Nike to crack down on reseller store staff in UK

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
Apr 19, 2021

Enough is enough. Nike has told partner retailers to stop the sale of limited edition trainers to resellers or they could face “supply curtailment”.

The athletic sportswear giant wants to end the way multiple pairs of high-demand shoes find their way to individual operators who then “flip” or sell them on for huge profits, The Times newspaper reported.

Although Nike attempts to control the supply of limited-edition trainers, such as Air Jordans and Nike Dunks, through product drops to generate increased traffic, it’s also fuelled the growth of a booming resale market, where the shoes sell for more than double their retail price.

The potential profits encourage resellers to tap store staff for extra supply and to procure web 'bots' that bypass queues on websites, making it hard for ordinary customers to buy the trainers at normal retail price.

“Nike is frustrated that their best customers are not able to get the products they want and frustration among customers is as high as it’s ever been. The current model is unsustainable,” Matt Powell, senior adviser at data provider NPD, told the newspaper.

Nike is said to be reviewing its approach to drops after a Bloomberg Businessweek article revealed that Joe Hebert, son of Ann Hebert, Nike’s general manager for North America, was making monthly profits of at least $50,000 reselling coveted trainers from Nike and other brands. She resigned shortly after the story broke in February.

Nike has yet to officially comment on its new approach to handling supply drops.