Sales on Amazon may be banned by Nike

Nike rescinded its agreement with one of its distributors, Italy’s Action Sport, for failing to comply with Nike’s Selective Retailer Distribution Policy. Although Action Sport sells mainly from its physical store in Sicily, in terms of its internet sales it repeatedly violated the prohibition on selling Nike products through the Amazon platform. The dissolution was justified, the Amsterdam District Court and later the Court of Appeal ruled in July 2020. The Amsterdam Court of Appeal found that Nike may prohibit authorized retailers within its selective distribution system from selling Nike products through unauthorized online platforms such as Amazon. This is because it does not generally restrict online sales. Indeed, online sales on authorized websites (such as Action Sport’s own website and other e-tailers such as Zalando) are permitted by Nike.
Within a selective distribution system, a supplier chooses its customers (distributors) based on selection criteria. Sales from authorized distributors to unauthorized distributors are prohibited within a selective distribution system. This creates a closed system of distributors who may sell the products and thereby meet the quality requirements set by the supplier.
It follows from the judgment of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal that it is permitted to impose a prohibition on buyers in a selective distribution system from selling products via online platforms such as Amazon. It therefore no longer matters whether the products are luxury products or not.
In the case of selective distribution, buyers may not be prohibited from offering the products themselves through their own webshop. However, the buyer must in principle offer the products in the webshop at the same price as in the brick-and-mortar store. Only stunting via the webshop may therefore be prohibited.