Nike’s Amazon Return After 6-Years Signals a Shift from D2C Ambitions

Nike is making a comeback on Amazon after a six-year hiatus, said a report by The Information. The sneaker giant originally pulled its products from the platform in 2019 to focus on direct-to-consumer sales and maintain tighter control over its brand experience. However, with shifting market dynamics and a dip in sales, Nike is reestablishing its direct relationship with Amazon to expand its reach.

Starting in June, Nike will also be raising prices on select adult apparel and footwear, though children's products and certain iconic items like Air Force 1s will remain unchanged. The move is part of a broader strategy under CEO Elliott Hill to regain market share and optimize distribution channels.

Amazon, in turn, will begin sourcing a wider range of Nike products directly, reducing reliance on third-party sellers. This marks a significant shift in Nike's retail strategy.

It is to be noted that before pulling out in 2019, Nike struggled with unauthorized third-party sellers flooding Amazon with counterfeits or unverified products. Now, by selling directly (via Amazon), Nike can maintain better control over pricing, branding, and authenticity.

Nike will now sell directly on Amazon, rather than relying on third-party sellers. Previously, Nike was a "gated" brand, meaning its products were highly restricted to prevent counterfeits. Amazon has informed some third-party sellers that they will no longer be allowed to sell overlapping Nike products after July 19, 2025. This move ensures Nike maintains tighter control over its brand presence. 

Nike previously emphasized DTC channels like its own website and retail stores for higher profit margins and brand control. Selling on Amazon again signals a shift—perhaps acknowledging that exclusive reliance on DTC wasn’t sustainable long-term.

Nike aggressively pushed its D2C model, prioritizing its own website, apps, and flagship stores while cutting ties with wholesale partners. While this boosted profit margins, it also alienated retailers and limited Nike’s reach.

Nike’s direct-to-consumer (D2C) strategy, once a cornerstone of its growth, has undergone a significant recalibration. Here’s what might have happened:

1. Over-Reliance on D2C Channels

Nike aggressively pushed its D2C model, prioritizing its own website, apps, and flagship stores while cutting ties with wholesale partners. While this boosted profit margins, it also alienated retailers and limited Nike’s reach.

2. Market Saturation & Slower Growth

Despite initial success, Nike’s D2C sales began to plateau. The brand struggled to maintain the same level of growth, especially as economic conditions shifted and consumer spending patterns evolved.

3. Challenges in Customer Acquisition Costs

Nike’s heavy investment in digital marketing and personalized experiences increased customer acquisition costs. While D2C offers higher margins, it also demands significant spending on logistics, advertising, and customer engagement.

4. Return to Wholesale & Amazon

Recognizing the limitations of an exclusive D2C approach, Nike is now rebalancing its strategy. The brand is rekindling partnerships with major retailers and returning to Amazon to regain lost market share and improve accessibility.

5. Renewed Focus on Brand Building

Nike is shifting back to long-term brand storytelling rather than just performance-driven marketing. The company is emphasizing emotional connections with consumers, reinforcing its iconic status rather than relying solely on direct sales.

Other major brands like Adidas and Under Armour will closely watch how Nike performs on Amazon. If successful, this might encourage more premium brands to embrace Amazon, despite initial hesitations about price dilution or brand perception.

Beside these, Nike is also partnering with Printemps, a luxury department store, and launching AI-powered conversational search to enhance its online shopping experience.

Nike’s evolution highlights the delicate balance between direct sales and wholesale partnerships. Do you think this shift will strengthen Nike’s position, or does it signal a retreat from its ambitious D2C vision? Do comment below....

Venturi Partners Invests $25 Mn in Footwear Brand JQR

Venturi Partners, a leading consumer fund in India and Southeast Asia, today announced a $25 million investment in JQR (Just Quick Run), a rapidly emerging brand in the affordable footwear segment. This marks the first venture capital funding for JQR, with Venturi acquiring an undisclosed minority stake.

Founded in 2014, JQR is today, a highly trusted brand in India’s $12 billion mid and economy priced footwear segment. With vertically integrated manufacturing, in-house design capabilities and strong offline distribution, JQR consistently delivers high quality products at affordable price points.

