Nike to crack down on retail partners in bid to curb reselling

Nike has threatened to limit supplies of its newest products to retail partners over concerns they are not stopping their own store staff from “quietly offering” multiple pairs of trainers to resellers, according to The Sunday Times. 

As ‘non-essential’ stores were allowed to reopen last Monday, images of crowds outside retailers, such as JD Sports on Oxford Street, dominated coverage as trainer enthusiasts sought to get their hands on the latest Nike Air Jordan 1s.

While such ‘drops’ of new product create huge traffic both in store and online for the likes of Nike, they have also created a scenario where demand outstrips supply, with new shoes routinely selling for more than double the retail price secondhand. 

The profits to be made have seen resellers “tap up” store staff and create special bots to avoid queues on Nike sites, making the chances of securing new trainers harder for actual customers.

The sportswear giant is also expected to address the issue by increasing the supply of limited-edition trainers in drops.

Nike is re-evaluating its approach to drops after a Bloomberg Businessweek article in the US found that the son of the retailer’s general manager for North America, Ann Herbert, was making more than $50,000 a month reselling coveted trainers online.

Herbert resigned shortly after the story broke in February.