US sportswear retailer Nike will bar major wholesale partners in China from selling its products online from January, shifting sales to its own branded storefronts instead.
The change means most of Nike’s 16 store partners in China, which together own and operate thousands of Nike outlets, will stop selling online and shift entirely to in-store retail.
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“Our marketplace has become so fragmented and cluttered. What consumers want is an experience that’s premium, true to the brand, trustworthy, and certainly connected between digital and physical”, Cathy Sparks, vice-president and Greater China general manager at Nike told Reuters.
Sales will instead be redirected to Nike-branded storefronts on Tmall, JD.com and Douyin, as well as its own website and app.
According to the company, the move aims to reduce marketplace fragmentation, restore consumer confidence, and back full-price sales.
Local competitors Anta and Li Ning, together with international labels On and Hoka, have been gaining ground in the Chinese market.
Two of Nike’s publicly listed retail partners, Topsports and Pou Sheng, said the shift would hurt their businesses.
Topsports, which generates 22% of its revenue from online sales of Nike products, stated in a stock exchange filing that it anticipates a “significant” impact in the near term.
Pou Sheng noted that online sales of Nike products represented roughly 15% of its revenue.
As part of efforts to tailor its products more closely to Chinese consumers, Sparks noted that Nike has named a vice president of local product creation for Greater China.
CEO Elliott Hill, nearing two years at the helm, has centred his wider turnaround plan on returning focus to sport, mending wholesale ties in North America, and rolling out new products.
The overhaul comes as Nike’s sales in China continue to drop.
Revenue from Greater China dropped 17% on a constant-currency basis in the fourth quarter, a sharper fall than the 10% decline recorded the previous quarter.
For the fourth quarter ended 31 May 2026, revenue slipped 1% on a reported basis to $10.97bn, down 4% on a currency-neutral basis.
Nike posted full-year revenue of $46.39bn for fiscal year 2026, with fourth-quarter profit climbing on an anticipated tariff recovery even as weakness persisted in China and Europe.
Retail Insight Network has contacted Nike for comment.
