Retailers Could Face “Supply Curtailment” as Nike Cracks Down on Reselling

Nike is looking to put an end to exclusive sneaker reselling within retailers as the Swoosh notified its partnering shops that any store could face “supply curtailment,” The Times reports.

Limited-edition sneakers often end up flipped by sneakerheads, who make thousands of dollars in profit. Any retailer found helping resellers by backdooring could face massive repercussions with less supply of limited-release sneakers Nike, a company whose footwear net revenue in 2021 was $28 billion across markets in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Greater China, and Asia Pacific and Latin America.

Nike has dropped some of the most exclusive sneakers in the business, such as the Dior x Air Jordan 1, Italian luxury fashion label Off-Whiteâ€s THE TEN collection in collaboration with Nike, Union x Air Jordan 4 collection, Concepts x Nike SB Dunk High “TurDunken,” and Bodegaâ€s Nike Dunk High “Legend.”

The no-resell message from the global giant arrives months after the Ann Hebert scandal, where the vice-president and general manager of Nike North America stepped down after an article published by Bloomberg Businessweek noted her son is a well-known sneaker reseller. Hebert was a 25-year employee of Nike when reports surfaced of her 19-year-old son using her credit card to fund his sneaker resale business.

Thereâ€s also been a continued pile-up of sneaker Ls (not being able to get the shoe at the time of release), and an ongoing outcry from the sneaker community for a more fair approach to the sneaker game.

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

While thereâ€s more to be done from not just Nike but every sneaker brand, this is a long-overdue step in the right direction.

The North American limited edition sneaker resell market tops $2 billion, with estimates the global sneaker resale market could reach a whopping $30 billion by 2030.

“I think the sneakerheads got more involved as COVID-19 picked up,” said John Kernan, an analyst at Cowen Equity Research in an article by Yahoo Finance. “There are new customers out there. They’re acquiring new consumers. They’ve never done this before either. So I don’t think it’s a fad. I think when you’re talking to price points that these things are going for this, isn’t a fad. Fads are cheap fashion-driven or trend-driven things. Fads aren’t $500 items.”

Stay tuned to learn more about Nikeâ€s no-resell efforts, the latest sneaker community news, and where to purchase upcoming sneaker releases for retail by heading over to SoleSavy, and check out the benefits of a SoleSavy membership.