Will More Brands Follow Nike’s Lead in Leaving Amazon? Time Will Tell For other brands eyeing how Nike’s departure plays out, Tony King, an e-commerce expert and chief executive officer of King & Partners, described the move as “a great example of a brand prioritizing long-term brand strength ahead of short-term transactions.”
“Nike clearly understands the importance of an elevated consumer experience, and a direct relationship with their client — owning the relationship between brand and customer is the most important part of the retail equation,” King told WWD, adding that smaller brands can glean some insights from the split. “Obviously it helps that Nike has enormous demand, and it’s not hard to find their products on nike.com etc. — the customers will come to Nike. I do believe there are lessons to be learned here for smaller brands; I wish more brands would take a long-term approach to brand building and not just be thinking short-term sales.” To me, it’s always been a stop-gap strategy to get some sales as you build the brand,” King explained. “Selling direct allows you to create a truly differentiated shopping experience.
Obviously it helps that Nike has enormous demand, and it’s not hard to find their products on nike.com etc. — the customers will come to Nike. I do believe there are lessons to be learned here for smaller brands; I wish more brands would take a long-term approach to brand building and not just be thinking short-term sales.”
So what does it take to ween a brand off of Amazon? “Selling any brand through any third party leaks brand value. To me, it’s always been a stop-gap strategy to get some sales as you build the brand,” King explained. “Selling direct allows you to create a truly differentiated shopping experience. Most importantly, and quite obviously, you need to make sure your direct-to-consumer channels are running as perfectly as possible. Your site should be well merchandised with all of your products, the UX has to be flawless, the platform and integrations all working perfectly, and customer service and logistics have to be completely optimized and efficient.”
