didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
Nike executives have been in talks with Amazon for weeks about
cracking down on counterfeit product and the proliferation of
unauthorized third-party sales on the site, this person said. The
two companies have reached an agreement where Nike would agree to
provide some product directly to Amazon in exchange for Amazon
policing counterfeit and third-party sales, this person said.
Nike declined to comment. Amazon had no immediate comment.
Write to Sara Germano at sara.germano@wsj.com and Laura Stevens
at laura.stevens@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 21, 2017 14:02 ET (18:02 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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