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Competition Commission probes Nike after retailers$$ replica Bok jersey scrum

The unnamed retailers say they are being unfairly prevented from selling the official gear.

Want to get into the spirit of the Rugby World Cup $2023$ and need a fresh replica jersey? You might struggle to find an

authentic Nike Springbok Rugby replica jersey because they are only available in limited quantities at a tiny selection of

outlets.

Due to rights issues, only a small number of retailers are allowed to stock them and, in South Africa, that means the SA

Rugby Shop, Total Sports, Studio $88$ and Sportsmans Warehouse.

Nike $$ the sole manufacturer and distributor of the official Springbok Rugby jersey $$ permits only selected outlets to stock

the rugby replica goods.

The Competition Commission has now launched an investigation into the global sportswear giant after independent retailers

complained about Nike$$s refusal to allow them to sell official Springbok Rugby replica jerseys.

The independent sportswear suppliers have not been named $$ apparently out of fear of victimisation.

They have accused Nike of violating the Competition Act by agreeing to exclusive distribution of the shirts with only certain

retailers $$ a restrictive arrangement its predecessor, Asics, did not have during its partnership with SA Rugby.

The commission$$s Siya Makunga confirmed that they had launched an investigation, but could not comment further. The

new complaint was lodged on $5$ September.

Protecting the brand

Meanwhile, the South African Rugby Union $($SARU$)$ has moved to protect the Springbok brand. On $15$ September, it secured

an interim court order restraining Eskort$$s $$Springbox$$ marketing campaign.

SARU has also closed online retailers of counterfeit apparel, who have tried to cash in on Rugby World Cup fever.

Rian Oberholzer, CEO of SA Rugby, warned: $$We will do what we have to do to protect our rights and those of our highly

valued partners, who are being shamelessly ambushed right now.

$$We cannot allow companies to flagrantly leverage their brand off the back of the Springboks brand when our real

supporters in corporate South Africa $$ who enable us to put the Springbok rugby team on the field $$ are paying for the rights

to use our IP$.$

The new deal

Last year, after SA Rugby$$s contract with Asics expired, the team announced it had signed a six$-$year contract with the

American brand to supply the Boks playing kit and other apparel, including the $$Nike hyper jade$$ away jersey.The deal, which includes the $2023$ and $2027$ Rugby World Cups, will see the Nike $$Swoosh$$ reappear on the Springbok

jersey. Nike was the team$$s apparel partner once before, between $1996$ and $2003.$

At the time, Jurie Roux, the CEO of SA Rugby, said: $$We enjoyed a great relationship with Asics and really appreciate the

contribution that the company made over the past eight years.

$$It$$s always sad to see a valued partner depart but we understand that business strategies shift over time and we wish Asics

well in its continued journey in South Africa.$$

The Nike$-$branded official Bok jerseys were revealed in July $2023.$

Independent retailer Dirk Klopper of Kloppers Sport $$ who is not involved in the latest complaint to the commission $$ lodged

a complaint in $2019$ after Nike sent independent stores like his a letter informing them that it would be closing their accounts

because they didn$$t fit the profile.

$$We were discontinued as a stockist of Nike products in $2019,$ after $30$ years of stocking their product, growing their

business and were suddenly informed that we don$$t meet the criteria of Nike$$s business strategy going forward and so we

can$$t stock Nike products,$$ Klopper explained, saying the decision to distribute only to larger stores was tantamount to

bullying.

In his case, the Competition Commission investigated but opted not to pursue the matter because Nike wasn$$t viewed as

$$dominant$$ in the market as it had less than $35\%$ market share.

Nike$$s bet on a direct to consumer strategy, in which it owns the customer relationship, effectively meant cutting out the

smaller, mostly specialised sports stores like Kloppers that previously stocked its goods.

Sold like hotcakes

On Tuesday, Klopper told Cape Talk that in the past, when Asics was the sponsor, they had no problem with stocking

Springbok jerseys, and when the Boks won, there was a special vibe in the store.

$$I think the product was better $...$ and it wasn$$t as expensive as it is now.$$

This year, the hot ticket items at Kloppers Sport are locally manufactured Old School supporters$$ jerseys, without the official

Springbok branding.

But most customers just want the official jersey, Klopper said, which reflects poorly on his business.

$$Everybody asked me why I can$$t sell Nike and when I try to explain it to them, they don$$t understand.$$

Klopper said all South Africans should have access to the national rugby team jersey at a reasonable and affordable price.

His chain of sports s