ESPN REPORT:
In the wake of Kobe Bryant's death, Nike has decided to pull all Kobe-related items from its Nike.com webstore, company sources confirmed to ESPN. For now, searches for Bryant's products provide one result: a purple and yellow Nike gift card bearing the Los Angeles Lakers' logo.
The company is reevaluating its ongoing strategy for releasing Bryant's signature shoe series, and in the interim, it would prefer to limit resellers' ability to stockpile an inventory of existing products, only to sell them on the secondary market at elevated prices.[/COLOR]
NIKE REPORT:
Monday night that Nike, along with some resellers, suspended sales of Kobe Bryant merchandise to limit profiteering in the wake of the basketball star’s death, but a Nike spokesperson told Forbes that the company sold out of Bryant products instead of pulling them.
In the wake of Kobe Bryant's death, Nike has decided to pull all Kobe-related items from its Nike.com webstore, company sources confirmed to ESPN. For now, searches for Bryant's products provide one result: a purple and yellow Nike gift card bearing the Los Angeles Lakers' logo.
The company is reevaluating its ongoing strategy for releasing Bryant's signature shoe series, and in the interim, it would prefer to limit resellers' ability to stockpile an inventory of existing products, only to sell them on the secondary market at elevated prices.[/COLOR]
NIKE REPORT:
Monday night that Nike, along with some resellers, suspended sales of Kobe Bryant merchandise to limit profiteering in the wake of the basketball star’s death, but a Nike spokesperson told Forbes that the company sold out of Bryant products instead of pulling them.
- ESPN reported that Nike suspended Bryant’s merch to limit secondary resellers’ ability to stockpile and then flip the products at higher prices.
- A new colorway of Bryant’s Kobe 5 Protro sneaker was scheduled to launch February 7, and Nike is reevaluating whether to proceed or hold off on the release, ESPN reported, citing sources within the company.
- As of Tuesday morning, searches for “Kobe” on the Nike.com store only returned one result: a Los Angeles Lakers-themed gift card.
- Several consignment stores across the country have said they will not sell Bryant’s merch for the time being, while Las Vegas-based Urban Necessities said in a statement, “Out of respect for his family and legacy, we will not allow price changes on Kobe items.”
- Bryant’s Nike shoes and other memorabilia are still available on some secondary marketplaces, according to ESPN, with some products marked up as much as 300%.
- A Nike spokesperson told Forbes in an emailed statement that the company did not pull products, but instead sold out of them—contradicting ESPN’s report.