Nike Thought It Didn't Need Amazon -- Then the Ground Shifted (wsj.com) 61
An anonymous reader shares a report: For years, Nike was one of the biggest holdouts against Amazon.com, refusing to provide its sneakers and athletic clothing for sale on the hulking e-commerce site. Its products were so cool, the company reasoned, it didn't need or want the help. Recently, Nike reversed course. Behind that decision lies a dramatic shift in the balance of power between brands and Amazon (Editor's note: the link could be paywalled; syndicated source). For decades, big consumer brands carefully controlled which retailers could sell their wares and at what prices. And for years, Amazon left the brands alone. Lately, the explosion of third-party sellers on the site has led to authentic goods from companies such as Nike, Chanel, The North Face, Patagonia and Urban Decay being sold on Amazon even though they don't authorize the sales, undercutting their grip on pricing and distribution. Even though Nike didn't send Amazon its products either directly or through approved wholesalers, Nike is the most purchased apparel brand on the site, according to a Morgan Stanley survey. A recent search for Nike products on Amazon turned up roughly 73,000 items. These days, there are so many third-party resellers, who generally are allowed to resell goods they have lawfully acquired at whatever price they want, that companies see few ways to stop them.
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I prefer the New Balance 623v3Training Shoes in black [amzn.to] for the office and in white [amzn.to] for the gym. I've been wearing this brand for 30+ years.
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Training shoes in an office?
The black training shoes look like dress shoes to the causal observer. They're very comfortable.
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You honestly think these look like dress shoes, to anybody?
To the casual observer. No one has ever asked me to lift the hem of my pants to show them the NB logo.
It's more like, nobody really cares to give constructive feedback to the 350 pound fat man who has given up on his appearances.
If I have given up on my appearances, I wouldn't be employed.
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Or it's remaindered stock. Or it's grey imports from a region where it's vastly cheaper because price is based on maximising profits, not minimising cost to the consumer.
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Re: Or they are counterfeit (Score:1)
You say I troll, but - http://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/08/amazons-chinese-counterfeit-problem-is-getting-worse.html
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Not true. You don't understand the remainder market:
The manufacturer produces a product and sells it to the wholesaler for 25% of list price. The wholesaler sells the product to the retailer for 50% of list price. The retailer sells it to the consumer at somewhere around list price (more when it first comes out, less as time goes on.) When the NEW version comes out the retailer returns their unsold merchandise to the wholesaler for credit towards their next purchase. Even with this return credit, the w
And? (Score:5, Insightful)
Are we supposed to care about what happens to asshole companies that blantly overprice their merchandise? Fuck 'em. This serves them right.
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So they are largely to blame for the fact that many people don't wear decent shoes anymore and only wear training shoes?
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Why are training shoes not decent ?
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Look into how your foot is supposed to work and how it actually works when wearing sneakers. A lot of lower back pain and foot problems are due to modern shoes. High heels are an abomination.
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You haven't really explained why training shoes are worse than the "decent" shoes that people used to wear.
High heels are an abomination.
Training shoes don't have high heels.
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Trainers have a reputation of falling apart within months
I've had several pairs of Nike trainers last me between 2-4 years. That's good enough for me. Typical point of failure is just the sole wearing down too far.
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Most of the Nike shoes I've bought were between $50 and $100 per pair. A custom made leather shoe would cost $250, plus additional cost for having it re-soled after a few years, plus extra time/money spent to get your foot measured and pick up the shoes. Total cost per year is comparable, but the trainer is much more comfortable. I can even run in it, if I find myself late for the train.
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which brand? lately even the nice brands from the snobby stores like Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus seem to fall apart in a year or so.
Lately I'm buying Geoxx and other cheaper mid price or lower price brands.
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Training shoes don't have high heels.
Maybe yours don't!
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Everything about them promotes heel striking as a running style. Humans are supposed to land on the balls of their feet so the calf can act as a spring.
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Read your link all the way through. It simply suggests that heel striking may not be Cthulhu level evil and that there's more to a good gait than just shifting to the forefoot. It also suggested that over-stride may be more important to correct.
I have no issue with any of those statements.
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Anything expensive from Italy, I'd wager.
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Ah, sure, mod me flamebait - but notice the only suggestions above for what a "decent" shoe is involve the words "handmade" and "leather". Classic snobbery.
Re:And? (Score:5, Insightful)
Are we supposed to care about what happens to asshole companies...
This is from the WSJ. This is news for adults, people like me who are dead inside. I don't care whether you care about asshole companies. It shows fascinating trends for the online economy, and what happens to companies who are not keeping up with their consumers' shopping habits.
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There are other implications of this business practice beyond just what price gets charged for the product.
Amazon has a huge grey market of third-party resellers who sell a mix of regular and 'international edition' (a.k.a. lower cost goods meant for non-english-speaking markets) products for much cheaper than you'd pay elsewhere. For tech products, where this distinction is very subtle and often entirely software-based, many manufacturers make the blanket declaration that Amazon isn't an 'authorized' resel
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The purpose of propaganda stories like these is to make you care, and ultimately to make the political class care so that legislation dealing with Amazon can be brought in. This is how special interests and big business manipulate public opinion and state power.
Now, I don't like Amazon much. Frankly I think that they have grown too big -- inflated by tsunamis of cheap Fed credit over the last 20 years. But you have to understand that this is why Jeff Bezos bought t
Sneakers are a weird market (Score:3)
Nike? (Score:1)
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Freedom (Score:3)
These days, there are so many third-party resellers, who generally are allowed to resell goods they have lawfully acquired at whatever price they want, that companies see few ways to stop them.
Good. We'd all like to be able to stop people from competing with us, but nobody should have the power to do so.
Good (Score:4, Insightful)
A first step is taken, now let me import your shoes from South East Asia where they cost a fraction of what you gouge here.
Sneaky sneaker sales (Score:1)
Ground Shifted? (Score:3, Funny)
... then the Ground Shifted
So.. Nike lost its footing?
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That's a shoe-in for the pun of the week!