Nike product launch release policy: What are the new rules?

Popular sportswear brand Nike has been releasing new sneakers since 2023 began and plans on doing the same throughout the year. However, along with that, the company also decided to make changes to its launch rules for the retailers this year.

Nike has also grown its standing in the market by collaborating with multiple retailers that carry its products. These retailers that carry products, especially the sought-after ones, often conduct raffles, first-come-first-served, or require customers to purchase items in bundles. However, in 2023, the label is updating its launch policy in North America.

They will be stricter with their launch dates and will guide their retailers through a fair process that will help consumers. These latest rules spell out what the brand partners and retailers shall do to sell Nike products alongside the do's and don'ts.

It is worth noting that the new guidelines were part of a confidential document that was leaked recently, and was seen by the publication, Complex.

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More about Nike's latest launch rules for retailers in North America, which suggests a policy against bots

Nike's latest launch rules for retailers in North America (Image via Nike)

The updated Nike launch policy was distributed to selected retailers in North America towards the end of February 2023. According to media outlet Complex, in a statement, a rep from the label rep confirmed that they made the changes to their policy.

The rep said:

“Nike recently updated its product launch policy in North America to ensure a consistent approach to marketing, distribution, and sale of launch product across marketplace partner channels."

They continued to say that Nike takes their customer experience and protection seriously. They have, therefore, updated their policy to "support the orderly distribution and prioritize authentic consumer access to Nike products.

These new policies were made to help prevent bots or compromise sneaker launches. The first policy is related to the release dates of the High Heat in comparison to the general release dates. It states that the stores aren't allowed to sell a product before its official launch.

General releases are products that are kept in continuous rotations, whereas High Heat releases are the highly anticipated and coveted ones. These include quick strike and collaborative makeovers.

As per policy, these High Heat products can be sold on a first-come, first-served basis. The rules suggest that stores hold raffles, aka random drawings from the audience in an orderly manner. However, they can resort to a first-come, first-serve basis if the raffle can't be organized.

To conduct proper draws and raffles, stores can list the items online, where winners can come in-store to buy sneaker products later. These drawings and raffles shall be done according to a strict time schedule, this allows the customers to put in their entries, which must be free of cost.

The launch policy also prevents stores from selling a bunch of products to certified commercial resellers and only to people for their personal use. This policy is made for back-door prevention.

For stores that often hold online raffles, they must have a proper Bot prevention system. The official policy reads:

"Bot deterrence services should be activated to block suspicious drawing entries and purchases from individual accounts or user profiles as well as individual or multiple accounts/user profiles that are associated with suspicious delivery addresses, IP addresses, or suspect or fraudulent forms of payment.”

Stores are guided to take proper care of fraudulent entries in raffles, and they must check the person's ID at the time of receiving entries. Stores are also prohibited from selling a lot of launch products to a single buyer. They further have to follow the limited units per consumer rule, which suggests how much one can buy at a time.

For high-heat products, however, it is limited to only one unit per person. These releases can take place before 10 am on the official release date. The launch products must be stored properly before the release date.

Lastly, in case any store fails to follow the launch policy, the swoosh label can cancel or adjust the store orders themselves as well as manage product allocations. In worst-case scenarios, they can close accounts completely.