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1/ Today, @Nike announced it was ending its "pilot" program to be a 1st party seller on @amazon. In 2017, when the pilot was announced, it was held up as a response to Birkenstock's decision to leave Amzn b/c Amzn cld not/wld not control counterfeiting. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/13/brands-dont-need-amazon-nikes-departure-could-prompt-others-to-go.html?__source=twitter%7Cmain
2/CNBC quotes analysis that Nike/Amzn “breakup” means that “brands don’t need Amazon.” Such a conclusion isn’t accurate, according to brand adviser James Thompson, who sees “Nike throwing up its hands in frustration, and deciding not to work with Amazon.” https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jblthomson_brands-dont-need-amazon-nikes-departure-activity-6600425071150460928-lDCu/
3/Thompson notes Nike's leaving behind: 40,000 listings & 3,000 (mostly unauthorized) sellers. Only a few hundred of the listings were from Nike. Thompson concludes that Nike’s cancellation of the pilot suggests “continued problems with counterfeit products popping up on Amazon.”
4/ http://Marketplacepulse.com foundrJoe Kaziukenas sees the breakup as Amazon's failure to improve shopping for cust's, "[i]t’s still up to the shopper to sort through thousands of results to figure out what they exactly want and hope it’s not a counterfeit.” https://www.marketplacepulse.com/articles/nike-says-no-more-amazon
5/Earlier this yr, I argued Amzn’s counterfeit prob cld be more strategic. http://bit.ly/2WHXYam After the failed Nike pilot, I think it’s safe to conclude that, though Amazon might obtain some benefit from counterfeits, Amazon really has very little control over its own site.
