Nike left Amazon in US, opens Lazada flagship store in Southeast Asia

Two years after Nike dropped Amazon as its e-commerce partner in the US, the famed sports company is working with Southeast Asia’s e-commerce leader Lazada to boost its online presence across the region.

The partnership, which went live in Singapore over the weekend, means one thing and one thing only to consumers in the region – direct retailing.

Consumers across Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand can purchase directly from Nike LazMall’s Flagship Store safely, knowing they are getting the best prices and more importantly, an authentic pair of premium footwear.

“This venture enables us to consistently offer product accessibility, enjoyable shopping experiences and a wide variety of innovation and design to our regional consumers in line with our digital growth,” says Ken Yamada, GM, Nike Direct Digital Commerce, Southeast Asia and India.

“At the same time, this marketplace experience will be complementary to Nike.com and our existing strategic partnerships to enrich our offerings and choices for consumers within the Nike digital ecosystem.”

The break up from Amazon two years ago was attributed to an overhaul in the sports company’s retail strategy, though insiders at that time indicated that the increase in counterfeit products and uncontrolled pricing affected the brand’s online retail reputation.

This is especially since Amazon is plagued with plenty of third party sellers, grey market items and counterfeits sold by others.

With more attention aimed at direct-to-consumer avenues, particularly the Nike app and Nike.com, the sports giant is expected to be able achieve more control over their products on the Alibaba-owned Southeast Asia platform.

With Lazada, consumers can confidently purchase Nike products that are authentic