Amazon is ‘working directly with Nike to source their products,’ according to an email to sellers

Amazon did not specify how much of Nike’s catalog it would be sourcing directly, and some sellers posting the letter publicly on social media said that a limited number of products were impacted. Some pointed to predominantly apparel items as being affected. One Nike reseller posted on X (formerly Twitter), saying that 99% of his inventory is shoes sourced from Nike outlet stores, and only 23 out of 2,000 of his total Nike products on Amazon were impacted. Still, the move suggests a selective but significant thaw in Nike and Amazon’s relationship.

In a statement, an Amazon spokesperson told Modern Retail, “While independent sellers have listed some Nike inventory in our store for many years, Amazon will soon begin sourcing a much wider range of Nike products directly to expand our selection for U.S. customers. We value independent sellers, and we’re providing an extended period of time for the small number of sellers affected to sell through their inventory of overlapping items.”

A Nike spokesperson also told Modern Retail in a statement, “Nike is investing in our marketplace to ensure we’re offering the right products, best services and tailored experiences to consumers wherever and however they choose to shop. This includes expanding to new digital accounts, including Amazon in the U.S., new physical partners like Printemps, elevating retail experiences across the marketplace, and launching Nike’s AI powered conversational search to improve our online services.”

On Wednesday afternoon, The Information also published a story with a statement from Amazon confirming that Nike would resume selling some goods directly to the e-commerce company.

Wellington Amaral, who resells Nike goods on Amazon through his seven-figure business FBA Soles, received the letter Tuesday night, he told Modern Retail in an interview. He said 49 of his products, or 31% of his Nike catalog, was impacted, with roughly $6,100 in inventory tied up in the affected listings. “That worries me, especially since I’m not going to be able to sell those [items] after July 19,” he said.

The majority of Amaral’s affected listings were socks, boxers and T-shirts. “I remember, on a rough estimate, I’ve seen between five to 10 sneakers of those 49,” he said.

Nike ended its wholesale partnership with Amazon in 2019, stating it wanted to “focus on elevating consumer experiences through more direct, personal relationships.” Since then, Nike has heavily invested in its own direct-to-consumer channels, a strategy that is now being partially reversed.

The timing reflects Nike’s dominance on Amazon: In a May 2025 survey by Coresight Research, Nike was ranked as the top-selling apparel brand on the platform, with 38% of Amazon apparel shoppers reporting they had purchased Nike products in the last 12 months.

“It seems to suggest that [Amazon] wants to source directly from Nike, which they haven’t done in a material way for a while,” said Juozas Kaziukėnas, an independent e-commerce analyst. “Amazon’s leverage is that brands can ignore the platform, but they can’t make their customers ignore it.”

Nike’s return to Amazon comes as the brand is in the midst of a broader turnaround under new CEO Elliott Hill, who has placed particular emphasis on rebuilding the brand’s relationships with wholesale partners. In December, Hill told investors, “Some partners and channels feel we’ve turned our back on them, and we stopped engaging consistently.”

Selling through Amazon again could be an opportunity for Nike to clear out old inventory. When Nike reported earnings in March, Nike said it was focused on reducing its inventory levels, which are “elevated across all categories,” the company said at the time. Nike issued weaker-than-expected guidance in its most recent quarter, citing ongoing restructuring efforts, as well as pressure from new tariffs on foreign imports. CNBC reported that Nike will hike prices across a range of products as early as this week as tariffs squeeze the broader retail industry.

Amazon, for its part, is investing more in premium brand relationships. In February, Amazon partnered with Nike rival Adidas to enable Buy With Prime on the brand’s DTC site and app, offering Prime delivery benefits and checkout options to Adidas shoppers — a sign that major brands that once shunned the e-commerce marketplace are warming up to Amazon’s infrastructure.

Jan Capps, another Amazon reseller who received the letter from Amazon, said 22 of her Nike products were hit, out of a catalog of around 150 Nike listings, or about $8,500 in inventory. Some of the affected products included a women’s pullover hoodie, “recrafted” Court Borough sneakers for kids and fitness pants for men.

“I’m probably going to sell through all this inventory,” she said, though she’s bracing for the possibility of having to sell some items at a loss. “I’m probably not going to be buying any more Nike products.”

Both Amaral and Capps said they received similar communications from Amazon regarding Adidas products earlier this year, around the time Adidas’s Buy With Prime partnership was announced. Modern Retail viewed a copy of one of the letters.

“You have to find a way to be on Amazon for a brand as big as Nike,” Kaziukėnas said. “Even if it’s limited inventory, it’s better than having the current kind of status quo, which for years has been this super limited selection of these oddball Nike products, which does more damage than any good.”

While the scale of the renewed relationship is unclear, Kaziukėnas said it’s unlikely Nike will make its full catalog available. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it brings [just] some of the selection — especially higher-volume, lower-price-point items — while keeping exclusives and limited releases for its own site and stores.”