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Nike to tighten online sales in China amid 'cluttered' marketplace
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Fusion42 · 22 July 2026 · Fusion42 review
Nike is restricting wholesale distributors' online sales in China starting January 2026, funnelling e-commerce traffic to official Nike channels on Tmall, JD.com, Douyin and its own platforms. The move aims to rebuild brand trust and combat fragmented pricing as Nike faces 17% sales declines and intensifying competition from domestic rivals Anta and Li Ning.
This Wire brief sits within Fusion42's coverage of D2C Brands, and 2 sources have reported it.
◆ ◆ The Wire takeaway
Nike just cut off its wholesale partners' online channels in China — if you sell logistics, content, or customer acquisition to Chinese e-commerce platforms, you now have thousands of Nike retail partners scrambling to move volume offline or find new channels by January. If you build tools for brand-to-consumer direct sales, Anta and Li Ning now have proof the market will follow a play Nike is testing.
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2 sources · 22 Jul 2026
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