Rishika Chandan, Managing Director of Venturi Partners, commented:

We are very excited to partner with JQR. The footwear industry is seeing strong support from government policies, and we believe there is a significant gap in the price segment that JQR operates in. India’s consumer market continues to have a dearth of high-quality, affordable brands, and our mission at Venturi is to identify and scale such businesses across categories. JQR has impressed us with its product quality, design aesthetic, in-house manufacturing, and well-established distribution network. We look forward to working closely with the founders to accelerate their growth trajectory.

This funding will allow JQR to further expand its offline presence to new markets as well as launch its online channel, and further enhance its product offerings to meet India's rising demand for affordable, high-quality sneakers.

The promoter brothers of JQR, Rinku, Sunil and Manish Garg commented: 

The partnership with Venturi Partners marks an exciting milestone in JQR’s journey. The investment will not only allow us to accelerate our growth and deliver value to our consumers, but, with their support and expertise, we are also confident that JQR will emerge as the leading brand in its category and deliver strong value to all stakeholders.

This investment is part of Venturi Partners’ broader strategy to empower audacious brands across sectors such as retail, education, healthcare, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) amongst others. Venturi Partners aims to support JQR not just with funding but also with strategic expertise, helping the company scale efficiently while staying true to its core brand identity. Venturi’s existing portfolio includes Livspace, Country Delight, Believe, Pickup Coffee, DALI, and K-12 Techno.

TEKNOFEET Launches Mobile Apps To Let You Find Right Footwear Size Using AI and Computer Vision

TEKNOFEET launches mobile app for its Android and IOS users

Gurgaon based startup TEKNOFEET which enhances footwear shopping experience by bringing together advanced technology and the science of feet / footwear has launched a mobile app for its users.  TEKNOFEET, is basically a bridge to fill in the gap between the shoe brands and customers by analyzing the right foot size. It was incepted in 2019 and since then the brand has attained almost 6000 unique customers from Delhi/NCR. 

In India it was recognized that 3 out of 5 customers wore the wrong shoe size which could also lead to major health issues at a later stage. It was a problem which was certainly ignored by a major part of the population. To solve this major issue, TEKNOFEET established a platform where it could provide 'Perfect Fit' footwear solutions by creating an ecosystem around ‘3D Feet Measurement’. It’s aim was to enhance the footwear shopping experience by bringing together advanced technology and the science of footwear. To provide a more feasible and easy experience to its customers, the brand wooed to establish an app without charging their customers.

Mr M. Qazafi, CEO, TEKNOFEET, said.,” Footwear shopping is not an easy job, it always brings a big question of comfort and correct size to the customers. Also, as and when the pandemic hit in all the shopping including footwear was done online which magnified the problem.  We have created the 6000 customer base within 6 months of operations.  This when TEKNOFEET app stepped in and switched the way customers select, buy and wear footwear.  The app offers solutions around footwear fitting which involves a personalised recommendation algorithm and data tools to optimize fit. Apart from the mobile app TEKNOFEET also provides foot scan services through their offline stores called ‘Experience Centres and Kiosks’ leveraging Artificial Intelligence, computer vision and Machine Learning. 

Download App -

• Android link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.truklay.teknofeet
• iOS link - https://apps.apple.com/in/app/teknofeet/id1606280164

Sneaker Startup Funkfeets Raises Rs 75 lakh; Aims for Marketing and Expansion

Funkfeets, a quirky sneaker startup has secured ₹75 lakh in investor capital through its seed round. The round was attended by venture capital investor Dhianu Das (investor GoMechanic and ClearDekho), thus building up the excitement for this startup in the VC community.Funkfeets, propelled by venture capital platforms like Agility Venture Partners and Shark ventures, plans to use these funds to upscale revenues and acquire more customers through marketing.

Spilling the beans on their aggressive growth and marketing plans, co-founders Shashank Sahay and Sanat Srivasta announced that the brand aims to diversify into the casual footwear segment. It also plans to collaborate with macro and micro-influencers for viral marketing initiatives. And in the long run, their intention is to reach overseas markets.

On the occasion, Prashant Narang, Co-founder of Agility Venture Partners, said “It is imperative to have growing popularity with a strong product innovation, which we saw it in Funkfeets. We are in full backing for the company’s long-term vision for marketing and diversification of products.”

