Claiming that it wants to move closer to its customers in the South American market, Nike said that it will in future concentrate its business in the hands of only a few distributors, meaning that it plans to close down some sales subsidiaries.
Under Armour took a similar step recently, closing down its office in Brazil and assigning the distribution in the country to Vulcabras, which owns the Olympikus brand of athletic shoes.
Grupo SBF will own virtually all of Nike’s businesses in Brazil. The company, which recently went public, owns the Centauro brand and manages Nike’s stores in the country on a franchising basis. Adding other operations, it has 209 stores in more than 20 states in Brazil as well as an e-commerce site.
In Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, Grupo Axo will take over the distribution of Nike products. The company is a strategic multi-channel operator and distributor with exclusive distribution rights for more than 30 brands in Mexico and Chile. It also has a special partnership with Nike in Mexico, where it operates five Nike stores.
Nike says the move is in line with its Consumer Direct Offense strategy, which was announced in 2017. The aim is to intensify innovation, speed and direct customer relationships.
“As Nike continues to successfully implement the Consumer Direct Offense we are dedicated to serving consumers more personally and investing against the company’s long-term growth opportunities,” says Elliott Hill, Nike’s president for consumer and marketplace operations.
“Nike manages successful distribution businesses around the world and expanding this model in the rest of South America will help drive sustainable, profitable growth,” he added. In Europe, for example, it is still using a distributor for the Baltic countries.
