Adidas have responded to Tamebay with more information regarding the news that they will ban retailers from selling Adidas and Reebok products on marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon from January 2013.
They have advised us that the policy only applies to authorised wholesale customers who have an account with the Adidas Group.
They told Tamebay “The goal of our wholesale customer and range segmentation strategy is to develop and position the collections and brands of the Adidas Group in a way to best address our target audience’s needs. We have been following this strategy for several seasons now”.
“As part of the implementation of this strategy we are regularly analysing and differentiating our distribution channels across Europe”.
“Our new e-Commerce guidelines will ensure that Adidas and Reebok will be presented in the right environment at all times”.
Reading between the lines I guess that this means if you’re not an authorised wholesale customer with an account with Adidas then you’re free to continue to sell their products on marketplaces. If you can source the products through legitimate channels then there appears no reason why you can’t list them on eBay and Amazon.
One would presume that new in season products will not make their way into secondary distribution channels and Adidas will put plans in place to prevent authorised wholesale customers reselling them at a discount to other retailers. This probably means (although again, we’re guessing) that the only way you’ll be able to offer new in season products on marketplaces will be to purchase them through official retailers at full price.
If you do retail Adidas and Reebok products on marketplaces we’d strongly recommend that you clarify your position direct with Adidas Group or your wholesaler to ensure you comply with any distribution agreements that they put in place.
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So an authorized dealer, sets up a separate Co, then sells to them @ say +5%, then plonks them on Ebay, etc.
Job Done