Established in 2017, Brain Child of Sanat Srivastava, Funkfeets leverages the need to provide asymmetrical designs for sneakers on shoes so that buyers can connect with the elements on the footwear.

"Being expressive is impressive. I believe that we can jazz up all old school, formal or sports shoes by adding prints and eccentric designs that match the wearer's personality - that's where we have found our appeal," said Sahay.

Sahay and Srivastava made a foothold in the shoe business despite their non-apparel origins - Sahay is an MBA in finance and holds CA expertise. Srivastava, the co-founder, is a B.Tech in Information Technology and MBA in International Business. The two had earlier collaborated on an economic trip-based startup for college students.

"I believe a great idea can ease the marketing, and a great product can ease growth. For us, Funkfeets is that great idea," Srivastava added.

Since its inception, Funkfeets has developed controlled production capabilities and an omnichannel presence. It has also diversified in related segments like flip-flops and premium sneakers.

Venture Catalysts Leads An Undisclosed Investment in Monrow, A D2C Lifestyle Brand

The women footwear brand aims to make shoes more comfortable by bridging the gap between fashion and comfort

Mumbai, 07th January 2021: Venture Catalysts, India's first and largest integrated incubator and accelerator, has recently made an investment in Monrow, a D2C lifestyle brand. The funding round also saw participation from other leading investors such as Blume Venture , LetsVenture and Angel List.

Founded in 2016 by award-winning entrepreneur Veena Ashiya, Monrow aims to become the new-age comfort focused brand for the millennial generation. The brand is pioneer in launching louseleisure category in footwear in India.

The Millennial team behind Monrow lives by the philosophy of "art of chilling" and creating comfort zones for consumers through their shoes. In its early days the brand caught attention of celebrities like Anushka Sharma to Katrina Kaif and became the most popular brand among fashion influencer community. Monrow's comfort has also grabbed the attention of rapidly growing OTT stars like Sayani Gupta, Kirti Kulhari etc. Monrow's digitally strong business combined with the ability to generate fun quirky content has led to its tremendous commercial success. Strong R&D team with its proprietary ortho friendly shape is building loyalty around the brand. 

Speaking on the investment, Founder- Veena Ashiya – Monrow, said, "90% of existing brands use European/American shape and fittings of shoes which doesn't serve our lifestyle nor do they fit comfortably. Monrow shoes redesigned the whole shape by scanning 3000 Indian women feet to truly understand the shape and come up with one of its kind styles complimenting Indian millennial generation. This 4.8 billion dollar market is largely unorganized. While established retail focused brands have lost connect with mobile first generation leaving this huge white space for brands who are reinventing the product offering and emotionally connecting with their audience through authentic digital voice."

Dr. Apoorv Ranjan Sharma, Co-founder & President – Venture Catalysts, commented, "With higher disposable incomes and the increasing preference for e-commerce, the demand for lifestyle brands is increasing. Although the very saturated shoe retail space can appear challenging to new businesses, Monrow has created a niche in the market by focussing on providing fashionable leisurewear at affordable prices. We hope that the investment helps the founding team in the next step of their journey of becoming one of the top players in the women's footwear industry of India."

Sweta Rau and Archana Priyadarshani played role as super angels in this round.

Monrow's rapidly growing business from their mobile site along with exposure to fashion loving audience at myntra and ajio is increasing their consumer base. The brand is gaining trust by partnering with India's largest retailers like shoppers stop, future group and reliance creating sweet spot of Omni-Channel experience for the consumers. Brand sells across 14 locations in India through these retailers.

About Venture Catalysts

Venture Catalysts is India's first integrated incubator. It invests $250K – $1.5 Million in early stage start-ups that have potential to create enduring value for over a long period of time. Over the last few years, it has been instrumental in developing and nurturing the country's vibrant startup ecosystem with a strong presence in Tier 2& 3 markets. Venture Catalysts brings a lethal combination of Capital, Mentoring and Business Network to help investee companies to succeed. Their innovation provides value to start-ups through its extensive angel network, funding, community, services and co-working facility. Venture Catalysts is focussed on providing startups with access to continuous capital from fund, investor network, Tier 1 founders & CXOs, and family offices besides providing them with market access from corporates and global growth programs.