Dive Brief:
- Nike is returning to Amazon after six years, a company spokesperson confirmed. The brand stopped selling directly on Amazon's site in 2019 following a two-year pilot aimed at combating counterfeits.
- “Nike is investing in our marketplace to ensure we're offering the right products, best services, and tailored experiences to consumers wherever and however they choose to shop,” the company said in a statement. “This includes expanding to new digital accounts, including Amazon in the U.S.”
- Amazon third-party merchants that have been selling Nike products have until July 19 to sell through their Nike inventory. Nike did not respond to questions about whether the counterfeit activity on Amazon has improved or if its decision is connected to counterfeits at all.
Dive Insight:
The latest reversal to Nike’s direct-selling strategy is a decision to sell on Amazon once more. Back in 2019, the sportswear brand abandoned the marketplace in favor of “more direct, personal relationships.”
Now, the marketplace is one of several partnerships Nike is looking to strengthen under new CEO Elliott Hill, who took over in October. The athletics company also has new physical partners like Printemps, is elevating its retail experiences and is "launching Nike’s AI powered conversational search to improve our online services,” according to a spokesperson.
At the same time, the sportswear giant is looking to rightsize certain footwear styles it overindexed on, including Dunk, Air Jordan and Air Force 1, and contending with tariffs.
Whether in response to tariffs or not, Nike is raising prices across its apparel and equipment as of Sunday, ranging from $2 to $10. A spokesperson did not directly answer if Nike’s price increases were related to tariffs, but said, "we regularly evaluate our business and make pricing adjustments as part of our seasonal planning."
Increases will vary by product, with footwear priced between $100 and $150 seeing a $5 upcharge and footwear priced over $150 seeing a $10 increase. Kids products, Air Force 1s, Jordan brand items and products that cost less than $100 will not see price increases.
The news comes as many in the industry look to price increases to offset the cost of tariffs from the Trump administration. Footwear retailers in particular could be hit hard by tariffs, and dozens of them signed a letter to the president in May requesting an exemption for the category. The brands, which included Nike, Puma, Adidas and others, stressed that it would take “significant capital investment and years of planning” to bring manufacturing back to the U.S.
Asked about their own plans for price increases, Adidas did not respond to a request for comment and Puma said it was “monitoring the recent developments in the US market very closely.” While the sportswear brand is in discussion with its U.S. partners about tariffs, Puma said it has not made any decisions on price adjustments and is focused on adjusting sourcing and accelerating deliveries to the U.S.
“Thanks to the agile way in which we manage our inventory, we have the flexibility to carefully assess market conditions before implementing any pricing changes and respond quickly and adequately to the evolving situation,” a Puma spokesperson said.
