Nike Faces Lawsuit Over Misleading Outlet Prices

https://www.yahoo.com/music/nike-faces-5-million-lawsuit-195446423.html

Not sure what to make of it..

I’m not surprised, I actually even wrote a complaint to Nike about this is on one of their $5 surveys. I’m 34 and remember when outlets used to be outlets. All items fell into basically 1 of 3 categories. Out of season, slightly defective, or simply didn’t sell well. Now outlets are literally everywhere. These places are really Factory stores not true outlets anymore. J. Crew, Brooks Brothers, Gap and many other companies, make clothing specifically for “factory stores”. These items are not the same quality as their standalone retail stores. They mark them with suggested retail and then show “Factory Price”. Jcrew even uses different color tags for it’s factory items. I had an employee tell “that item is from the regular store because it has a blue tag, so that’s a good deal.”

NIKETOWN’s - exclusive higher priced and higher end clothing

NIKE FACTORY - aside from the hash wall and the sale racks most items are the same price they would be at any Big Box retailer. Some items don’t even try and trick they just list the suggested price. And most sale items are on sale at other Big Box retailers. Most Nike non endorsed shoes are overpriced so they can sell for cheaper when they hit the outlets and Nike can still make profit.

NIKE Clearance centers-these are the only places I consider true old school outlets.

I know shenanigans are afoot.
However, all nike is going to have to do is show some cancelled orders.
Going to be hard to prove the shoes in question were NEVER destined for regular store shelves, unless maybe some secret emails got exposed.

End of the day......buy things at a price where it seems worth it to you
No one is forcing anyone to buy marvin the martian 7s or black white xxs for 180 $
I put shoes back on the rack everytime I hit an outlet. What may be a screaming deal for one person is a complete rip off to someone else.

mgwefc said:

I’m not surprised, I actually even wrote a complaint to Nike about this is on one of their $5 surveys. I’m 34 and remember when outlets used to be outlets. All items fell into basically 1 of 3 categories. Out of season, slightly defective, or simply didn’t sell well. Now outlets are literally everywhere. These places are really Factory stores not true outlets anymore. J. Crew, Brooks Brothers, Gap and many other companies, make clothing specifically for “factory stores”. These items are not the same quality as their standalone retail stores. They mark them with suggested retail and then show “Factory Price”. Jcrew even uses different color tags for it’s factory items. I had an employee tell “that item is from the regular store because it has a blue tag, so that’s a good deal.”
NIKETOWN’s - exclusive higher priced and higher end clothing
NIKE FACTORY - aside from the hash wall and the sale racks most items are the same price they would be at any Big Box retailer. Some items don’t even try and trick they just list the suggested price. And most sale items are on sale at other Big Box retailers. Most Nike non endorsed shoes are overpriced so they can sell for cheaper when they hit the outlets and Nike can still make profit.

NIKE Clearance centers-these are the only places I consider true old school outlets.

Click to expand...

Amen brother. I'm 33 and I co-sign 100% on what you're saying. It's got to a point where your local mall a block or two away will have better deals than these so called 'outlets' that you have to drive distances to in some cases.

Conversely I can't fault these damn corporations for preying on the sheep mentality of outlets being cheaper by default, but I take offense to them using the word 'outlet'. Call it a damn retail store instead of using the old bait and switch tactic.

However, I think the lawsuit is unwarranted as consumers should really speak with their wallet and not purchase anything from these places to really make a difference.

..I mean cmon...so they are basically saying the only reason they made the purchase is because it was assumed to be an "outlet".... but now they want to be compensated because the "outlet" price is basically the MSRP of the item and not actually discounted, which basically translate too I thought I grabbed a sale only to find out it was regular (although discounted) price....

Funny as I type this and think this through....they might have a small but slight chance.....

I remember in the 80's early 90's a bunch of people went to the BBB in New York and protested against all the "Going out of Business" Sales...

They actually managed to have the New York Business Code updated to include the "Going Out of Business" provision....

For those who may not know...basically shops would advertise going out of business sales of 75 to 90% off....but the prices were inflated....so people would be snatching and grabbing thinking they hit a liquidation sale when it was really regular inventory being sold at MSRP but the consumer was being doped into thinking they were getting a bargin....And the stores never seems to close or actually Go out of Business

My problem with this is....in todays day and age with Smartphones, Internet, Technology....it should take a whole 2 seconds to google something and figure out if your getting robbed or not.....

I mean cmon i can do 5 mins of research on the net and find out what the item cost to produce....how much it is in 200 countries......how much it is on the secondary market.....and how much other stores have it for..and thats from my iphone...With tech no way people should be taken for a ride....

^^^
You're a savvy customer and in the minority but the majority of consumers are not.

Your story about the 'Store Closing/Liquidation' sale is very similar to what's going on here - misrepresentation. Hell, we have rules and regulations for almost every facet of life - why not outlets?

Nike outlets = cutting out da middle man & taking a bigger chunk of da profit margin.

If the suit is a success, other major brands will be sued also.
This stuff happens at many factory stores.

ninjahood said:

Nike outlets = cutting out da middle man & taking a bigger chunk of da profit margin.

Click to expand...

What people always forget about when they refer to this is that they also take on the additional overhead as well with needing the infrastructure to sell DTC so it's not automatically crazy profits when they are the retailer.

The strongest point her suit would need to focus on is the new way the factory stores decided to list their non-clearance sale items starting last year. They use a 11x7 sign with large, bold print stating "___% off" but in much smaller print " off original price". As a consumer, you see the $59.99 jacket at 50% off and assume it'll be $30, only to find out it's actually $50 since the original MSRP was $100. That's a legitimate bait and switch that needs to be ended.

Also how they put hash apparel on the clearance racks when there isn't a clearance promo, the items generally have no additional discount.

Nike factory >